Tyler's given us some things to think about as we return from a well deserved Spring Break. He's cited pages and places for everyone to concentrate on as we mull over his questions....
Feenberg & Barney: Pages 143-160; 183-238; 263-282.
1) Shade’s essay, “Gender and the Commodification…” looks at feminism in cyberspace by examining two internet communities. Both started out as places for intelligent female discourse but after various mergers and buyouts, both became commercialized and their message became diluted in the search for wider audiences and higher profits. Shade talks about the blurring lines between content and advertising. Can quality content remain uninfluenced by advertisers on these websites? Do you see a difference between advertisements on the internet and advertisements in other mediums (magazines, television, etc…)? If so, what are those differences and should we seek to prohibit them?
2) Kahn and Kellner’s essay, “Virtually Democratic…” examines how the spread of the internet and related technologies has had an effect on globalization and politics. The essay looks at the ways all sides have taken advantage of these new mediums and worked to get their respective messages out. We see new subcultures pop up everyday and they’re given a voice that they didn’t have before. Do you think we will continue to see more participatory democratic processes or will the further spread of capitalist ideals into the internet stunt the growth of free speech? What are some other movements you see coming in our future? (as in formats like blogs and wikis)
3) Agre’s article, “The Practical Republic…” looks at some different political philosophies and brings up the four-dimensional lattice structure. “From this perspective, the crucial type of capital that a society needs is not social networks but social skill.” (212) Agre later goes on to say, “But technology is not central; what is central are the choices we make….” (214) Do you agree with his assessment? Can technology be used for anything more than organization? What?
4) Etzioni’s essay, “On Virtual, Democratic Communities” looks at communities in both the real world and in the virtual world and what it means to be a true community. Etzioni examines studies detailing how people’s internet use affects their real world lives concluding that internet use usually enhances community. Etzioni goes further in brainstorming how the internet can be used in our democratic process (232-237). Do you see Etizoni’s idea of “multilayered democracy” (235-236) conducted on the internet as something feasible? If not, why not and what steps could be taken to create a more plausible scenario? Is such a scenario even possible?
5) Schuler’s article, “Toward Civic Intelligence….” discuses various concerns having to do with certain technological advancements and whether or not humanity will lose control of them. A strong civic intelligence would be a way to keep ourselves in control. Schuler examines the possibilities. With the rise of the internet and other technologies, do you think we’re reaching a point where an idea similar to Wells’s World Encyclopedia is finally possible? Can we strengthen civic intelligence in the ways Schuler describes? Or do you see us becoming too dependant on technology and losing control because humanity was unable to overcome their differences to participate in a “World Brain?”
