(Abstract) New Media and Internet Activism: From the ‘Battle of Seattle’ to Blogging

Kahn, Richard, and Douglas Kellner. "New Media and Internet Activism: From the ‘Battle of Seattle’ to Blogging." New Media & Society 6, no. 1 (2004): 87-95.

Disclosure: the article does not include an abstract. This is a truncation of the last paragraph on page 88. - JDF

The global internet...is creating the base and the basis for an unparalleled worldwide anti-war/pro-peace and social justice movement during a time of terrorism, war, and intense political struggle. Correspondingly, the internet itself has undergone radical transformations during this time.  We will briefly examine how the internet has become steadily politicized in recent times, and how internet developments themselves have furthered oppositional politics generally. However, while our analysis will look to chart what we believe are some of the most interesting and powerful expressions of a politicized sensibility occurring today in new media spheres, our analysis is anything but another paean to ‘cybergnosis’ and the digital sublime. Rather, we believe that the internet activism of today is best perceived as informed by the spirit of the EZLN, the ‘Battle of Seattle’, and the diverse amalgams of social movements and subcultures that have matured along with the new media over the last five years. This is the internet as a living, historical force and one of the keys to understanding and shaping the political and cultural life of the present age.

Available at:

Richardkhan.org

Sage Publications