Improvisation, Text and Media Co-coordinator, Co-investigator

McGill University

Dr. Straw explores the question of whether new technologies move us forward in cultural terms, or whether they slow down a sense of innovation and progress by providing ever more access to materials from the past. He does so by studying the role of the internet and other new technologies in creating audiences and markets for the cultural artefacts of the past. Dr. Straw's previous research focused on the North American music industry. In recent years his interests have moved to the study of urban media, in particular newspapers and magazines. His most recent publications include Cyanide and Sin: Visualizing Crime in 50s America (2006) and the forthcoming Circulation and the City: Essays on Mobility and Urban Culture (co-editor, with Alexandra Boutros). Dr. Straw earned his PhD and master’s in communications (McGill University) and a BA in film studies (Carleton University).