Description
Taylor & Francis Digitized Lives Culture Power and Social Change in the Internet Era 2014 Edition by T.V. Reed
In a remarkably short period of time the Internet and associated digital communication technologies have deeply changed the way millions of people around the globe live their lives. But what is the nature of that impact? In chapters examining a broad range of issues-including sexuality, politics, education, race, gender relations, the environment, and social protest movements-Digitized Lives seeks answers to these central questions: What is truly new about so-called "new media," and what is just hype? How have our lives been made better or worse by digital communication technologies? In what ways can these devices and practices contribute to a richer cultural landscape and a more sustainable society?Cutting through the vast-and often contradictory-literature on these topics, Reed avoids both techno-hype and techno-pessimism, offering instead succinct, witty and insightful discussions of how digital communication is impacting our lives and reshaping the major social issues of our era. The book argues that making sense of digitized culture means looking past the glossy surface of techno gear to ask deeper questions about how we can utilize technology to create a more socially, politically, and economically just world. Companion website available at: culturalpolitics.net/digital_cultures Table of contents :- Preface: Why Buy this Book? 1. How Do People Make Sense of Digitizing Cultures? The Culture-Technology Matrix Does Technology Make Us More than We Make Technology? * Components of Digital Culture Analysis * Is There a Virtual World/Real World Divide? * Terminal Confusion? * What's in a Name? New Media/Cyber/Digital Culture/Etc. Studies 2. How is the Digital World Made? The Dreamers/Workers/Users Production Cycle The Internet's Weird History * From Dreamers to Reality: Producing Digital Stuff * Producing through Consuming? Prosumers and Interactive Identity * Clean Rooms and/or 'Dark Satanic Mills'? Toxic Production, E-Waste and Environmental Justice 3. Who Are We Online? Digital Masquerade, Privacy, Anonymity, Community and Cyborg dis/Embodiment Is Life Online a Masquerade? * Has the Net Killed Privacy? * Are We Becoming Posthuman Cyborgs? * Anonymity, Disinhibition and Trolls, Oh My! * Are Virtual Communities for Real? * How Much Online Life Is Good for Us? * Hegemony, Cultural Imperialism and/or Digital Diversity? 4. Is Everybody Equal Online? Digitizing Gender, Ethnicity and Dis/Ability The Default Subject Position * Is the Internet a Guy? Engendering Cyberspaces * Is the Internet Color Blind? E-racializations * Who Is Dis/Abled by Cyberspaces? Enabling and Disabling Technologies 5. Digitizing Desire? Sexploration and/or Sexploitation Real Virtual Sex Education * Digital Diddling: Varieties of Cybersex * The "Mainstreaming" of Porn * Digitized Sex Trafficking * How Queer are Cyberspaces? Alternative Sexualities 6. Does the Internet Have a Political Bias? E-Democracy, Networked Authoritarianism and Online Activism Citizen Cyborgs? E-Voting, Online Politicking, and Participatory Democracy * Can Social Media Overthrow Governments? * Netroots Activism or Just Slacktivism? * Hacking, Wiki-Leaking, and Cyberterrorism * Digitizing the Arts of Protest 7. Are Digital Games Making Us Violent and Sex-crazed, or Will They Save the World? Virtual Play, Real Impact What's in a Game? Playing Theories * What Do Games Teach? * Do Games Make Players Violent? * Digitized 'Militainment'? * Gender Games, Race Games * Can Games Save the World? 8. Are Kids Getting Dumber as Their Phones Get Smarter? E-Learning, 'Edutainment' and the Future of Knowledge Sharing 'Is Our Children Learning' Digitally? * What is Technology Doing in the Classroom? * Is Knowledge a Commodity or a Human Right? MOOCs, Information Feudalism and Scholarly Publishing 9. Who in the World is Online? Digital Inclusions and Exclusions The World Wide Web Isn't * Who Needs the Internet? * From Digital Divides to Technologies for Social Inclusion * Should Everyone and Everything Be Online? * Why Digitizing Matters 10. Conclusion: Hype, Hope, and Possible Digitized Futures