[iDC] Situated Bibliography

Trebor Scholz trebor at thing.net
Fri Sep 1 18:24:58 EDT 2006


For my students I started a bibliography of new media: it is grouped by
topical orientation and books appear alongside related art projects. 

<http://tinyurl.com/fcny8>  

A short list of readings:

Wenger, E., McDermott, R., Snyder, W. (2002) Cultivating Communities of
Practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. 

Ellul, J. (1964) The Technological Society. New York: Vintage Books.
Ellul's deterministic classic warns of the social implications of
technology, in fact arguing that technology's internal logic and
efficiency may not meet real human needs.

Willinsky, J. (2006) The Access Principle. The Case for Open Access to
Research and Scholarship. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Willinsky makes the case for open access, arguing that the fruits of
scholarship should be shared with a widest possible audience.

Standage, T. (1998) The Victorian Internet. The Remarkable Story of the
Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's Online Pioneers. New York:
Berkley Books.
Going beyond the Internet hype, this book examines the way in which
people have communicated across distances for centuries.

Keeble, L., Loader, B. eds. (2001) Community Informatics. Shaping
Computer-Mediated Social Relations. London: Routledge.
This book addresses issues such as the rise of networked individualism,
computer-mediated self-help, and participation in the information
society.

Tenner, E. (2003) Our Own Devices. How Technology Remakes Humanity. New
York: Vintage Books.
>From reclining chairs, keyboards, and eyeglasses to helmets, Tenner
investigates the history of invention of everyday objects. He examines
our relationship to these objects: the way we are shaped by them and how
we, in turn, shape them.

Winner, L. (1977) Autonomous Technology. Technics-out-of-Control as a
Theme of Political Thought.
This book deals with uncontrolled technological development, the
relationship between society and technology.

Sterling, B. (2005) Shaping Things. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Gilmore, D. (2004) We the Media. Grassroots journalism by the people,
for the people. Cambridge: O'Reilly.
The book on effective citizen journalism.

Warschauer, M. (2003) Technology and Social Inclusion. Rethinking the
Digital Divide. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Mark Warschauer's insightful book outlines the preconditions for
participation in Internet cultures, a detailed look at the gap between
the information have and have-nots, updating our understanding of the
digital divide.

Gitelman, L. (1999) Scripts, Grooves, and Writing Machines. Representing
Technology in the Edison Era. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
This study of machines for writing at the end of the 19th century in
America explores the relationship between textuality and technology.

Feenberg, A. (2002) Transforming Technology. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Feenberg addresses the question of neutrality of technology and renders
the influence that technology has on our daily lives.

Ferre, F. (1995) Philosophy of Technology. Athens: The University of
Georgia Press.

Ihde, D. (1993) Philosophy of Technology. An Introduction. New York:
Paragon House.

Brown, J. S., Duguid, P. (2002) The Social Life of Information. Boston:
Harvard Business School Press.
Examining the social implications of technology, this book is described
as an antidote to all digital silliness. 

Wegner, E. (1998) Communities of Practice. Learning, Meaning, and
Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wegners argues for the term "community of practice" in the context of
knowledge production.

Hardin, R. (1982) Collective Action. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press. 

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There are also links to several readings specific to mobile devices at:
<http://del.icio.us/Trebor/Mobile_Devices>

Best,
Trebor Scholz




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