David J. Gunkel (born September 9, 1962) is an American academic and Presidential Teaching Professor of

Communication Studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...

. He teaches courses in

web design Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code an ...

and programming, information and

communication technology Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

(ICT), and

cyberculture Internet culture is a culture based on the many way people have used computer networks and their use for communication, entertainment, business, and recreation. Some features of Internet culture include online communities, gaming, and social media ...

. His research and publications examine the philosophical assumptions and ethical consequences of ICT. He has served as the managing editor of the ''

International Journal of Žižek Studies International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

''. Gunkel has published research and provided media commentary on the topics of

machine ethics Machine ethics (or machine morality, computational morality, or computational ethics) is a part of the ethics of artificial intelligence concerned with adding or ensuring moral behaviors of man-made machines that use artificial intelligence, otherw ...

, the

digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age in ...

telematic Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies (road transport, road safety, etc.), electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications, etc.), and computer science (multimedia ...

technologies,

new media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...

Studies, as well as various aspects of

internet culture Internet culture is a culture based on the many way people have used computer networks and their use for communication, entertainment, business, and recreation. Some features of Internet culture include online communities, gaming, and social media ...

and

. His most widely cited material comes from three books, ''Hacking Cyberspace'' (2001), which examines the metaphors applied to new technologies, and how those metaphors inform, shape, and drive the implementation of the technology in question; ''Thinking Otherwise: Philosophy, Communication, Technology'' (2007), which investigates the unique quandaries, complications, and possibilities introduced by a form of 'otherness' that veils, through technology, the identity of the 'Other'; and '' The Machine Question: Critical Perspectives on AI, Robots and Ethics'' (2012) which examines whether and to what extent intelligent and autonomous machines of our own making can be considered to have legitimate moral responsibilities and any legitimate claim to moral consideration. This book won "best book of the year" from the National Communication Association's (NCA) Communication Ethics Division. Another piece on

print culture Print culture embodies all forms of printed text and other printed forms of visual communication. One prominent scholar of print culture in Europe is Elizabeth Eisenstein, who contrasted the print culture of Europe in the centuries after the adv ...

and the transition to an electronic medium and culture titled ''What's the Matter with Books?'' has been cited in numerous articles on print culture and the digital revolution. And an article on

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

titled ''Rethinking the Digital Remix: Mash-ups and the Metaphysics of Sound Recording'' has been subsequently referenced in books and articles on

remix culture Remix culture, sometimes read-write culture, is a term describing a society that allows and encourages derivative works by combining or editing existing materials to produce a new creative work or product. A remix culture would be, by default, pe ...

and mashups. Gunkel has just completed his fourth book, ''Heidegger and Media'' (Polity, 2014), which he wrote in collaboration with Paul A. Taylor of the University of Leeds (UK). He has a PhD in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

(1996), where he wrote a dissertation on

G.W.F. Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

and an MA from Loyola University, Chicago. His BA was completed at the

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, where he earned a double major in philosophy and communication. He is married with one son. Formed a rock group with Abe Glazer named 'Too Much Education', first album with same name released 1988. Recorded and mixed at Saw Mill studios Chicago, IL.

Bibliography

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References

External links

Personal and Professional siteŽižek Studies HomeInternational Communications Association Newsletter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunkel, David American male writers Mass media theorists Living people Northern Illinois University faculty Loyola University Chicago alumni DePaul University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1962 births