Lev Manovich inscribes new media into the history of visual culture of the last few centuries.
First published in 2001, today The Language of New Media remains as insightful as when it was written. Analysing various media technologies and media regimes, Manovich traces the genealogy of various elements of the infosphere, offering an almost anatomical view of the new—digital—media. Prophetically, the work has built a foundation for unconventional but verifiable interpretations of contemporary culture, communication strategies and practices—a basis for a new approach to studying social, economic, and political paradigms of today.
As much as it is a retrospective overview of the phenomenon of media and an early example of software studies, The Language of New Media is a collection of methodology recommendations for analysts and practitioners working with digital culture. The book also offers an intellectual challenge, inviting the reader to rethink our world as an environment ruled by the code: the actual and conceptual core of all contemporary digital objects, the meta-language of today and the key to a different—digital—existence.
