ABSTRACT
The following three chapters will focus on the historical emergence and development of three major technologies of culture, defined by the processes of mechanical, electronic and micro-electronic reproduction. Together, these technologies comprise the principal institutions and techniques by which specialised groups disseminate symbolic content to large, heterogeneous and geographically dispersed audiences in contemporary societies. The three chapters are ordered chronologically in terms of the moment of appearance of the technology upon which they focus in order to chart the productive history of the means of cultural production.
