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Palgrave Macmillan

History, Politics and the Evolution of Cultivation Theory

Beyond Violence?

  • Book
  • Dec 2024

Overview

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media (PSHM)

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About this book

This book provides a cultural history of cultivation theory, a North American mass communication paradigm best known for arguing that television violence was a potent agent of political socialisation. Decades after its inception, cultivation theory remains an evocative force in imagining twenty-first-century media power. This book reveals how many factors shaped the theory: the spectre of twentieth-century fascism, the Cold War, political turbulence in 1960s America, and the realisation that television had profoundly altered the rhythms of social and political life. The book also explains how cultivation theory became a means of analysing diverse media influences, thanks to various scholars who brought different motivations, perspectives and skills to the project.  Cultivation theory succeeded because its practitioners related their work to the changing political moods of post-war America. In doing so, they created a unique critical perspective within mass communication research, which continues to shed light on the role media play in political conflict.

Keywords

  • Journal of Communication
  • George Gerbner
  • Cold War
  • Reaganism
  • media violence

Authors and Affiliations

  • Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

    Andy Ruddock

About the author

Andy Ruddock is Head of Communications and Media Studies at Monash University, Australia.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: History, Politics and the Evolution of Cultivation Theory

  • Book Subtitle: Beyond Violence?

  • Authors: Andy Ruddock

  • Series Title: Palgrave Studies in the History of the Media

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-75910-9Due: 09 January 2025

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-75913-0Due: 09 January 2026

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-75911-6Due: 09 January 2025

  • Series ISSN: 2634-6575

  • Series E-ISSN: 2634-6583

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IV, 150

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