One hundred years ago today, Herbert Marshall McLuhan was born in Edmonton. By the time he passed in 1980, his profound impact on media and communications theory made him a scholarly figure known worldwide and affectionately idolized in Canada. No one finishes j-school in this country without reading his work (and sweating out an essay or two about his ideas).
Of course, the centenary of McLuhan's birth hasn't gone unnoticed in Canadian and international media. For your perusal, here are some of the recent stories that mark the date and remember the man:
"McLuhan's 100th," focusing on McLuhan's relationship with religion. Alison Smith on the CBC Radio's Sunday Edition (audio, story starts at 29:05) (text)
"Divine Inspiration," also on McLuhan and Catholicism, by Jeet Heer in the July/August Walrus