Global Media Activism

Global Media Activism Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, Fall 2011 LCST 3071 A Tues/Thurs 10:00 – 11:20 am Johnson/Kaplan 66 West 12th 713 Instructor: Trebor Scholz, PhD Course website: http://mediaactivism-‐newschool.ning.com Office Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, and by appointment 4-‐5pm Office: rm. 251 (Lang 65 W11th) Email: [email protected]

Twitter: trebors Delicious: http://del.icio.us/trebor

Course Description: Global Internet Activism explores technology-‐enabled political activism mostly outside the United States and

Europe. How can technology help to mobilize citizens? We will debate why mainstream media in the US still pay

disproportionately less attention to economically developing countries. We will also discuss the question if the

Internet democratizes society. Are platforms that allow activists to connect around specific causes (e.g., various

Facebook applications and groups) valuable tools to raise awareness or do they rather render us passive?

Case studies from Brazil, Iraq, Iran, Korea, Serbia, and South Korea will show how online social media impacted

"real life" politics. While the Internet is not accessible to the vast majority of people in economically developing

countries, there is a larger density of mobile phones in those geographic regions than in post-‐industrial societies.

This four-‐credit course meets for fewer in-‐class hours than others but requires additional outside of class activities. Requirements

You need to post your four research posts to the blog on our Ning site before class on the day at which the post is

due (September 15, October 20, November 8, and November 29). The expected length of each research post is

1000 words. The instructor will provide guidelines for these posts in class. You’ll need to hand in the final paper as

hard copy on December 10 (3000 words). Lateness will be reflected in a lower final grade, half a letter for each

day late (i.e., a B+ paper late by one day will become B-‐, by two days C+ . . . etc.). Any papers more than one week

late will result in a failing grade. The presentation (15-‐20 minutes) will take place toward the end of the semester.

Four Research blog posts on Ning 35% (September 15, October 20, November 8, and November 29) One presentation 15% (throughout semester)

One final paper 25% (hard copy only, stapled) December 10 In-‐class participation 25%

Participation

In order to meaningfully participate in class, you will need to read the required readings for each week and bring

your notes to class. The first few classes will start with questions formulated by the instructor but soon you will

frame our class discussions with your questions. Participation includes listening and building on what others have

said.

Eugene Lang Attendance Policy:

Students are expected to attend classes regularly and promptly. For courses that meet twice a week, more than 3

absences may result in a failing final grade. For courses that meet once a week, more than 2 absences may result in

a failing final grade. If a student is more than 10 minutes late to a class, this will count as an absence.

Eugene Lang Policy on Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work as one’s own in all forms of academic endeavor

(such as essays, theses, examinations, research data, creative projects, etc.), which may be derived from a variety

of sources (such as books, journals, Internet postings, student or faculty papers, etc.). Students should refer to the

Policy on Academic Honesty in the Eugene Lang College catalog for full information on the consequences of

plagiarism.

Eugene Lang Policy on Disabilities:

In keeping with the University's policy of providing equal access for students with disabilities, any student

requesting accommodations must first meet with Student Disability Services. Jason Luchs or a designee from that

office will meet with students requesting accommodations and related services, and if appropriate, provide an

Academic Adjustment Notice for the student to provide to his or her instructors. The instructor is required to

review the letter with the student and discuss the accommodations, provided the student brings the letter to the

attention of the instructor. This letter is necessary in order for classroom accommodations to be provided.

Student Disability Services is located at 79 Fifth Avenue -‐ 5th Floor. The phone number is (212) 229-‐5626.

Students and faculty are expected to review the Student Disability Services webpage. The webpage can be found at

http://www.newschool.edu/studentaffairs/disability/ and the office is available to answer any questions or

concerns.

Syllabus Week 1 (Aug 30, Sept 1) Political Activism, Advocacy, and Art Activism using Social Media

Overview and Introduction to the Syllabus What is the value of discussion? Think of the worst group discussion you have ever been involved in. What happened that made these discussions so unpleasant?

