Historical Imagination: “The Printing Press as an Agent of Change” is in a Causality Trap

HU Yiqing RONG Qing

Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (4) : 20-31.

Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (4) : 20-31.

Historical Imagination: “The Printing Press as an Agent of Change” is in a Causality Trap

  • Hu Yiqing is associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University. Email: newsfox@nju.edu.cn.
    Rong Qing is graduate student at the School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University.Email: qingqingrong319@163.com.
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Abstract

Elizabeth Eisensten and her social media historical masterpiece “The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early-Modern Europe” are difficult to justify her own arguments at all aspects. She claimed that the printing press is an agent of change but it is proved to be innovation incentives in her analyze. She was frozen in the dilemma of univariate and multivariate interpretation, beyond that, she even used the causality-inversed assumptions and reasoning. However, these drawbacks didn’t harm the theoretical value of the book “Printing Press”. The comprehensive thinking and restatement of the study made the book full of scientific imagination.

Key words

causality / imagination / printing press / Elizabeth Eisensten

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HU Yiqing RONG Qing. Historical Imagination: “The Printing Press as an Agent of Change” is in a Causality Trap[J]. Chinese Journal of Journalism & Communication. 2014, 36(4): 20-31

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