1. 1 Lecture 11: David’s Slingshot: Professor Victoria Meng Do digital media help the underdog?

2. 2 Review: Flew Technology (Media) = object + activity + context = tool + skill + infrastructure Example: PowerPoint presentation + Making and using the presentation + Factories, utilities, schools, etc.

3. 3 Unit I: Imagination and Practice (activities and skills) Unit II: Forms and Styles (objects and tools) Unit III: Identity and Community (context and infrastructure) Course Design

4. 4 Unit IUnit II “Forest”“Trees” Media in generalMedia specificity

5. 5 Course Design I: “Forest” (activities) II: “Trees” (objects) III: “Biomes” (contexts)

6. 6 Why Politics Matter Political Activism, broadly defined. Typical reactions to the word “politics”: it’s “boring,” “dirty,” and “too much trouble.”

7. 7 Why Politics Matter Politics is an important context for understanding media technology.

8. 8 Why Politics Matter Can digital media be a “slingshot” that changes traditional power relationships? David and Goliath

9. 9 Lecture Outline “The Promise and the Peril of Social Action in Cyberspace” (Gurak, 1999) “Photoshop for Democracy” (Jenkins, 2006) An Inconvenient Truth (Guggenheim, 2006) MoveOn.org; Haystack

10. 10 Reading: Gurak The Internet during the 1990s: a different digital experience.

11. 11 Reading: Gurak The Internet during the 1990s: a different digital experience. Starting to become a “democratic” medium Hardware and software were expensive, difficult to use, and slow Relatively few users who had a lot in common: “Net Community”

12. 12 Reading: Gurak Case Studies: Lotus MarketPlace, 1990; Clipper chip, 1994.

13. 13 Reading: Gurak Case Studies: Lotus MarketPlace, 1990; Clipper chip, 1994. Method: Collecting Internet communications, tracking sources and dates, and performing rhetorical analysis.

14. 14 Reading: Gurak Case Studies: Lotus MarketPlace, 1990; Clipper chip, 1994. Method: Collecting Internet communications, tracking sources and dates, and performing rhetorical analysis. Conclusion: the Internet changed how information was delivered and the nature of social action.

15. 15 Reading: Gurak Promise: “…the speed and reach of online delivery along with a powerful community ethos made the issues clear and immediately accessible…” (248)

16. 16 Reading: Gurak Promise: “…the speed and reach of online delivery along with a powerful community ethos made the issues clear and immediately accessible…” (248) Peril: “…in cyberspace, certain voices/texts can easily become dominant, whatever their level of accuracy.” (259)

17. 17 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery Internet v. mail, telephone, face-to-face

18. 18 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery FasterMore reckless

19. 19 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery FasterMore reckless CheaperMore careless

20. 20 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery FasterMore reckless CheaperMore careless Far-reachingHard to assess

21. 21 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery FasterMore reckless CheaperMore careless Far-reachingHard to assess Compressed“TMI”

22. 22 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery FasterMore reckless CheaperMore careless Far-reachingHard to assess Compressed“TMI” Hierarchy- flattening Less formal tone

23. 23 Gurak: Characteristics of Internet Delivery FasterMore reckless CheaperMore careless Far-reachingHard to assess Compressed“TMI” Hierarchy- flattening Less formal tone Community ethosIsolationism

24. 24 Reading: Jenkins Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins

25. 25 Reading: Jenkins “The current diversification of communication channels is politically important because it expands the range of voices that can be heard: though some voices command greater prominence than others, no one voice speaks with unquestioned authority.” (208)

26. 26 Reading: Jenkins “The new media operate with different principles…: access, participation, reciprocity, and peer-to-peer rather than one-to-many communication. Given such principles, we should anticipate that digital democracy will be de-centralized, unevenly dispersed, profoundly contradictory, and slow to emerge.” (208-209)

27. 27 Reading: Jenkins “The new political culture – just like the new popular culture – reflects the pull and tug of these two media systems: one broadcast and commercial, the other narrowcast and grassroots.” (211)

28. 28 Reading: Jenkins “…crystallizing one’s political perspectives into a photomontage that is intended for broader circulation is no less an act of citizenship than writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper that may or my not actually print it.” (222)

29. 29 Reading: Jenkins Red v. Blue (2003-2007)

30. 30 Community v. Isolation An Inconvenient Truth (Guggenheim, 2006)

31. 31 Community v. Isolation An Inconvenient Truth (Guggenheim, 2006)

32. 32 Community v. Isolation An Inconvenient Truth (Guggenheim, 2006)

33. 33 Review: Friedman

34. End of Lecture 11 Next Lecture: “Spending” Time: Is there balance between mass production and customization? 34