Milioni – Probing the Online Counterpublic Sphere
Milioni, Dimitra. “Probing the Online Counterpublic Sphere: The Case of Indymedia Athens.” Media Culture Society 32 3 (2009). Print. Arguing against Habermas’ depiction of the online public sphere as a site of ever-increasing fragmentation and segmentation (2006), but with Habermas’ normative ideal of the public sphere in The Structural Transformation, Milioni claims that the communalization of networked digital spaces actually does... Read More
Kobayashi, Ikeda, and Kakuko – Social Capital Online
Kobayashi, Tetsuro, Ken’ichi Ikeda, and Miyata Kakuko. “Social Capital Online: Collective Use of the Internet and Reciprocity as Lubricants of Democracy.” Information, Communication, and Society 9 5 (2006): 582-611. Print. In this article Kobayashi, Ikeda, and Kakuko argue that the internet promotes social capital in that trust and reciprocity are cultivated through participation in online communities. The authors also point... Read More
CCR760 – Gurak – Just Notes
I’m not on blogging duties this week, so i’m just posting notes. Gurak – Persuasion and Privacy in Cyberspace Chapter One – Introduction: Persuasion, Community, and Cyberspace This study deals with two online protests which “dealt with computers, privacy, and the shape of communication technology and society in the 21st century” (1) Self-selection of what to put onto the internet vs. your information being controlled by media... Read More
CCR711 – Habermas – Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere
If you’re looking for the Frankfurt School concept map from the Habermas presentation in class on Thursday 2/11, you’ll find it here. Outline of Habermas’ Argument: Thesis: What are the social conditions for rational-critical debate about public issues by private people who let argumentation, not status, determine decisions? Social systems of “public” The Greek Model – freedom is found in the public; however, those who are... Read More
CRS862 – Week One – Habermas and Putnam
Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital An Interview with Robert Putnam Robert Putnam Putnam’s main contention here is that in the post cold war era, civic engagement has given way to passive reliance on state and media apparatus. Historically, the US has been a model for self-federation and active, participatory democracy – this is enshrined in de Tocqueville’s work. Yet, this slide toward federation always comes at the expense... Read More
