Reading McLuhan Reading Ulysses

This is an open-access post-print version of an article published in the Canadian Journal of Communication. This version has been posted to the University of Toronto’s institutional repository, T-Space, in compliance with the journal’s self-archiving policy. When citing, please refer to the published version. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale, or use in derivative works. © Copyright Alan Galey.Marshall McLuhan was not only a prolific reader but also an expert annotator of his own books. Taking as a case study McLuhan’s copies of James Joyce’s Ulysses in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto, this article asks what we can learn about McLuhan’s reading from close analysis of his own books. The article begins with a discussion of McLuhan’s media theory as “applied Joyce,” with particular reference to Ulysses, and then turns to an overview of the annotation techniques and strategies visible in McLuhan’s copies of the novel. The conclusion considers McLuhan’s own books as hybrid artifacts that challenge us to rethink rigid distinctions between print and manuscript cultures.This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada