This week’s reading by Preston Russett, “Comtemporary Portrait of Information Privacy,” reflects upon internet users of today and how they are desensitized to viewing personal information on the web. “Online practices are conditioning the individual to shrug when individual preferences and private needs are exposed to not only an individual’s eyes and ears, but to…
The digital world has created a space for people to connect, interact, and among most things participate in the digital culture that has emerged. Henry Jenkins addresses the term participatory culture in Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. What is interesting is the way in which questions about participation come into play. Who…
Like many people my age (around 21), Harry Potter is a cornerstone of my childhood. I distinctly remember my second grade teacher reading us chapters of the first book during out story time, and the arduous gaps J.K. Rowling forced me to endure as I waited for the next installment to be published. I also…
In last week’s class, we attempted to contextualize David Leonard’s “Young, Black (& Brown) and Don’t Give a Fuck: Virtual Gangstas in the Era of State Violence” through playing Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. Though the other readings were similarly focused on race and racism in video games, Leonard’s was the one which focused primarily…
Why is it that America is becoming more diverse and yet refuses to acknowledge it in our art, books and, as this week’s readings have shown, our video games? According to US Census data, minorities make up 37% of the population and by 2043 the population is projected to be a “minority-majority” nation, meaning that…
Marshall Mcluhan believes that extensions, or new technology that enhances and expands a limited human function, influences culture. Social media then, as an extension of physical human interaction, could certainly change our culture, although he says there is a risk of over-extension, meaning there are potential downsides to over-use. Rachel Botsman’s TED talk on collaborative…
WIIH Fellows: New Media, New Knowledge 