Cyberactivism

Cyberactivism is a timely collection of essays examining the growing importance of online activism. The contributors show how online activists have not only incorporated recent technology as a tool for change, but also how they have changed the meaning of activism, what community means, and how they conceive of collective identity and democratic change. Topics addressed range from the Zapatista movement's use of the web to promote their cause globally to the establishment of alternative media sources like indymedia.org to the direct action of "hacktivists" who disrupt commercial computer networks. Cyberactivism is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the impact of the Internet on politics today.

Martha McCaughey is Associate Professor and Director of Women's Studies in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech. Mike Ayers is a doctorial student in Sociology at the New School for Social Research.

Table of Contents Introduction Cyber-Social Movements Emerging Online 1. Internet Protests, from Text to Web 2. Indymedia.org: A New Communication Commons 3. Classifying Forms of Online Activism: the Case of Cyberprotests Against the World Bank 4. The Radicalization of Zek Speir: How the Internet Contributes to Civic Engagement and New Forms of Social Capital Theorizing Online Activism 5. Democracy, New Social Movements, and the Internet: A Habermasian Analysis 6. Comparing Collective Identity in Onlien and Offline Feminist Acivists 7. Mapping Networks of Support for Zapatista Movement: Applying Social Networks Analysis to Study Cotemporary Social Movements 8. Identifying with Information: Citizen Empowerment, the Internet, and the Environmental Anti-Toxins Movement 9. Wiring human-Rights Activism: Amnesty International and the Challenges of Information and Communication Technologies 10. Ethic Online Communities: Between Profit and Purpose 11. Gay Media, Inc.: Media Structures, The New Gay conglomerates, and Collective Sexual Identities Epilogue Current Directions and Future Questions Subject: Philosophy; General Interest; History; Cultural Studies