In-depth history of humanistic theories of media and mediation, with a focus on aesthetics. Authors discussed may include Karl Marx, Walter Benjamin, Sigmund Freud, Marshall McLuhan, Friedrich Kittler, Donna Haraway, Bernard Stiegler, Katherine Hayles, and others. Includes substantial discussion of contemporary problems and authors in digital media studies and media theory. Includes extensive consideration of aesthetic forms, including animation, cinema, television, installation art, video games, net.art, and others.