*******************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 [log in to unmask] 919-687-3650 ---- To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]