Thinking Critically about New Media

As we approach the end of the semester, I want you to think critically about your views of new media. Drawing upon readings and class discussions, explore the ways in which your ideas about new media have morphed over the past fifteen weeks.

The panopticon and online "privacy"

Drawing upon Foucault's discussion of the panopticon, think critically about your online behaviors. In what ways to you self-surveil your online activities in case someone is watching?

Gender Online

DeVoss and Selfe describe an apparent gender gap that exists online, with males as the dominant presence in the "masculine realm of mastery and machinery" (34). The internet can be seen as an environment in which women may be excluded and harassed.

How have the gender roles typically perceived by society offline contributed to this gender gap online?

Do you believe that men are unwilling to accept women into their male dominated cyberworld, and that, as DeVoss and Selfe suggest, "technological mastery is 'seldom passed by men to women as a cost-free gift . . . in a serious, generous, and genuine way'" (34)?

As technological advancements continue to be made in the upcoming years, do you think that the gender gap will continue to expand or do you think that they will "[extend] the livelihood and contact making possibilities for women" on the internet (Marshall xvi)?

Autism Online

Reflecting on Davidson's analysis of the potential of online communities to unite and empower people with autism, visit wrongplanet.net. Choose one post or page within the community and talk about the ways in which it reflects or challenges Davidson's claims.

Marginalized Voices in Cyberspace

According to Mele "It became apparent to the resident organization that new links to assistance and counsel outside the purview and control of the housing authority were required if effective participation on the task force was to be realized. In March 1995 the Jervay residents chose to take their story online, transforming their roles from reactive to proactive participants."

Do you think a similarly "disempowered" group today would be able to create such a dramatic transformation using the Internet?

Hacktivism

Both of the readings on "Hacktivism" give broad examples of hackers and hacking. What are your definitions for hacker, hacking, and hacktivism? When exactly does one become a hacker? What constitutes hacking? Does your roommate trying to guess the password to your computer constitute hacking? Is he/she a hacker? At what point is the line crossed? Can hacking be used for good causes, or is it inherently evil?

Activism Online (Gurak)

Gurak examines two of the earliest instances of collective activism online. Think critically about the "double-edged sword" Gurak describes in the Clipper Chip and MarketPlace protests: the power of online collective action versus the peril of adopting false group information. As you think about these benefits and dangers, take into account recent digital events that you have witnessed, from Twitter coverage of Iranian protests to right-wing e-mail campaigns to "prove" that Obama is not an American. How do the principles Gurak provides apply to contemporary social movements online?