The Imagination of Media Sociology:the Sociological Approach Analysis of Ellul's Propaganda Research
Ellul's propaganda research ingeniously integrate classical sociological resources and phenomenological trends.He transcends the limitations of communication research dominated by American empirical and effect research from the path of technological sociology.He was deeply influenced by Marx,but unlike the Frankfurt School's emphasis on ideology and the political economy of communication's reconstruction of the traditional Marxist economic foundation/superstructure,he adhered to Marx's holistic and dialectical approach;he absorbed Weber's understanding sociology and religious sociology,but rejected its principle of"value free",inherited Webees analysis of bureaucracy,and enriched the latitude of bureaucracy and mass society;he is similar to Durkheim in the collectivist analytical perspective,but rejects the latter's empiricism.Employing a phenomenological spirit oriented towards the phenomenon itself,Ellul vividly describes technological phenomena and analyses propaganda as a form of skillful technique.From the perspective of methodology,the analysis of the theoretical starting point and logic of Ellul's propaganda research will help to deeply understand the academic context and creativity of his propaganda analysis paradigm,and explore the expansion space provided by his propaganda analysis for the imagination of media sociology.