Collective Action, Politics, and Protests

March 26

Last class we learned about SOPA, and the fear that it engendered in many Internet commentators. Today we’ll start by looking at how anti-SOPA activists were mobilized on the Internet to effectively stop the implementation of this legislation. This will serve as a touchstone for other reading about use of the Internet in collective action, political protests, and the role of private corporations in protecting and facilitating this discourse across the globe.

Readings/Watchings

• Yochai Benkler, Blueprint for Democratic Participation (approx. 24 mins., watch all)

• Yochai Benkler, SOPA/PIPA: A Case Study in Networked Discourse and Activism (approx. 16 mins., watch all)

• Zeynep Tufekci, The #freemona Perfect Storm: Dissent and the Networked Public Sphere

• Gilad Lotan, KONY2012: See How Invisible Networks Helped a Campaign Capture the World’s Attention

• Ari Melber, New Study: Liberals More Open Than Conservatives Online

• Jillian York, Policing Content in the Quasi-Public Sphere (focus on the Introduction, and “Social Media: Privacy Companies, Public Responsibilities”)

Optional Readings

• Aaron Swartz, How We Stopped SOPA

• Yochai Benkler and Aaron Shaw, A Tale of Two Blogospheres: Discursive Practices on the Left and Right

Class Discussion

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