“Cultures in Orbit: Satellites and the Televisual, by Lisa Parks, is a fascinating look at satellites and satellite television from the viewpoint of five distinct applications. . . . Parks has written an interesting and informative book that will find its place among the growing body of work in media and culture.” - Fredessa D. Hamilton, The Communication Review
“Cultures in Orbit is an insightful work that is not only helpful for those interested in satellites, but it can provide a framework for studying other communication technologies.” - Howard Fremeth, Topia
“Cultures in Orbit takes an unconventional approach towards the spread of information and offers an interesting and innovative perspective. . . . Cultures in Orbit offers an important and convincing revelation of power structures.” - Stephanie Dornschneider, European Journal of Communication
“Lisa Parks brings together television and cultural studies with science and technology studies and studies in globalization in an ambitious and groundbreaking contribution to the study of converging media technologies.” - Andaluna Borcila, American Studies
“Parks is accomplished at cultural theory and she knows the history of television and cinema well. . . . Her book could serve well in a variety of contexts for undergraduate and graduate classes.” - John Cloud, Technology and Culture
“Parks’s book is another outstanding example of the pioneering work being done to deepen and broaden television studies, and to question quite profoundly the narrow limitations placed by the field in its early days on what we might mean by television.” - Sean Cubitt, International Journal of Cultural Studies
“This is a fascinating book, and Parks’ thoughts on satellite television reconfiguring ‘the global’ are important, insightful and persuasive.” - Brett Christophers, Cultural Geographies
"Cultures in Orbit introduces a new perspective on the culture of the satellite. This book would benefit those interested in media studies, cultural studies, technology studies, visual studies and globalization studies." - Lamees M. El Baghdady, Transnational Broadcasting Studies
"[A] fascinating study of satellite information gathering. . . . Highly recommended." - R. Cathcart, Choice
"[Lisa Parks] examines an admirably wide range of texts. . . . [Cultures in Orbit] is a remarkably interdisciplinary work that traverses vast terrain and crosses all kinds of borders with a clearly defined purpose and meticulously constructed arguments. . . . [A]n impressive work that is extraordinarily efficient as well as readable." - Gerald Sim, Screening the Past
“Cultures in Orbit is a stunning achievement. Lisa Parks weaves a fascinating tale of the culture of the satellite, one that changes how we think about media and globalization. Parks’s compelling and original account demonstrates how profoundly the televisual imagination has shaped culture and knowledge production in the global age. Deftly combining cultural theory with extensive research across archives and disciplines, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the geopolitical processes of media and the politics of technological change.” - Anna McCarthy, author of Ambient Television: Visual Culture and Public Space
“Cultures in Orbit is a welcome contribution to the study of converging media technologies that draws on too often distinct ideas in cultural studies, visual studies, technology studies, media studies, and studies in globalization. Lisa Parks offers a deft and nuanced analysis of satellite-television interdependency in diverse geopolitical sites, demonstrating with admirable lucidity how each constellation of imaging/viewing practices arises from a specific combination of technological, commercial, military, aesthetic, and cultural forces. This book illuminates the materiality of technology and its crucial role(s) in mediating the images and events we call Earth.” - Jody Berland, editor of Topia: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
