Some ideas : When were Greenpeace, Mécécins sans Frontiers (The French Doctors), The Red Cross founded - before or after the arrival of the Internet ? Look into the literature on volunteering, go to your volunteer centre : since when do churches, political parties, unions complain about a drop in activity by its members, a drop in membership - before or after the arrival of the Internet ? Read Putnam on Social Capital (and don't believe that his model explains the changes in volunteering in other countries) Is the Internet a major explanatory factor in his analysis of the evolution of bridging capital in the US ? Since when does traditional volunteering & door-to-door canvassing gets replaced by lobbying & mailing campaigns in Washington ? And of course, read Castells & Barry, Riesman The Lonely Crowd (it's from 1961) to the ground swell A technology can be an accelerator, a facilitator, a brake, in all cases an intervening variable, not a reason. Just my 2 ct. Frank Kevin Sherman wrote:
Can anyone direct me to significant literature regarding what constitutes old political activism vs new activism--particularly insofar as its organisation, structure and implementation is concerned? Of interest is how (and whether) the Internet plays a role in what some are calling a new (global?) activism.
Alternatively, if you think there's nothing particularly new about activism, I'd be interested in that as well...
I realise this is a fairly broad question, but your responses needn't be similarly expansive--just a quick thought here or there would be greatly appreciated!
Kevin Sherman PhD Candidate Centre for Communication Research Auckland University of Technology _______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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