Conversely, think of the best discussions you have ever been involved in. What made these conversations so satisfying? How would you like to be spoken to by your peers? Together we formulate ground rules for discussion for the weeks to come. Throughout the semester there will be repeated anonymous after-‐class questionnaires. Required Readings (Thursday): Brecht, Bertolt. "The Radio as an Apparatus of Communication (July 1932)." ToniSant. 1 Jan. 2001. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.tonisant.com/class/2001/fall/brechtradio.htm>. Kazys Varnelis, "Conclusion: The Meaning of Network Culture,"Kazys Varnelis, Networked Publics (Cambridge: Boston, 2008) 146-‐163. Suggested Reading: Nina Felshin, "Introduction," Nina Felshin, But is it Art? The Spirit of Art and Activism (Seattle: Bay Press, 1995) 9-‐28. Case Studies: Jean Heartfield, CitizenTube, They Rule by Josh On and Future Farmers, Who Dies for Bush lies?, Kiwa, State of the Union by Edo Wilkins, Bush in 30 Seconds, 360 Degrees, Young Hae Chang Heavy Industries’ The Struggle Continues Media: Brian Holmes “Democracy in America.” http://vimeo.com/1813417, New York City. September 2008. Davis, Angela. "How did I become an activist." http://molodiez.org/net/davis.mp3, Los Angeles. 8 Dec. 2008.

Week 2 (Sept 6, 8)

Questions:

What are valid arguments for and against the claim that the Internet democratizes

society? How do the mainstream media pick the conflicts that they cover? What

The Internet and the Democratization of Society

are our chances to be affective/effective as individuals or small groups dealing

with issues like the US prison system, and (urban) poverty in the prevailing

surroundings of corporate late capitalism? How do we decide which issues we

take on and which ones we ignore?

Required Readings: John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, "Activists," John Palfrey and Urs Gasser, Born Digital (New York: Basic Books, 2008) 255-‐270. Sunstein, Cass R. "The Daily We." Boston Review — Home. July-‐Aug. 2005. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://bostonreview.net/BR26.3/sunstein.html>. Suggested Reading: Garcia, David. "Autolabs: Critiquing Utopia." Mute magazine -‐ Culture and politics after the net. 8 Feb. 2005. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.metamute.org/en/Autolabs-‐Critiquing-‐Utopia>. Brea, Jennifer. "From Kivu to Gaza: How the Media Choose the Conflicts They Cover." Global Voices Online. 9 Jan. 2009. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/01/09/from-‐kivu-‐to-‐gaza-‐how-‐the-‐media-‐choose-‐the-‐conflicts-‐they-‐cover/>. "Overview." The Internet In the Arab World A New Space of Repression? 1 Jan. 2004. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://anhri.net/en/reports/net2004/intro.shtml>. Case Studies: "Human Rights Watch." False Freedom. Online Censorship in the Middle East and North Africa. 14 Nov. 2005. Human Rights Watch. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/11/14/false-‐freedom>. Gaza-‐Israel Wikipedia Discussion page

Week 3 (Sept 13, 15) Citizen Media: From Seattle to Seoul

Required Readings: Dorothy Kidd, "IndyMedia.org A New Communication Commons," Martha McCaughey and Michael Ayers, Cyberactivism (London: Routledge, 2003) 47-‐65. Gillmore, Dan. We the Media. Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. 1 July 2004. Chapter 1: From Tom Paine to Blogs and Beyond. 6 Jan. 2009 <http://oreilly.com/catalog/wemedia/book/ch01.pdf>.

Suggested Reading: Kanter, Beth. "Video Blogging in Rural Cambodian Province." Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media. 4 May 2008. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/05/video-‐blogging.html>. Shirky, Clay. "Exiting Deanspace." Many-‐to-‐Many:. 3 Feb. 2004. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://many.corante.com/archives/2004/02/03/exiting_deanspace.php>. Shirky, Clay. "Is Social Software Bad for the Dean Campaign?." Many-‐to-‐Many:. 3 Feb. 2004. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://many.corante.com/archives/2004/01/26/is_social_software_bad_for_the_dean_campaign.php>. Case Studies: OhMyNews, IndyMedia, Riseup’s Crabgrass, The Memory Hole, Wikileaks, TXTmob, Bahrain Censored Google Earth, Tunisian Prison Map, tracking Darfur suspects on Facebook, Google Earth as visual evidence of the destruction in Darfur.

