a series from John Postill: “Democracy in the age of viral reality” and a roundup academicus

Democracy in the age of viral reality (and 5)

from media/anthropology by John Postill
Continued from Democracy in the age of viral reality (4)

Postmodernism as Rigorous Science

from Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology ? A Group Blog by Rex
My field methods seminar is wrapping up today and something happened in it this semester that has happened in it before.
I usually get a substantial segment of the class from other disciplines ? graduate students who want to do ethnographic work in education, business, sociology, or whatnot and want to see how The Anthros do it. Even though other fields have been doing fieldwork as long or longer than us, we somehow capture the imagination of other disciplines as doing the ?real? or ?most intense? version of ethnographic work. In fact, often we have a bit of a mystical aura around us since no one can figure out exactly what we do, they just know we do it in some extremely ineffable way. Which, too often, is anthropology?s self-understanding as well.

INTERVIEW WITH DR. ADAM SZYMA?SKI ON TURKISH POLITICAL STUDIES

by Changing Turkey
Dr. Adam Szyma?ski is a political scientist, assistant professor in the Institute of Political Science, University of Warsaw, in 2004-2011 also analyst in the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). Scholarship holder of the Program Start 2007 of the Foundation of the Polish Science and the project Modern University (2010) as well as at universities in Bonn, Vienna, Berlin (FU), Ankara (METU) and Istanbul (Istanbul University, Koç University). Expert in the enlargement of the European Union, political system and foreign policy of Turkey ? first of all relations with the EU. Author of a number of publications: books (e.g. Constitutional System of Turkey, Warsaw 2006; Between Islam and Kemalism. Problem of Democracy in Turkey, Warsaw 2008; Turkey and Europe. Challenges and Chances, Warsaw 2011, ed.), articles, analyses and reports on the European integration, political systems of selected states as well as international relations.

The resurgence of the civic

Occupy Wall Street and cognate groups around the world are part of a protest movement that is both global and local. It is global in terms of geographic scope, thematic range, and social composition. It is local in terms of the specific objects of protest and the protesters? goals. The organic blending of the global with the local is reflected in the very unfolding of this worldwide wave. As the Egyptian activist Asmaa Mahfouz has remarked, the various groups ?work in symbiosis, learning from and imitating each others? strategies . . . the call for Occupy protests came from Canada, the General Assembly structures came from Spain, and the outcry of ?We are the 99%? came from Italy. Many occupiers took inspiration from our Tahrir Square; now the Occupy movement across the United States is inspiring us in Egypt.?

Unmasking the myths of anti-multiculturalism, Ger Mennens

from open Democracy News Analysis – by Ger Mennens
If society depicts immigration and immigrants as worthless and useless for the economy, these enemy images will lead to a hostile attitude towards all newcomers. The breach between locals and immigrants will become deeper and this soon undermines the social cohesion of any society.

Vernor Vinge’s Children of the Sky: bootstrapping high-tech civilization from hive-mind Machiavellis

by Cory Doctorow

The Promise of Digital Humanities

Could the creative use of technology help humanities scholars win back public support?more

Academic Publishing and Zombies

Media studies professor says traditional journals and presses need to become more open and dynamic if they want to avoid becoming dead on their feet. more

E-Book, In-House
American Public University System taps professors to write e-textbooks. The move could be a cost-saving innovation, but will raise hackles among publishers and some faculty members.

William Gibson interviewed in The Paris Review

from Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder

Kevin Kelly pointed to this great interview with William Gibson. Kevin says, “This long revealing interview with William Gibson is a gold mine. In addition to being a gifted writer, Gibson is one of the best conversationalists I’ve encountered. I could listen to him all day.”

Sociology and Wikipedia

Just a few years after academics traded horror stories about the online encyclopedia, scholarly societies begin to embrace it.

Mining vs. Harvesting in Academic Writing

from Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology ? A Group Blog by Kerim

I sometimes get annoyed at books by established scholars. Where most junior scholars cite heavily when making theoretical claims, established scholars often seem to feel little need to cite theory (although they will cite empirical claims). But even more annoying, where most junior scholars make a point and then move on, established scholars often seem to say the same thing over and over again in slightly different ways. Lately, however, I?ve decided that there might be a lesson to learn from this. It is unclear to me whether they have become established scholars because they write like this, or if it is something that happens to one as a result of becoming established. In either case, I think it is worth examining the benefits of such a writing style.