Wiley-Blackwell Reading Digital Culture (KeyWorks in Cultural Studies)

Computer technology has transformed many fundamental parts of life: how we work and play, how we communicate and consume, how we create knowledge and learn, even how we understand politics and participate in public life. Reading Digital Culture is a comprehensive collection of the most influential essays on digital media written in recent years. Review "Reading Digital Culture reminds its readers that technology cannot be analyzed outside of the realms of power, politics, the social, and democracy. This is a breakthrough book for anyone who wants to understand and critically engage, rather than merely praise, those pedagogical, technological, and communicative forces that are shaping the twenty-first century. A must read." Henry Giroux, Pennsylvania State University. "This is an absorbing and fascinating anthology that is sure to become a classic. It should be required reading for anyone hopeful of understanding, at a deep and profound level, the essences of contemporary digital thought from its leading thinkers. This compilation provokes fresh insights that make it a major contribution to the field." Lynn Hershman, University of California, Davis. "Anyone teaching classes in subjects that intersect with digital culture will be grateful to Trend for this compilation. It contains many classic texts essential for those pursuing digital art production or critique of our technological world. Reading these texts will help raise awareness that creative work with digital media generates many issues and responsibilities." Victoria Vesna, University of California, Los Angeles. "This collection of some 35 essays and excerpts, edited by David Trend, comprises significant writings on digital culture. The material is an important resource for cultural studies. Trend's selection and structuring along with his introductory notes for each section make this a valuable and unique assemblage." Times Higher Education Supplement From the Inside Flap Reading Digital Culture brings together key essays that have established the terms of the debate about the future of information technology. Definitive essays by many of the field's most widely read commentators - Virilio, Haraway, Landow, Castells, Aronowitz, Plant, Ross, Zizek, Guattari - range across issues that are central to digital life and culture: knowledge production, cyber-identity, computer art, online community, Internet commerce, and the effect of technology on work and leisure. With contributions from both inside and outside the technology field, Reading Digital Culture will be essential reading for anyone interested in - and living in the midst of - the digital revolution. From the Back Cover Reading Digital Culture brings together key essays that have established the terms of the debate about the future of information technology. Definitive essays by many of the field's most widely read commentators - Virilio, Haraway, Landow, Castells, Aronowitz, Plant, Ross, Zizek, Guattari - range across issues that are central to digital life and culture: knowledge production, cyber-identity, computer art, online community, Internet commerce, and the effect of technology on work and leisure. With contributions from both inside and outside the technology field, Reading Digital Culture will be essential reading for anyone interested in - and living in the midst of - the digital revolution. About the Author David Trend is Director of the University of California's Institute for Research on the Arts, which funds projects through the ten-campus University of California system. He is also Chair of Studio Art at the University of California, Irvine. Former long-time editor of The Socialist Review, Trend is author or editor of a number of books, including Radical Democracy: Identity, Citizenship and the State (1996).