Week 4 (Sept 20, 22) War and Social Media: Serbia

Required Readings: Raymond Williams, "Alternative Technology, Alternative Uses?," Raymond Williams, Televison (London: Routledge, 1990) 138-‐160 Scholz, Trebor. "Carnival in the Eye of the Storm." Art Journal (2000). Molodiez. 1 Dec. 2000. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://molodiez.org/kosovoarticle.html>. Select from mailing list archive: Archive of posts March 1999. 1 March. 1999. 26 Jan. 2009 <http://www.nettime.org/Lists-‐Archives/nettime-‐l-‐9903/maillist.html>. Archive of posts April 1999. 1 Apr. 1999. 26 Jan. 2009 <http://www.nettime.org/Lists-‐Archives/nettime-‐l-‐9904/threads.html>. Suggested Reading: (Excerpts handed out in class) Collin, Matthew. This Is Serbia Calling : Rock 'n Roll Radio and Belgrade's Underground Resistance. London: Serpent's Tail Limited, 2001. Case Studies: NATO bombing of Serbia: The first Internet War (use of mailing lists), Radio B-‐92 Media: Excerpts: Predictions of Fire by Michael Benson (1996)

Week 5 (class meets Sept 27; no classes Sept 29 for Rosh Hashanah) War and Social Media: Iraq

Required Readings: Hans Magnus Enzensberger, "Constituents of a Theory of the Media," John Thornton Caldwell, Electronic Media and Technoculture (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2000) 51-‐76. David Kline and Dan Burstein, "A GI Blogs the War in Iraq. An Interview with Colby

Buzzell," David Kline and Dan Burstein, Blog! (New York: eds books, 2005) 265-‐269. Case Studies: War blogging: Salam Pax, Iraq Blog Count, Iraq Body Count, Game: Dead in Iraq, Youarenothere.org, Iraqslogger.com, Alive inBaghdad.org, Bird Watching and Blogging In Iraq Media: Iraq in Fragments (2006)

Week 6 (Oct 4, 6) War and Social Media: Afghanistan

Required Reading: Michael Y. Dartnell, "Insurgency Online as Global Witnessing The Web Activism of RAWA," Michael Y. Dartnell, Insurgency Online Web Activism and Global Conflict (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006) 46-‐72. Jon W. Anderson, "Internet Islam: New Media of the Islamic Reformation," Donna Lee Bowen and Evelyn A. Early, Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002) 300-‐304. Theater Visit: October 6, 7:30pm The Speaker's Progress Brooklyn Academy of Music http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=3055 Suggested Readings: Zuckerman, Ethan. "…My heart’s in Accra » Hossein Derakshan at Expression Under Repression." Ethan Zuckerman. 11 Nov. 2005. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2005/11/18/hossein-‐derakshan-‐at-‐expression-‐under-‐repression/>. Hermida, Alfred. "BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Web gives a voice to Iranian women." BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 17 June 2002. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2044802.stm>. Delio, Michelle. "Blogs Opening Iranian Society?" Wired News. 28 May 2003. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2003/05/58976>.

Week 7 (Oct 11, 13) Class does not meet in the classroom this week. Attend two of the listed events and write your next research post about the talks.

MobilityShifts.org Conference at The New School

• Wednesday, October 12 4:00-‐6:00 pm 80 Fifth Avenue, rm. G802 Using Mobile Technology to Strengthen Civic Engagement Between Women’s Networks in Sierra Leone Elana Langer (UNICEF/The New School)

• Thursday, October 13 4:30-‐6:30 pm Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12th St., room 510

Aesthetics and Activism in Working with Youth: In Palestinian Refugee Camps & The United States Nitin Sawhney (The New School for Public Engagement) Chris Csikszentmihalyi (Computing Culture Group, MIT Media Lab) Aesthetics and Activism in Technology Education

• Thursday, October 13 7:30-‐9:00 pm Alvin Johnson/J. M. Kaplan Hall, 66 West 12 St., room 510 The Ghana ThinkTank Developing the First World John Ewing (Ghana ThinkTank) Christopher Robbins (Ghana ThinkTank)

• Saturday, October 15 10:00 am -‐ 12:00 pm 66 West 12th St., room A407 Witness/UX Interactive Chris Michael (WITNESS) Bryan Nunez (WITNESS) Adam Rasmussen (UX Interactive) This workshop will focus on WITNESS’ new Video Advocacy Planning Toolkit, an open-‐source online and offline interactive resource designed to support human rights advocates’ use of video for change. WITNESS is an international human rights organization based in Brooklyn.

