본문 바로가기
  • Home

The Phenomenon of Convergence in the Digital Era and Human and Cultural Transformation

Cheon, Hyun-Soon 1

1이화여자대학교

ABSTRACT

Since the introduction of digital technology to our society after the 1990s, the so-called “convergence” phenomenon, that is the fusion among media, or among contents, is becoming universalized. This convergence phenomenon has particular relevance to the advent of computers among current digital technologies. The encounter of such individual media as photography, film, and television, which have independently existed, and computers used for calculating has given birth to the true meaning of convergence. Through the invention of printing technology in the 15th century, the emergence of photography in the 19th century, and the birth of cinema in the 20th century, we can see that the emergence of a new medium has influenced its cultural reception as well as the structure of human consciousness. On the basis of these phenomena, this article gives a historical analysis of the emergence of new media and examines how new media have changed and developed the structure of human consciousness and the mode of cultural reception in terms of media theory. This article is divided largely into four parts. The first part explicates the concept of convergence, which becomes universalized due to the introduction of digital technology. The second part explores the emergence of new media and the subsequent changes in human perceptions by focusing on Discourse Networks, 1800/1900 , written by Friedrich Kittler, a German media theorist. The third part investigates how the emergence of the computer as a new medium has transformed human perceptions and its cultural reception by focusing on The Language of New Media , written by Lev Manovich, an American media theorist. The forth part explains Human and Cultural Transformation in the Digital Era.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.