An Analysis of Marx’s Legacy in the Field of Communication Studies

Bahar Kayıhan

doi:10.31269/triplec.v16i2.973

Bahar Kayıhan Gazi University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v16i2.973

Keywords: communication studies, digital capitalism, digital media, Karl Marx, Marxist studies

Abstract

New communication technologies strengthen existing power relations, helping to maintain class inequalities and alienating people. In the new communication age, human subjectivity itself has become a commodity. This paper analyses the role of Marxist studies in the academic field of communication studies. It focuses on the relevance of Marx's views for understanding communication in the digital era, Marxist communication studies after the expansion of digital media, and new dimensions of communication that have been incorporated into Marxist literature. Topics that matter in this context include the intersection of play and work, media economics in the age of digital communication, digital labour, the online games industry, targeted advertising, newly emerging social inequalities, and surveillance and privacy issues. Also an outlook for potential future Marxist studies of communication is given.

Author Biography

Bahar Kayıhan, Gazi University

Bahar Kayıhan is a Research Assistant in the Department of Journalism at Gazi University. She is also a PhD student in the same department. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Inter- national Relations from Middle East Technical University. She conducted her undergraduate studies at Ankara University’s Department of Journalism. Her research interests are journalism studies, digital media studies, critical theory, minority and migration studies, and cultural studies.