• Saturday, October 15 10:30 am -‐ 12:30 pm Sheila C. Johnson Design Center Orientation Room, 2 West 13th St., Ground Floor Brazil, Mexico and The United States: Media Education for the Underprivileged Roberta Purper Brandão (Rio Film Institute/State Secretary of Culture, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Marisa Jahn (People’s Production Hosue/REV) and Stephanie Rothenberg (State University of New York, Buffalo/REV) Marcelo Pimenta (Uniaberta, Brazil) Eugenio Tisselli (University of Applied Arts, Switzerland) Sauti ya wakulima (The farmer's voice in Kiswahili) focuses on groups of urban and rural farmers in Tanzania and their use of mobile phones to communicate their knowledge and issues on the web.

• Saturday, October 15 2:15-‐4:45 pm Kellen Auditorium, Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 Fifth Avenue Irit Rogoff* (Goldsmiths) Shveta Sarda* (Cybermohalla, India) Tania Perez Bustos* (feminist researcher, Colombia)

• Saturday, October 15

2:30-‐4:30 pm The Malcolm Klein Reading Room, 66 West 12th St., room 510 Bring Your Smartphone! Witnessing Literacies, Witnessing Tools Nathan Freitas (Guardian Project) Sam Gregory (WITNESS) Byran Nunez (WITNESS)

• Saturday, October 15 4:30-‐6:30 pm Theresa Lang Student and Community Center, Anrhold Hall, 55 West 13th St., 2nd floor Is There Hope? Florian Cramer (Hogeschool Rotterdam, Netherlands) Renee Ridgway (Hogeschool Rotterdam, Netherlands) Two decades after cultural studies infused critical activism into the arts and humanities, and after globalization, cheap flights and the Internet enabled new, networked modes of cultural work, there seems to be a crisis of education built on these premises.

• Sunday, October 16 10:00 am -‐ 12:00 pm Theresa Lang Student and Community Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th St., 2nd floor Designing Agency Juliana Rotich (Ushahidi, Kenya) Beth Coleman (MIT) In this dialogue, Beth Coleman and Juliana Rotich discuss the powerful ways networked media can be engaged toward activist, artistic, and liberatory means.

Week 8 (Oct 18, 20) Tactical Media, Cell phone-‐enabled activism in the Philippines

Required Readings: Jonathan Donner, "The social and economic implications of mobile telephony in Rwanda: An ownership/access typology," Stefan Bertschi, Chris Locke Peter Glotz, Thumb Culture. The Meaning of Mobile Phones for Society (Bielefeld: transcript, 2005) 38-‐47. Excerpts from: Raley, Rita. Tactical Media. (Univ. of Minnesota Press, 2009). LaFraniere, Sharon. "Cellphones Catapult Rural Africa to 21st Century." The New York Times 25 Aug. 2005. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/25/international/africa/25africa.html>. Suggested Reading: Rabble. "Cellphones, Rural Social Movements and the Bolivian Gas War." Anarchogeek:. 18 Nov. 2003. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.anarchogeek.com/archives/000256.html>.

Case Studies: “Hello Garci!” Scandal Sierra Leone (Amnesty International) http://www.amnestyusa.org/diamonds/d4.html Parra, Juliana R. "» Human Rights Video." Global Voices Online. 13 Mar. 2008. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://globalvoicesonline.org/-‐/human-‐rights-‐video/>.

Week 9 (Oct 25, 27) Citizen Media in China

Required Reading: David Kline and Dan Burstein, "Making Global Voices Heard," David Kline and Dan Burstein, Blog! (New York: eds books, 2005) 324-‐332. "A Brief History of the Internet in China." The Industry Standard. 17 May 2004. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://archive.thestandard.com/article.php?story=20040517152848274>. Yang, Guobin. "Activists beyond Virtual Borders: Internet–Mediated Networks and Informational Politics in China." First Monday. 25 Aug. 2006. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1609/1524>. Suggested Reading: Johnson, Bobbie. "How Chinese net repression really works | Technology | guardian.co.uk." Latest news, sport, business, comment and reviews from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk. 27 Sept. 2007. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2007/sep/27/howchinesenetrepressionrea>. Qiang, Xiao. "» The ‘blog’ revolution sweeps across China." China Digital Times. 25 Nov. 2004. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2004/11/the-‐blog-‐revolution-‐sweeps-‐across-‐china/>. Dibbell, Julian. "The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer." The New York Times 17 June 2007. 14 Sept. 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/magazine/17lootfarmers-‐t.html>. Case Studies: Citizen journalist Zhou Shuguang’s Media: How the Great Firewall of China Works Bill Xia, July 9, 2004. http://www.the-‐fifth-‐hope.org/mp3/great-‐firewall.mp3 Instructor’s Online Resources: http://delicious.com/Trebor/china

Week 10 (Nov 1, 3) A Better World in Second Life?

