Collective Action, Politics, and Protests

March 11

Last class we learned about SOPA, and the fear that it engendered in many Internet commentators. SOPA lead to what is often considered the high-water mark of American engagement online in domestic policy circles (so far). But the Internet has been used for collective action since its inception. When does this work? When does it fail? Who gets included and who are we leaving behind? Does the Internet serve as a better facilitator to protests in some areas versus others?

Today will be an exploration of online protests and collective action, both in general and through the lens of some famous recent examples. Along the way we'll grapple with limitations of online protest activity, the criticisms weighed against online protest behavior, and some of the ethical questions that come up when different organizations fight for attention to their specific causes.

Joining us this week will be Alicia Solow-Niederman, a Berkman project manager who studies collective action online.

Readings/Watchings

Framing

• MIT Communications Forum, What is Civic Media?

• Daniel Drezner and Henry Farrel, The Power and Politics of Blogs (specific pages to follow)

• Bruce Etling et al., Political Change in the Digital Age: The Fragility and Promise of Online Organizing (specific pages to follow)

• Zeynep Tufeki and Christopher Wilson, Social Media and the Decision to Participate in Political Protest: Observations from Tahrir Square (specific pages to follow)

Case Studies

• Yochai Benkler et al., Social Mobilization and the Networked Public Sphere: Mapping the SOPA/PIPA Debate (read 4-10, skim 12-38, read 39-46)

• Zeynep Tufekci, #Kony2012, Understanding Networked Symbolic Action & Why Slacktivism is Conceptually Misleading

Observations, tactics, and methods

• Aaron Swartz, A Theory of Change

• Ethan Zuckerman, The Tweetbomb and the Ethics of Attention

Optional Readings

• Aaron Swartz, How We Stopped SOPA

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

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

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

• Yochai Benker, The Wealth of Networks (Chapter 7 - "The Emergence of a Networked Public Sphere")

Class Discussion

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