Castells and the Media Theory and Media

by Howard, Philip N.

• ISBN13: 9780745652597
• ISBN10: 074565259X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-07-12
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

One of the most prolific and respected scholars today, Manuel Castells has given us a new language for understanding the impact of information and communication technologies on social life. Politicians can no longer run for office without a digital media strategy, new communication technologies are a fundamental infrastructure for the economy, and the internet has become an invaluable tool for cultural production and consumption. Yet as more of our political, economic, and cultural interaction occurs over digital media, the ability to create and manipulate both content and networks becomes real power. Castells and the Media introduces a great thinker, presents original theories about the network society, and encourages readers to use these theories to help them understand the importance of digital media and social networks in their own lives.

Author Biography

Philip N. Howard is Associate Professor of Communication, Information, and International Studies at the University of Washington

Table of Contents

List of Figures	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
Network Perspective on the Media	p. 2
Outline of the Book	p. 8
Castells and the Theory of the Network Society	p. 11
Intellectual Biography	p. 11
Publications and Impact	p. 13
Basic Statements on Network Theory	p. 17
Media Economics and Life Online	p. 22
The Permanently Beta, Network Enterprise	p. 26
From Bricks and Mortar to Bandwidth and Servers	p. 28
The Changing Nature of Media Work	p. 30
The Death of Distance and Long Tails	p. 34
The Network Perspective on Economic Life	p. 35
Networks of Power and Politics	p. 38
Network Campaigns	p. 41
Media Networks	p. 45
The Politics of Code and Cultural Production	p. 50
Privacy and Data Mining	p. 53
The Network Perspective on Political Life	p. 55
Cultural Industries in a Digital Century	p. 57
Transforming Cultural Industries	p. 58
Cultures of Digital Media	p. 62
Social Networking and Cultural Production	p. 67
Mediated and Multiple Identities	p. 69
The Network Perspective on Cultural Life	p. 71
Mobile and Social Media	p. 73
Networked and Mobile	p. 77
The Space of Flows and Timeless Time	p. 79
Cosmopolitan Culture and Cultural Identity	p. 82
Mobile Politics	p. 86
The Mobile is the Social	p. 88
Conclusion-Media Rules and the Rules of Media	p. 90
The Personal and Global Contexts of Networks	p. 91
Scientific Inquiry in the Network Society	p. 95
Critical Responses and Alternative Approaches	p. 97
Remaining Questions and Future Directions of Research	p. 103
The New Power of Digital Media	p. 107
Appendix	p. 109
An Exercise in Visualizing Your Own Digital Networks	p. 110
An Exercise in Tracking Your Media and Cultural Consumption	p. 116
An Exercise in Surveillance and Sousveillance-Tracking the Trackers	p. 119
Notes	p. 123
References	p. 126
Glossary/Index	p. 131
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