Required Readings: Wagner James Au, The Making of Second Life (New York: HarperCollins, 2008). 197-‐214.

Suggested Reading: Brian Holmes, "The Revenge of the Concept," Brian Holmes, Unleashing the Collective Phantoms (New York: Autonomedia, 2008) 55-‐80. Kanter, Beth. "More about that Homeless Avatar in Second Life." Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media. 1 Jan. 2007. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2007/01/more_about_that.html>. Au, Wagner J. "New World Notes: HOMELESS FOR THE HOLIDAYS (Updated)." Second Life: New World Notes. 5 Dec. 2006. 14 Jan. 2009 <http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2006/12/homeless_for_th.html#more>. Case Studies: Better World Island, Democracy Island, The Avatar Action Center, Camp Darfur in Second Life, the Breast Cancer Network of Strength in Second Life, Homeless in SL

Week 11 (Nov 8, 10) Japan, Singapore

Required Readings: David McNeill, "The great equalizer? The Internet and progressive activism in Japan," Nanette Gottlieb and McLelland, Japanese Cybercultures (London: Routledge, 2003) 160-‐172. Isa Ducke, "Activism and the Internet Japan’s 2001 history-‐textbook affair," Nanette Gottlieb and McLelland, Japanese Cybercultures (London: Routledge, 2003) 204-‐220.

Suggested Reading: Zaheer Baber, "The Unintended Consequences of Technological Policy: The Internet and Civil Society in Singapore," Social Sciences in Asia 5 (2005): 57-‐73.

Week 12 (Nov 15, 17) The Net Illusion

Required Readings: Morozow, Evgeny. The Net Illusion. The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. (New York: Public Affairs, 2011) Tuesday: Morozow, Evgeny. “Why Kierkegaard Hates Slacktivism” The Net Illusion. The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. (New York: Public Affairs, 2011) 179-‐203. Morozow, Evgeny. “Texting Like It’s 1989” The Net Illusion. The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. (New York: Public Affairs, 2011) 33-‐57.

Thursday: Morozow, Evgeny. “Hugo Chavez Would Like to Welcome You to the Spinternet” The Net Illusion. The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. (New York: Public Affairs, 2011) 113-‐141.

Week 13 (class meets Nov 22; no class Nov 24 for Thanksgiving) Cyber Publics in India

Required Readings: Ravi Sundaram, "Beyond the Nationalist Panopticon: The Experience of Cyberpublics in India ," John Thornton Caldwell, Electronic Media and Technoculture (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2000) 270-‐294. Case Studies: Tsunami Responses

Week 14 (Nov 29, Dec 1) The Arab Spring

Peer-‐led class Required Readings:

Week 15 (Dec 6, 8) Burma and the Filter Bubble

Pariser, Eli. The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From You. (New York: Penguin Press, 2011).

Week 16 (Dec 13, 15) Course Summary and Party

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. In the case of absences, it is your responsibility to contact the instructor *before class

begins.* Attendance is recorded weekly. (It is your responsibility to make sure that you signed the attendance

roster before or after class). Coming late or leaving early will be counted as an absence. You have two unexcused

absences. After more than 3 unexcused absences your final grade will be lowered by one letter grade.

References

• How to give a good presentation (Authors@Google: Garr Reynolds) http://is.gd/hgqd

• Hacker, D. (2004) A Pocket Style Manual. Boston: St. Martin's.

• Writing skills (Slideshare presentation by the instructor) http://is.gd/hgrl

• Skills for critical reading (http://www.uefap.com/reading/readfram.htm)

• MLA formatting (http://easybib.com/)

Grade Chart

93-‐100 % A

86-‐92.9% A-‐

80-‐85.9% B+

75-‐79.9% B

70-‐74.9% B-‐

65-‐69.9% C+

60-‐64.9% C

55-‐59.9% C-‐

50-‐54.9% D+

30-‐49.9% D

Less than 30% F

Global Media Activism

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