Publisher's Description

“Film, video, music, TV, the internet—these are now the global channels for experiencing cultural activity on-demand. At the same time, intense cultural conflicts have thrown the world into chaos. Religious fundamentalism, nationalism, militarism, and globalization continue to provoke widespread violence and unrest.

This highly original, thought-provoking book—written by a pioneer of communication and media studies—is the first to analyze the post 9/11 world in terms of global media and popular culture. From an evolutionary perspective, James Lull argues that we need to harness the influence of information and personal communications technologies, mass media, and the culture industries to understand where our precarious world is headed and how we will get there.”

Table of Contents:

	Introduction
	Chapter One	All Eyes on the Global Stage
	Chapter Two	Human Expression
	Chapter Three	Programming our Personal Supercultures
	Chapter Four	The Push and Pull of Culture
	Chapter Five	Globalized Islam
	Chapter Six	Cultural Transparency
	Chapter Seven	The Open Spaces of Global Communication
	Chapter Eight	Fundamentalism and Cosmopolitanism in the Crisis World
	Chapter Nine	Communicating the Future

Praise for Culture-on-Demand

"James Lull shows that religion and media ravenously feed off each other—often for the worse. But he also points the way to a future of 'global wisdom,' which leverages the best ideals of communication and faith. This is one gospel worth preaching." Irshad Manji, author, The Trouble with Islam Today, Canada

"With uncommon brilliance, extreme intellectual agility, and profound cultural wisdom, James Lull's latest book faces courageously and optimistically the most daunting challenges of our troubled times." Eduardo Neiva, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

"Taking global cultural analysis in refreshing new directions, James Lull offers the reader powerful insights into the social and symbolic realities of the 21st Century." Gabriela Pedroza, Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico

"In this impressively wide-ranging study, Lull makes an impassioned plea for the new media technologies to be brought to the forefront of the struggle against cultural prejudice. Calling for cooperation rather than conflict, open-minded communication rather than fundamentalist pronouncements, Lull persuasively argues the case for greater tolerance across global society." Stuart Sim, University of Sunderland, England, author of Fundamentalist World and Empires of Belief

“Lull squarely faces what he considers the present crisis evidenced by faith-based initiatives and religion-based violence. With complete candor, and eschewing academic weaseling, he describes the clash as one between religious fundamentalism and secular humanism. He argues that in most contemporary Western cultures individual human rights have been established through political and legal channels, whereas in Muslim societies collective faith is the only basis for governing. Islam exists as a sacred unity. It clings to an oppressive past, believing that modernity and freedom are its greatest threats. Western secular belief holds that individual freedom and democratic processes will lead to a more fulfilling and peaceful existence. Recognizing the barriers created by existing fundamentalist religious faith, Lull believes that modern communication will open the way to acceptance of others. Indeed, with its unlimited flow of information to its access to every corner of the Earth, it is the only long-range solution to the crisis.” CHOICE, December 2007.