Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals, 15th Edition

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A History of Communication Technology

Yicheng Zhu, M.A. & Dan Brown, Ph.D.*

*Zhu is a doctoral candidate in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) and Brown is Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, Tennessee).

Each of other chapters in this book provides an examination of the history of a particular type of communication technology. However, one needs to understand that history works, in some ways, like a telescope. The closer an observer looks at the details, i.e. the particular human behaviors that changed communication technologies, the less he/she can grasp the big picture.

This chapter discusses recent advancements, but more importantly, ...