Costelloe-KuehnMemo34

comparative positioning

similar topics:
 * 1) ICTs
 * 2) tend to "follow the technologies." i am interested in following the products and practices of "experimental environmental media" across communities and contexts, but the valences of specific technologies (video cameras, laptops, etc.) will probably not be the center of gravity for my book. my book will still be STS in the sense that it will give attention to the "technological grid," but people, practices, and collectivities will be the focus.
 * 3) community media
 * 4) there has not been a whole lot written on community media. Howley: "Despite the proliferation of academic tomes that denounce the threat to democratic societies posed by deregulation… and the subsequent spate of industry mergers and acquisitions, relatively few political economists have offered sustained analyses of locally oriented, participatory media… And despite their keen appreciation for local cultural production and their affirmation of popular forms of resistance, cultural studies scholars likewise and inexplicably overlook community media (3)"
 * 5) most texts on "community media" have been written on "old" media (radio, tv, newspapers...). i will focus on new media, but account for how it can be interweaved with old media.
 * 6) i will also focus on "forms of collectivity" instead of "community" to avoid some of the connotations associated with community (see advocacy after bhopal). there will be some similarities between "enunciatory communities" and "collectives," but the latter term also has the added connotation of "art collectives."
 * 7) finally, much community media is about providing "access" to media technologies by underserved communities. i am interested in the potential of relays between middle-class "activists" and "subalterns," but i focus on the use of media technologies by the former.
 * alternative media


 * 1) much has been written on the "mainstream media," less has been written on the "alternative media," but both tend to assume a preconceived notion of what "media" looks like. i think i will use a broader version of "media" in order to include more "experimental" projects.


 * indymedia


 * 1) generally focuses on "alternative journalism," and lacks my attention to off-line protest strategies and the importance of collaboration with groups not recognized immediately as "activists."


 * i like the simultaneous focus on communication and community in howley's community media book.