An examination of the difference between communication and transmission that stresses technologies and institutions long overlooked in the study of symbols and signs throughout the history of civilizations.
Régis Debray is professor of philosophy in the Faculté de Lettres at the Université de Lyon III. Founder and editor of Les Cahiers de médiologie, former aide to president François Mitterand, erstwhile associate of Che Guevara, and captive cause célèbre in Bolivia (1967–1970), he is the author of numerous books, including Media Manifestos: On the Technological Transmission of Cultural Forms; Charles de Gaulle: Futurist of the Nation; Against Venice; Revolution in the Revolution?; and Teachers, Writers, Celebrities: The Intellectuals of Modern France. His political memoir, Blessed Be Our Gods, is forthcoming.