Stanton, Gareth. 2007. Gorer's Gaze: aspects of the inauguration of audience studies in British Television. GARP1. Working Paper. Goldsmiths Anthropology Research Papers., London, UK. [Report]

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Abstract or Description

This article is intended for anthropologists, but not solely for them. The main focus is on television in Britain in the 1950s - something which, at the time, we might have though anthropology had very little to say about. In this regard we would be wrong, as I shall attempt to demonstrate. Specialists of various persuasions were attempting to come to terms with this new domestic technology, indeed, general interest was such that intellectuals who engaged in popular debate were asked to contribute their own views and thoughts on the matter. This paper will look at such an intervention and examine one of the first sustained efforts to study the effects of television in the British context. This study was commissioned by the Sunday Times who invited the anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer to write a series of lengthy articles on the relationship between the English people and television. ... These articles, originally published in 1958, provide a fascinating insight into the concerns and preoccupations of a country faced with the fact of television becoming for the first time a 'mass' phenomenon. They also give us an insight into the mind of Gorer himself.

Item Type:	Report (Working Paper)
Identification Number (DOI):	1
Additional Information:	Dr Gareth Stanton is a lecturer in Media and Communications at Goldsmiths and has had a longstanding involvement with the Anthropology Department through teaching and research. He is a member of the editorial board of the journal Critique of Anthropology. For additional copies, contact Sam Kelly at: Tel: 020 7919 7800 (+44 20 7919 7800 from outside UK); or e-mail s.m.kelly@gold.ac.uk
Keywords:	television; Britain; 1950s; anthropology; mass media
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Anthropology > GARP - Goldsmiths Anthropology Research Papers Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
Date:	2007
Item ID:	246
Date Deposited:	16 May 2008 13:02
Last Modified:	27 Jun 2017 15:11
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/246

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