Description
Book SynopsisThe focus of the study is Subang Jaya's field of residential affairs, a digitally mediated social field in which residents, civil servants, politicians, online journalists and other social agents struggle over how the locality is to be governed at the dawn of the Information Era.A"
Trade Review "Theoretically rich, yet written in clear and effective prose, this book brings the best of ethnography--narrative explication, deep cultural context, and informant-generated knowledge--to the study of social media. In the best ethnographic tradition, it presents complexity rather than reductively erasing place, people, and politics. It is long overdue and should be widely read as an important contribution from media anthropology to the wider field of digital media research." · Mark Pedelty, University of Minnesota
“This is a very strong contribution to media anthropology [that] will quickly stimulate a spate of innovative research on the Internet because it provides conceptual tools that open new avenues of study. The key idea, “the field of residential affairs,” is very rich, and I particularly like the way Postill connects this new area of anthropology (internet studies) to the classic works of the Manchester School.” · Andrew Arno, University of Hawai’i
“[A] very interesting case study of the intersection of online activities and offline contexts in relation to political organization and community activism in suburban Malaysia.” · Leighton C. Peterson, Miami University
Table of Contents List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Preface
Photo-Essay
Chronology
Chapter 1. An Internet Field
Chapter 2. Localizing the Internet
Chapter 3. Research Setting
Chapter 4. Smarting Partners
Chapter 5. Personal Media
Chapter 6. Internet Dramas
Chapter 7. Residential Socialities
Chapter 8. Conclusion
FAQs
References
Index
