Hacktivism & Politicization of Information Technologies

Hacktivism & Politicization of Information Technologies essay assignment

Hacktivism & Politicization of Information Technologies essay assignment

In the reaction paper, I expect you to engage with one or more aspects raised in the essential readings for the week and to discuss 2-3 of those readings in a critical fashion (i.e. points of convergence or divergence between them, argumentation, evidence base, timeliness etc.). The reaction paper should outline and evaluate those aspects.

The requirements for writing and formatting (e.g. referencing, paragraphing) the final essay likewise apply to the reaction paper.

Get solution to your nursing paper : Hacktivism & Politicization of Information Technologies

Learning points: This session delves into the hacking culture of the internet pioneers. We examine the appropriation of digital subversion by activists, in order to unpick interrelating technological, political, cultural and moral facets of digital activism and their ramifications for the politics of networked societies.

Questions/Reflections

Ahead of the seminar, please reflect on the following questions. Please note, the lecture material will help you with this activity.

1. To what extent would you say that insights into hacktivism help one understand the politics of the internet?

2. Why have hacktivists been characterized as ‘information freedom fighters’? Do you agree with that characterization?

3. Why have hacktivists tried to argue that information and communication technologies are political? What do you make of that argument?

4. To what extent do you agree with the notion that computer and internet infrastructures are political?

Essential Reading

Tim Jordan (2001) Activism! Direct Action, Hacktivism and the Future of Society, London: Reaktion Books, especially ch. 6.

Tim Jordan and Paul A. Taylor (2004) Hacktivism and Cyberwars: Rebels Without a Cuase?, London and New York: Routledge, chs. 3 and 8.

Andrew R Schrock (2016) Civic hacking as data activism and advocacy: A history from publicity to open government data. New Media and Society, 18(4), 581-599.

Reid Skibell (2002) The myth of the computer hacker. Information, and Society, 5(3), 336-356.

Paul Taylor (2005) From hackers to hacktivists: speedbumps on the global superhighway. New Media and Society, 7(5), 625-646.

Jim Thomas (2005) The moral ambiguity of social control in cyberspace: a retro-assessment of the ‘golden age’ of hacking. New Media and Society, 7 (5), 599-624.

Sebastian Kubitchko (2015) Hackers’ media practices: Demonstrating and articulating expertise as interlocking arrangements. Convergence, DOI: 10.1177/1354856515579847.

Sebastian Kubitschko (2015) The role of hackers in countering surveillance and promoting democracy. Media and , 3(2), 77-87.

Simon Lindgren and Ragnar Lundstroem (2011) Pirate culture and hacktivist mobilization: the cultural and social protocols of #Wikileaks on Twitter, New Media andSociety, 13(6), 999-1018.

Bret Schulte and Stephanie Schulte (2014) Muckraking in the digital age: Hacker journalism and cyber activism in legacy media. The Journal of New Media Culture, online, http://ibiblio.org/nmediac/winter2014/Articles/Hac….

Stefan Baack (2015) Datafication and empowerment: how the open data movement re-articulates notions of democracy, participation and journalism. Big Data & Society, 1-11, DOI: DOI: 10.1177/2053951715594634.

Michael Schudson, (2020) The Shortcomings of Transparency for Democracy. American Behavioral Scientist, 64(11), 1670-1678.