Communication and representation: a relation in crisis

Abstract

In papers on communication and culture, the concept of representation has been exhibiting a growing use. The purpose of this text is, therefore, to highlight some theoretical questions about the conceptions of representation, so as to establish applicable references to the analysis of the media culture. To do so, based on bibliography, it distinguishes four problems: a) mental representations; b) social determinants of representations; c) media representations; d) distributed representation. At last, the problems presented by the concept of simulacra are discussed.