麻豆社

The distinguished Professor of American history and the twelfth Librarian of Congress Dr Daniel J Boorstin gives his fifth Reith lecture from his series entitled 'America and the World Experience'.

Discussing longevity within society, Dr. Boorstin describes how the age of mass media is drowning out the quiet voice of the past in his fifth lecture entitled 'The Enlarged Contemporary'. He argues that modern technology has allowed news and current affairs broadcasting to flood everything with information and he questions the values of our 'disposable' society.

He explains that this need for constant interpretation of news every few minutes means that the average American civilian is a victim of over saturation, repetition and a loss of cultural heritage. Dr Boorstin analyses how the archives of the past will have to fight against the weight of these modern contributions in order to survive.