center approved as 501(c)(3) non-profit

It's official! On January 27, 2013, the Center for Media and Destiny was approved as a 501(c)(3) non-profit by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States government. This means the Center can apply for grants, accept tax deductible donations, etc.

The Center owes a big thanks to Morgen Cheshire, our non-profit attorney who handled all the legal paperwork with the state and federal agencies. 

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER IN AMAZON: THE END OF THE WORLD — AGAIN

Click on cover to order.The Center for Media and Destiny is happy to announce that its first official publication is now available in Amazon. 

The End of the World — Again: Why the Apocalypse Meme Replicates in Media, Science, and Culture

To order, click on the book cover. Coming soon in Kindle and iBook. All profits from the sales of the book go to the Center for Media and Destiny.

Yoni Van Den Eede's book published

Congratulations to Yoni Van Den Eede, an Associate of the Center for Media and Destiny. Yoni had his first book published: Amor Technologiae: Marshall McLuhan as Philosopher of Technology — Toward a Philosophy of Human-Media Relationships.

"Amor Technologiae fuses the fairly new traditions of philosophy of technology and media ecology for the first time in a systematic manner. It specifically does so by interpreting and rephrasing the work of media theorist Marshall McLuhan in the context of a comprehensive philosophy of media. Seen from this perspective, media are not merely channels, forces, or things, as more traditional accounts would have it. They are partially elusive and inherently ambivalent entities to which humans need to meaningfully relate, through the existential project of engaging into, building, and savoring relationships with them."

The book is published by VubPress. For purchasing information, click here. 

Angela Cirucci wins top student paper at Media Ecology Association Conference

Angela Cirucci, an associate of the Center for Media and Destiny, won a prestiguous scholarly award for graduate students.

Angela's paper, "First Person Paparazzi: Why Social Media Should be Studied Like Video Games," was awarded "The Linda Elson Scholar Award for Top Student Paper" at the 2012 Media Ecology Association Annual Convention. The paper argues that social media functions much like a video game, with each technology situating humans at the center of a media universe, a universe that make each person's identity seem special and unique. The paper is based on Angela's master thesis, which was supervised by Renee Hobbs, Timo Saari, and Barry Vacker.

Angela is currently a PhD student at Temple University and an adjunct professor at Lincoln University.

ipads for studying the end of the world

Barry Vacker was among four professors awarded a grant to provide students with iPads for a course for Fall 2012. The technology grant was awarded by Temple University and the grant proposal was headed by Dominique Kliger, Assistant Vice-Provost for Distance Learning and Summer Programs Director. Barry extends his thanks to Dominique! 

The course will be Barry's Media Criticism course: "Media, Culture, and the End of the World." Yes, it is strangely ironic to study media and the end of the world on an iPad, that seemingly magic window through which the virtual world is overtaking the real world. The goal will be to create iPad projects that challenge the students in both creative and critical thinking. All 25 students in the course will have an iPad for the semester.