Kelly Askew is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Afroamerican and African Studiesat the University of Michigan. She is the author of Performing the Nation: Swahili Music and Cultural Politics in Tanzania (2002). Richard R. Wilk is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at Indiana University. He is the author of several books, including Household Ecology (1991) and Economies and Cultures (1996), as well as over a hundred papers and articles on topics as diverse as Maya archaeology, research ethics, and global consumer culture.

"In its bold presentation of an emergent subfield – anthropology of media – this comprehensive collection is a timely resource for students and others interested in cross-cultural research on mass communication. Destined to become a standard text, it explores a wide range of theoretical ideas and spotlights fascinating case studies. Highly recommended!" Harald E. L. Prins, Society for Visual Anthropology (1999–2001) "Provides a unique collection of classic and vanguard, theoretical and substantive studies that demonstrates the centrality of anthropology to contemporary media studies. By a judicious selection of fascinating papers this volume is able to go beyond any single study to reveal the many different ways an anthropology sensitive to political and economic environments can investigate the production, consumption, and consequences of media by creators and users. As such it makes the ideal foundation for teaching a subject that has now clearly come into its own." Daniel Miller, University College London

• Acknowledgments viiiTimeline of Media Development xIntroduction 1Kelly AskewPart I Seeing/Hearing is Believing: Technology and Truth 15Part II Representing Others 73Part III Representing Selves 157Part IV Active Audiences 237Part V Power, Colonialism, Nationalism 323Resource Bibliography 394Index 406