seminars, and more seminars
Long, long week behind and longer yet ahead.
I presented a paper to the LSE, MC500 seminar last week (also see the powerpoint presentation). The paper was about the electronic democracy myth, a gloomy, positive discourse about the democratic potential of new media; it is 'rhetorical in nature, and builds on political, structural and semantic dynamics unfolding in the cultural domain, promoted by left-wing political entrepreneurs in strange alliance with ‘dark’ forces of high-tech capitalism'. At least that is what I claimed. It met some approval and criticism, equally shared in the room and at the pub, afterwards. I thought it was a good seminar.
More topical as the election is coming: I will give a presentation to the MMU, Department of Politics and Philosophy, on Wednesday 9th, about the import of the Internet for the next general election. The grand title is
'The ghost in the (electoral) machine: the ubiquity of the Internet and the next general election'
It draws on my current research about the administrative and campaign implication of new media, in the context of increasingly expedient and professional electoral campaigns. Based on data, more data and even more data.
However, I felt the urgent need to incommode Descartes: the res cogitans - campaigns strategies and strategists - should take notice that the res extensa is getting a ghost of its own - distributed intelligence supported by the digitalisation of campaign communications, for that matter (literally). But is the new ghost irreducible, or will it help the redefinition of the electoral nexus?
Even more confusing now, uhm? I'll post the presentation and my notes after the seminar, hopefully it will make more sense then.
I presented a paper to the LSE, MC500 seminar last week (also see the powerpoint presentation). The paper was about the electronic democracy myth, a gloomy, positive discourse about the democratic potential of new media; it is 'rhetorical in nature, and builds on political, structural and semantic dynamics unfolding in the cultural domain, promoted by left-wing political entrepreneurs in strange alliance with ‘dark’ forces of high-tech capitalism'. At least that is what I claimed. It met some approval and criticism, equally shared in the room and at the pub, afterwards. I thought it was a good seminar.
More topical as the election is coming: I will give a presentation to the MMU, Department of Politics and Philosophy, on Wednesday 9th, about the import of the Internet for the next general election. The grand title is
'The ghost in the (electoral) machine: the ubiquity of the Internet and the next general election'
It draws on my current research about the administrative and campaign implication of new media, in the context of increasingly expedient and professional electoral campaigns. Based on data, more data and even more data.
However, I felt the urgent need to incommode Descartes: the res cogitans - campaigns strategies and strategists - should take notice that the res extensa is getting a ghost of its own - distributed intelligence supported by the digitalisation of campaign communications, for that matter (literally). But is the new ghost irreducible, or will it help the redefinition of the electoral nexus?
Even more confusing now, uhm? I'll post the presentation and my notes after the seminar, hopefully it will make more sense then.
posted by wainer at 1:58 pm
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