*******************NEW BOOK ON TELEVISION, SATELLITES, AND CULTURAL 
STUDIES******************************

Cultures in Orbit: Satellites and the Televisual
by Lisa Parks
Duke University Press
ISBN: 0-8223-3497-6
Book's website: http://www.dukeupress.edu/books.php3?isbn=8223-3497-6


In 1957 Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite, dazzled people as it 
zipped around the planet. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, 
more than eight thousand satellites orbited the Earth, and satellite 
practices such as live transmission, direct broadcasting, remote sensing, 
and astronomical observation had altered how we imagined ourselves in 
relation to others and our planet within the cosmos.

In Cultures in Orbit, Lisa Parks analyzes these satellite practices and 
shows how they have affected meanings of "the global" and "the televisual." 
Parks suggests that the convergence of broadcast, satellite, and computer 
technologies necessitates an expanded definition of "television," one that 
encompasses practices of military monitoring and scientific observation as 
well as commercial entertainment and public broadcasting. Cultures in Orbit 
highlights how satellites cross paths with cultural politics and social 
struggles.


**********************************
For more information, contact:
Dafina Blacksher Diabate
Duke University Press
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919-687-3650 

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