Review by Choice Review
Hands (communication, film, and media, Cambridge Univ., UK) investigates how new technologies, in particular the Internet, are changing the structure of social movements. The author argues that "there lies at the heart of rebellion a kind of thinking that entails the mutual recognition of others, and of solidarity and openness," and he situates this work within larger discourses on the public sphere, especially those of Jurgen Habermas. Hands recommends that one understand online activist communication as quasi-autonomous recognition networks (QARN). Although Hands concentrates more on theory and less on case studies, what this reviewer found most compelling was discussion of specific moments--e.g., celebrity Ashton Kutcher's endorsement on Twitter of President Obama's healthcare-reform proposal; Al Gore's network, Current TV; and global opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Hands describes these collectively as "the first instance of a massive new form of networked activism" and "part of a coordinated movement of movements, an aggregation and a multiplicity of different groups, causes, individuals, and parties around the whole planet." Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. K. Sorensen Bentley University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
