The Democratic Potentiality of Convergence Studies

• In Event: Theoretical and Conceptual Issues in Mass Communication

Abstract

Convergence, as an idea and a phenomenon, is a point of great debate among academics and regulators. Four schools of thought exist in the field of convergence studies: the "information society" theorists who laid the groundwork for the field; the "utopianists"; the "opportunists"; and critical convergence scholars. After careful assessment of each school of thought, it is clear that a critical perspective on convergence presents the best possible frame for considering its democratic potentiality.

Author

• John Anderson, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign