When Tim Ingold describes making as a process of correspondence rather than control, I started to realise that much of what we call “media theory” feels like a craft itself. In the lecture, Dr Schandorf said that theory is “something we do,” not something we memorise, and that has stayed with me.

The more I engage with these ideas, the more I see parallels between theorising and making: both involve learning through doing, responding, and revising. This post explores media theory as a craft-based practice, a form of making knowledge rather than just writing about it.

1. Media Theory as Process, Not Product

Ingold’s Making reminds us that to understand how something comes into being, we must attend to the process rather than the finished object. That idea reshapes how I read theory, not as a list of answers but as a movement of thought.

Each reading, discussion, or post in MDIA 300 feels like a thread woven into a collective fabric. You can’t test theory the way you test memory; you can only practice it, by writing, dialoguing, and iterating through others’ ideas.

This helps explain why there are no exams in this class: the learning happens through the act of doing media theory, not memorizing it.

2. Mediation as Relation, Not Object

The recurring concept of mediation, from McLuhan to Bolter & Grusin, now feels less like a property of technology and more like a way of relating.

Media aren’t just tools or devices; they’re relationships that shape meaning. Whether it’s a TikTok feed or a physical book, each mediates the world differently.

When Bolter and Grusin talk about remediation, new media refashioning old forms, they echo Ingold’s notion of correspondence. Mediation, then, is a conversation, not a command. This class’s use of blogs, wikis, and Teams channels mirrors that idea: each tool mediates how we learn and think together.

3. Writing as Material Practice

Dr. Schandorf often says that writing is thinking, and I’m finally starting to see why. Writing theory isn’t about polishing conclusions, it’s about shaping ideas in real time.

Like clay, words have texture they resist, reshape, and sometimes collapse before reforming into coherence. The process of writing itself becomes a site of discovery.

So perhaps clarity in this course doesn’t mean perfection, it means honesty. It’s the moment when your readers can see you working through the material, thinking aloud on the page.

4. Collaboration as Media Ecology

Another revelation in MDIA 300 is how inherently collaborative theory is. Blog comments, shared lecture notes, and collaborative presentations aren’t side work, they are the work.

Each contribution is a form of mediation within a living media ecology. McLuhans idea that “the medium is the message” feels newly relevant here: our medium (Teams, Blogs, Wiki) is the structure of our collective knowledge-making.

Ingold’s craftsman doesn’t work alone, and neither do we. Each comment or co-authored post is part of an ecosystem where ideas grow through interaction, not isolation.

5. Theoretical Clarity as Ethical Practice

Schandorf’s idea that clarity is not about correctness but about communication struck me hard. To be clear is to be responsible, it’s about writing in a way that invites others in rather than keeping them out.

If theory is a social practice, clarity becomes an ethical one. It’s a gesture of care toward your audience, recognizing that your words can either connect or exclude. Just as Ingold’s maker listens to their materials, a good theorist listens to their readers.

6. So what?

I’m offering a simple argument: media theory is a craft. It’s not just a way to describe media, it is a form of mediation itself.

By treating theory as something we make together, we can appreciate it not as abstract jargon but as a living, evolving practice that connects people, tools, and ideas. That’s why MDIA 300 doesn’t feel like a typical class; it feels like an ongoing studio where thinking is material and meaning is handmade.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

• Does writing theory change how you understand creativity?
  
• When do you feel in control of your ideas versus in correspondence with them?
  
• Can we treat digital media, like AI or wiki, as collaborators rather than tools?
  

Author: Meha Gupta
Tags: media theory, mediation, making, Ingold, collaboration, clarity, MDIA300