Mass Media, Modernity, and Development: Arab States of the Gulf

Kazan presents both a review and a critique of classical and mainstream theories of modernization in general, and those of development communication in particular, to determine the degrees of validity, relevance, and applicability of these theories to the development situation of Gulf societies. He develops an integrated mass media effects model that factors in both macro and micro processes that are dynamically interconnected, interdependent, and continuously evolving and changing, to account for the impact of media on modernity and development. Media impact, according to this model, should be understood not only in terms of the socio-economic and psychological characteristics of the media audience, but also in terms of the dynamics of the whole socio-cultural and political system. Kazan concludes his study with a critique of the Western paradigm of development and presents an outline of a new paradigm of development that is more in harmony with the new physics, with the ecosystems, and with social justice.

FAYAD E. KAZAN holds a Ph.D. from Temple University and performed post-doctorate work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he spent several years as a Visiting Scholar and as a Research Fellow.