Category: Theory

Repressive Tolerance (link to essay by Marcuse) and a comment on information literacy

by RoryLitwin

For those who have noted, along with Jon Stewart, that in the Fox News era the media treats facts in a relative way, as a matter of political taste… This phenomenon was first described by Frankfurt School critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, in his 1965 essay, “Repressive Tolerance.” According to Marcuse, it is a problem of … Read more Repressive Tolerance (link to essay by Marcuse) and a comment on information literacy

Ron Day’s introduction to The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult

by RoryLitwin

We have just posted Ron Day’s introduction to Philippe Breton’s book, The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies to the Litwin Books website. We posted translator David Bade’s introduction to the author’s work here back in April. I have come to realize what an important author on … Read more Ron Day’s introduction to The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult

Call for Papers: Genre in Theory, Practice and Research (Archival Science)

by RoryLitwin

Genre in Theory, Practice and Research Call for Papers: Archival Science Genre can be defined as a pattern of communication that conforms to community norms. Genres are not fixed, but are constantly evolving and emerging. Examples of familiar genres range from speech utterances to publications, from text messages to databases, from blogs to formal reports. … Read more Call for Papers: Genre in Theory, Practice and Research (Archival Science)

Thoughts on MiT7

by RoryLitwin

I was in Cambridge, MA last weekend for MiT7: unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition. This conference is put on every two years jointly by MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program and the MIT Communication Forum. The conference is concerned with new media and new communication technologies and their broad implications. Presenters came to … Read more Thoughts on MiT7

Paulina Mickiewicz on library architecture

by RoryLitwin

An interesting library-related paper from MiT7, by a media studies scholar: Knowledge Experiments: Technology and the Library, Paulina Mickiewicz Abstract: In April of 2005, the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec opened in Montreal, a library project of unprecedented scale in the city. This paper seeks to focus on the programming and technologies of the Grande Bibliothèque. … Read more Paulina Mickiewicz on library architecture

MiT7 podcasts

by RoryLitwin

MiT7 was a great conference – intimate, warm, stimulating, interdisciplinary, and cutting-edge. There were some brilliant minds at work. I plan to post a few comments on the conference later. For now, here are links to podcasts from the three topical plenary sessions: Media in Transition 7: Unstable Platforms Archives and Cultural Memory Power and … Read more MiT7 podcasts

Philippe Breton

by RoryLitwin

Philippe Breton: a brief introduction …by David Bade, the translator of Breton’s book Le culte de l’Internet: Une menace pour le lien social?, which Litwin Books has published under the English title: The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies… I discovered the work of Philippe Breton when … Read more Philippe Breton

New book: The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies

by RoryLitwin

The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies Author: Philippe Breton Translator: David Bade Price: $22.00 Published: March 2011 ISBN: 978-1-936117-41-3 Printed on acid-free paper French author Philippe Breton examines the Internet and the culture surrounding it through the lens of its philosophical and cultural background. Central in … Read more New book: The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies

Selection from Philippe Breton, relating to Wikileaks

by RoryLitwin

Litwin Books will soon be publishing an English translation of Philippe Breton’s 2000 book, Le culte de l’Internet: Une menace pour le lien social?, under the English title: The Culture of the Internet and the Internet as Cult: Social Fears and Religious Fantasies. Here is a bit from Chapter Four that comes to mind for … Read more Selection from Philippe Breton, relating to Wikileaks

Adam Gopnik on books about the internet age

by RoryLitwin

Adam Gopnik, frequent contributor to the New Yorker, has an article in the new issue called, “The Information: How the Internet Gets Inside Us.” It’s actually a really good bibliographic essay to recommend to someone wanting an overview of this literature. The scale of the transformation is such that an ever-expanding literature has emerged to … Read more Adam Gopnik on books about the internet age

Call for Papers: MiT7 – unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition

by RoryLitwin

MiT7 unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition CALL FOR PAPERS Submissions accepted on a rolling basis until Friday, March 4, 2011. Conference dates: May 13-15, 2011 at MIT. Conference website: web.mit.edu/comm-forum/mit7/ Has the digital age confirmed and exponentially increased the cultural instability and creative destruction that are often said to define advanced capitalism? … Read more Call for Papers: MiT7 – unstable platforms: the promise and peril of transition

Undergraduates and the crisis of cognitive authority

by RoryLitwin

I just read and enjoyed this paper by MaryBeth Meszaros, “Who’s In Charge Here? Authority, Authoritativeness, and the Undergraduate Researcher,” in Communications in Information Literacy, vol 4, no. 1 (2010). It paints a more pessimistic picture of GenY students than we usually see. I wonder how GenY optimists would respond to her argument. I tend … Read more Undergraduates and the crisis of cognitive authority

Organizing personal info in an age of change: Tickets to a Pavement concert

by RoryLitwin

An item in the New Yorker’s “Talk of the Town” section in the last issue is about the difficulty of keeping track of a valuable information object over time: a concert ticket. How do people remember where they put it? This one has to do with a long awaited reunion show by Pavement, in Central … Read more Organizing personal info in an age of change: Tickets to a Pavement concert