Join Prof. Steve Fuller for the launch of his new book, Media and the Power of Knowledge, and discover how access and control over media - both past and present - has shaped knowledge.
From ancient Greek texts to Twitter aphorisms, media has always shaped what we know, what we believe, and who we trust.
In his new book, Media and the Power of Knowledge (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), Fuller reimagines Marshall McLuhan through sociologist Max Weber’s lens of ‘prophetic’ and ‘priestly’ voices – revealing how every communication revolution, from the spoken word to the algorithmic feed, has determined who gets to ‘complete’ the message and who must conform to it.
Why were Socrates and Jesus the original media personalities? Who are today’s hot prophets and cool priests of new media? And what does it mean to speak truth to power in an age where everyone can broadcast – but few can be heard?
We invite you to discover how the control of media has always been inseparable from the struggle to define what it means to be human.
Prof. Steve Fuller will be in conversation with Luke Robert Mason.
Speakers
Prof. Steve Fuller
Prof. Steve Fuller is Professor of Sociology at Warwick University, UK. He has written extensively on politics and social theory and the sociology of science. His many books include Kuhn vs Popper, which was named book of the month (Feb 2005) by Popular Science; The Intellectual was named a book of the year by the New Statesman for 2005; and Dissent over Descent was named book of the week by Times Higher Education in July 2008. He has spoken in 30 countries, often keynoting professional academic conferences, and has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts since 1995. His writings have been translated into over twenty languages.
Moderated by
Luke Robert Mason
Luke Robert Mason is a futures theorist who studies the technological developments that will alter what it means to be human. He is the host of the FUTURES Podcast where he explores the topics of artificial intelligence, human enhancement, space travel and virtual reality. Throughout his career, he has interviewed hundreds of the world’s most influential thinkers on their visions for the future. These insights have informed his collaborations with innovators in the fields of advanced science, emerging technology, and the arts; and have provided him with a unique perspective on the world of tomorrow. He is currently an ESRC-funded postgraduate student at the University of Warwick where he is studying towards a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on the public perception of humanoid robots.
Featured Book
In Media and the Power of Knowledge, Fuller argues that from literacy to digitality, access and control of the available media have arguably done the most to shape the course of knowledge.
Fuller radically extends Marshall McLuhan's slogan, 'The medium is the message', by reading the distinction between 'hot' and 'cool' media through the lens of sociologist Max Weber's 'prophetic' and 'priestly' religious voices, the former demanding that receivers complete the message, the latter that they conform to it.
Readers will find a comparative appraisal of Socrates and Jesus as long-standing media personalities, as well as the fate of individual integrity, expert authority and the public sphere in the radically democratized landscape of the post-truth condition, in which truth-telling has been turned into a performing art that may adopt many forms. Does the tweet signal the return of the aphorism as a conveyor of insight about the world?
Historically and philosophically informed, while presenting provocative arguments that address today's concerns, this book considers the likely future developments of the media and its far-reaching implications for the human condition.