Harold Inniss Final Course

In 1952, a terminally ill Harold Innis asked his closest intellectual confidant, Tom Easterbrook, to teach his signature course on communications on his behalf. With Inniss premature death, the course turned out to be both Inniss final course and the first course on Innis. Alongside Edward Comors detailed Introduction, Easterbrooks previously unknown lectures clarify aspects of Innisian scholarship that have been obscured, neglected, or forgotten. These include Easterbrooks understanding that Innis applied his concept of bias more broadly than most realize, that through references to media Innis strategically sought to promote certain values, and that Innis had become increasingly interested in the role played by institutions such as language, law, and the nation. Given Easterbrooks intimate understanding of Inniss methodology and research trajectories, this book is a rich resource for anyone interested in Innis and the foundations of media ecology. "Edward Comors book is like a time machine that takes us on a trip to 1950s-era University of Toronto and to the final days of the late, great Harold Innis. It provides an intimate and detailed window into the research and teaching of a scholar widely considered to be a pioneer in the field of media ecology. This book is highly recommended and an essential read for all of those interested in the history of communications technology." Ron Deibert, Professor of Political Science and Director of the University of Torontos Citizen Lab "Before his untimely death in 1952, Harold Innis wrote some of the most important works in communications studies in North America. In addition to his published scholarship, Innis presented his ideas to undergraduates at the University of Toronto through a course that his former PhD student Tom Easterbrook took over when his health failed. By assembling and contextualizing course materials and by drawing from conversations between Innis and Easterbrook during the preceding summer, Edward Comor gives scholars a fascinating window into Inniss pedagogical approach, his end-of-life concerns, as well as what for Innis remained unfinished. Through Comors extensive introduction and the publication of Easterbrooks lectures for the course, readers also will gain understanding as to how Innis communicated his ideas and how he was interpreted by students both those in the class and Easterbrook." Michael Stamm, Chair and Professor, Department of History, Michigan State University