Harley Parker: The McLuhan of the Museum

Author:   Gary Genosko (Professor, Ontario Tech University)
Publisher:   University of Alberta Press
ISBN:  

9781772127935


Pages:   268
Publication Date:   15 May 2025
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Harley Parker: The McLuhan of the Museum


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Overview

This is the first book about the life and work of Harley Parker (1915-1992), Canadian museum exhibition designer, typographer, and painter. As friend and collaborator of media luminary Marshall McLuhan, Parker’s influence extended far beyond the realm of art. In this groundbreaking intellectual biography, Genosko shows that Parker’s unique perspective on museums is based on his application of McLuhan’s medium theory to exhibition design. His emphasis on the role of the senses anticipated much of contemporary sensory studies, which will bring his work into focus for a new generation of scholars. A highlight of Parker’s career as Head of General Display at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (1957-1968) was his Hall of Invertebrate Fossils, which opened to considerable acclaim in early 1967. That same year he mounted a multimedia gallery at the Museum of the City of New York. These milestones underscore Parker’s profound impact on museum studies and communication theory. Central to this comprehensive study is the rediscovery of Parker’s lost manuscript, The Culture Box, which would have confirmed his role as a central figure in the Toronto School of Communication had it not been lost for some fifty years. Scholars in communication, cultural, and museum studies will benefit from this exploration of Parker’s thought, as will those interested in sensory studies and the enduring value of McLuhan’s ideas.

Full Product Details

Author:   Gary Genosko (Professor, Ontario Tech University)
Publisher:   University of Alberta Press
Imprint:   University of Alberta Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.360kg
ISBN:  

9781772127935


ISBN 10:   1772127930
Pages:   268
Publication Date:   15 May 2025
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

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Reviews

“Genosko has collected impressive historical evidence that illustrates Harley Parker’s foundational contributions to Canadian culture and museum practice as well as Parker’s connection with Marshall McLuhan.” Jaqueline McLeod Rogers, University of Winnipeg “Gary Genosko seeks to bring Harley Parker, ‘the McLuhan of the museum,’ out from the shadows. In particular, Genosko sheds light on the sensory dimensions of museum exhibition design, which was central to Parker’s approach to all manner of media.” David Howes, author of The Sensory Studies Manifesto


Author Information

Gary Genosko is Professor of Communication and Digital Media Studies at Ontario Tech University. He has published extensively on Continental thought, communication modelling, administrative surveillance, critical semiotics, and the lives of scholarly journals. His books include McLuhan and Baudrillard: The Masters of Implosion and When Technocultures Collide. He also edited a critical edition of Harley Parker’s The Culture Box (with University of Alberta Press).

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