Shaping the Network Society: The New Role of Civil Society in Cyberspace [Hardcover]

Douglas Schuler (Editor), Peter Day (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004 | ISBN-10: 026219497X | ISBN-13: 978-0262194976

Information and computer technologies are used every day by real people with real needs. The authors contributing to Shaping the Network Society describe how technology can be used effectively by communities, activists, and citizens to meet society's challenges. In their vision, computer professionals are concerned less with bits, bytes, and algorithms and more with productive partnerships that engage both researchers and community activists. These collaborations are producing important sociotechnical work that will affect the future of the network society.

Traditionally, academic research on real-world users of technology has been neglected or even discouraged. The authors contributing to this book are working to fill this gap; their theoretical and practical discussions illustrate a new orientation—research that works with people in their natural social environments, uses common language rather than rarefied academic discourse, and takes a pragmatic perspective. The topics they consider are key to democratization and social change. They include human rights in the "global billboard society"; public computing in Toledo, Ohio; public digital culture in Amsterdam; "civil networking" in the former Yugoslavia; information technology and the international public sphere; "historical archaeologies" of community networks; "technobiographical" reflections on the future; libraries as information commons; and globalization and media democracy, as illustrated by Indymedia, a global collective of independent media organizations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shaping the Network Society documents and analyzes the emergence of civil society in cyberspace. Based on contributions by some of the best experts in the world, it is essential reading for students and practitioners of the new forms of democracy in the Information Age."
—Manuel Castells, Wallis Annenberg Chair of Communication Technology and Society, University of Southern California

"Doug Schuler and Peter Day have done it again! This book challenges us to ensure that the benefits of a network society flow to all, not just the rich or well-educated. Activists, educators, academics, students, and citizens alike will all find inspiration here."
—Jenny Preece, Professor, Information Systems Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

"This book adds two important concerns to an urgent agenda for research and action in the field of network technologies: How can we raise the profile of social responsibility in a field dominated by business interests? And how can we make this a genuinely international project, rather than one dominated by nation-specific interests?"
—Saskia Sassen, University of Chicago, author of The Global City

From the Inside Flap

"Doug Schuler and Peter Day have done it again! This book challenges us to ensure that the benefits of a network society flow to all, not just the rich or well-educated. Activists, educators, academics, students, and citizens alike will all find inspiration here."
--Jenny Preece, Professor, Information Systems Department, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

"*Shaping the Network Society* documents and analyzes the emergence of civil society in cyberspace. Based on contributions by some of the best experts in the world, it is essential reading for students and practitioners of the new forms of democracy in the Information Age."
--Manuel Castells, Wallis Annenberg Chair of Communication Technology and Society, University of Southern California

"This book adds two important concerns to an urgent agenda for research and action in the field of network technologies: How can we raise the profile of social responsibility in a field dominated by business interests? And how can we make this a genuinely international project, rather than one dominated by nation-specific interests?"
--Saskia Sassen, Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology, University of Chicago, author of *The Global City*

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 443 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 026219497X
• ISBN-13: 978-0262194976
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,810,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Like it or not, we all must rely on society's civic intelligence. The books that Douglas Schuler has written and the books that he's co-edited are devoted to the development of that elusive capability.

Although Doug's educational background focused on computer science, he has spent much of the past two decades looking at the opportunities and risks of information and communication systems in the social realm. Doug has given presentations around the world on democratic, equitable, and sustainable uses of technology. Locally, Doug co-founded the Seattle Community Network, an all-volunteer, free public access computer network. In 2008 Doug was awarded a Safeco Community Hero award for his work. Doug is a faculty member (Evening and Weekend Studies) at The Evergreen State College where he teaches interdisciplinary programs such as Community Information Systems and Global Citizenship.

Over the last eight years Doug coordinated an online, participatory "patterns language" for social change project. Doug and 85 co-authors developed 136 patterns for "Liberating Voices: A Pattern Language for Communication Revolution" which is being published by MIT Press. Doug is also the author of "New Community Networks," co-editor of six books, and author of numerous articles and book chapters. Doug is former chair of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, a public-interest organization concerned about the impact of computers on society, and organized 11 CPSR conferences. He is the director of the Public Sphere Project where he is working on projects such as e-Liberate, a web-based application that supports distributed meetings using Roberts Rules of Order. Doug is continuing to explore the idea of "civic intelligence," the collective capability of society to address its problems, with his teaching, learning, and organizing.