Description
Book SynopsisIn the wake of Edward Snowden's revelations, and concern that the internet has heightened rather than combated various forms of political and social inequality, it is time we ask: what comes after a broken internet?
Ramesh Srinivasan and Adam Fish reimagine the internet from the perspective of grassroots activists and citizens on the margins of political and economic power. They explore how the fragments of the existing internet are being utilized - alongside a range of peoples, places, and laws - to make change possible. From indigenous and non-Western communities and activists in Tahrir Square, to imprisoned hackers and whistleblowers, this book illustrates how post-digital cultures are changing the internet as we know it - from a system which is increasingly centralized, commodified, and "personalized," into something more in line with its original spirit: autonomous, creative, subversive.
The book looks past the limitations of the internet, reconceptualizing network technology in relation to principles of justice and equality. Srinivasan and Fish advocate for an internet that blends the local concerns of grassroots communities and activists with the need to achieve scalable change and transformation.
Trade Review"This thought-provoking book achieves a rare balance between alarmism and hope in regard to the Internet, surveillance and big data in the current information order. Using rich examples of digital creativity in indigenous communities in different parts of the world, the authors open up new ways of imagining creativity, community and justice in the era of digital informatics."
Arjun Appadurai, New York University
"Combining ethnographic sensibility with theory-driven critique and interventionist approaches, Srinivasan and Fish urge us to finally discard technospeak and platform centrism, and to rediscover the internet as an open network of people and places. A very timely and important book."
Patrick Vonderau, Stockholm University
"In their engagingly written new book, Srinivasan and Fish boldly challenge the myths and dominant narratives, and offer a new way of seeing of the internet, "after the internet". The book is a venturesome and inspiring statement of the need to bring people and their voices back in a new, better, more inclusive internet."
Merlyna Lim, Carleton University
Table of ContentsIntroduction: After the Internet
Chapter 1: Reimagining Technology with Global Communities
Chapter 2: Hacking the Hacktivists
Chapter 3: Media Activism: Shaping Online and Offline Networks
Chapter 4: After the Clouds: Do Silk Roads Lead to Data Havens?
Conclusion
References
Index
