Hegemony in the Digital Age (eBook)

The Arab/Israeli Conflict Online

Stephen M. E. Marmura (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2010
184 Seiten
Lexington Books (Verlag)
978-0-7391-4654-5 (ISBN)

Infos

This book examines the relative benefits which the internet provides to a range of weak and powerful actors in American society. The Arab/Israeli conflict is utilized as a topic holding common interest to all of those considered. Evidence suggests that the Web's exploitation by countless competing interests is contributing to the consolidation of dominant discourses and policies surrounding American Mid-East policy, while exacerbating processes of social fragmentation in civil society.

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Internet technology has arguably changed the rules by which individuals, social movements, and institutions compete for political and cultural influence in technologically advanced societies. The author considers this reality through reference to the concept of hegemony; looking to the ways in which diverse actors in American civil society compete with one another while simultaneously challenging dominant sources of authority. The Arab/Israeli conflict is drawn upon as a boundary object holding direct interest to a wide range of state-aligned lobbies, broadly-based social movements, and marginalized 'extremist' groups, each of which hopes to affect the course of U.S. Mid-East policy. While various dimensions of internet use and activism are explored, Stephen Marmura directs particular attention to the importance and limitations of the World Wide Web as a mass medium. Examining phenomena ranging from mainstream news dissemination to the propaganda warfare visible online amongst racist, religious fundamentalist, and ultra-nationalist organizations, he argues the Net's greatest advantages are ultimately accrued by those most vested in the political status quo. Marmura argues further that widespread use of the Web is likely contributing to processes of social fragmentation, even as it reinforces ideological discourses favorable to state power.

Autor

Stephen M. E. Marmura is assistant professor of sociology at St. Francis Xavier University.

Inhalt

Chapter 1 Table of ContentsChapter 2 AcknowledgmentsChapter 3 1 Introduction: Identity and Authority in the Age of NetworksChapter 4 2 Net-Based Activism and American Mid-East Policy, Part I: Grassroots Mobilization and Political OpportunityChapter 5 3 Net-Based Activism and Mid-East Policy, Part II: Public OpinionChapter 6 4 The Voice of Legitimacy:CNN.com and the Arab/Israeli ConflictChapter 7 5 Hate and Holy War on the WWW, Part I: Confronting the OtherChapter 8 6 Hate and Holy War on the WWW, Part II: The Struggle for InfluenceChapter 9 7 Hegemony Reconsidered: The Internet, Civil Society, and Social FragmentationChapter 10 Works CitedChapter 11 Index

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 8.7.2010
• Reihe/Serie: Critical Media Studies
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Informatik ► Software Entwicklung ► User Interfaces (HCI)
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Kommunikation / Medien ► Medienwissenschaft
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Schlagworte: arab and jewish conflict • Culture and Change • International and Global Communication • Sociology
• ISBN-10: 0-7391-4654-8 / 0739146548
• ISBN-13: 978-0-7391-4654-5 / 9780739146545