Synopses & Reviews
What will the future look like? To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, from Blade Runner to Cloud Atlas, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising.and#160;and#160;The collectionandrsquo;s fourteen original essays trace the discourse of techno-orientalism across a wide array of media, from radio serials to cyberpunk novels, from Sax Rohmerandrsquo;s Dr. Fu Manchu to Firefly. and#160;Applying a variety of theoretical, historical, and interpretive approaches, the contributors consider techno-orientalism a truly global phenomenon. In part, they tackle the key question of how these stereotypes serve to both express and assuage Western anxieties about Asiaandrsquo;s growing cultural influence and economic dominance. Yet the book also examines artists who have appropriated techno-orientalist tropes in order to critique racist and imperialist attitudes.and#160;and#160;Techno-Orientalism is the first collection to define and critically analyze a phenomenon that pervades both science fiction and real-world news coverage of Asia. With essays on subjects ranging from wartime rhetoric of race and technology to science fiction by contemporary Asian American writers to the cultural implications of Korean gamers, this volume offers innovative perspectives and broadens conventional discussions in Asian American Cultural studies.and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;
Review
andquot;Thoughtful and insightful, this volume compellingly reshapes debates over global media with its rare interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between the global and the local.andquot;
Review
andquot;Exploring patterns of critical intervention, cultural remediation, and runaway speculation, these imaginative essays channel the logic of our zeitgeist, for Beyond Globalization opens the multiplicities of world making.andquot;
Review
andquot;Situating itself at the nexus of Asian and Asian American Studies, Techno-Orientalism covers an exciting range of topics and draws productive connections between literature, popular culture, technology, and the emergent geopolitics of what has been called the Pacific Century. This collection is a vital contribution to global media and cultural studies.andquot;
Review
andquot;and#39;Techno-orientalismand#39; is everywhere. This volume demonstrates for the first time that it is an indispensable critical category for contemporary thought. Any attempt to think globalization, neo-liberalism, and the human is incomplete without it.andquot;
Review
"A very valuable addition to the literature on political campaigns and communications, serving an important role in addressing the intersection of technology and human behavior."
Review
"Politicking Online is a comprehensive, thoughtful, and idea-provoking survey of the current state of political communication on the Internet and other new media venues...A useful reference for the scholar and student as well as a very informative read for citizens in our rapidly evolving e-democracy."
Review
"Panagopoulos has assembled 16 original studies that explore how some of the political campaigns of 2008 adapted to and used the Internet as a tool to inform, target, and mobilize volunteers, contributors, and voters. The most innovative aspects of this anthology are the four essays that discuss how blogs and social networking sites were utilized in campaigns. Overall, this innovative text provides a solid foundation for understanding how new technology is influencing political campaigns. Highly recommended."
Review
"These contributions help us better understand the many different ways the web is leaving its mark on politics. Politicking Online is recommended reading for scholars and students of American politics, electorial campaigns and political communication, and a valuable addition to existing scholarship on the Web and politics. The findings should be thought-provoking and raise new questions as we conduct democacy during an ongoing technological revolution."
Synopsis
Does living in a globally networked society mean that we are moving toward a single, homogenous world culture? Or, are we headed for clashes between center and periphery, imperial and subaltern, Western and non-Western, First and Third World? The interdisciplinary essays in Beyond Globalization present us with another possibilityandmdash;that new media will lead to new kinds of andldquo;worldmaking.andrdquo;
This provocative volume brings together the best new work of scholars within such diverse fields as history, sociology, anthropology, film, media studies, and art. Whether examining the inauguration of a virtual community on the website Second Life or investigating the appropriation of biotechnology for transgenic art, this collection highlights how mediated practices have become integral to global culture; how social practices have emerged out of computer-related industries; how contemporary apocalyptic narratives reflect the anxieties of a U.S. culture facing global challenges; and how design, play, and technology help us understand the histories and ideals
behind the digital architectures that mediate our everyday actions.
Synopsis
Beyond Globalization highlights how mediated practices have become integral to global culture; how social practices have emerged out of computer-related industries; how contemporary apocalyptic narratives reflect the anxieties of a U.S. culture facing global challenges; and how design, play, and technology help us understand the histories and ideals behind the digital architectures that mediate our everyday actions. This provocative volume brings together the best new work of scholars within such diverse fields as history, sociology, anthropology, film, media studies, and art.
Synopsis
To judge from many speculative fiction films and books, the future will be full of cities that resemble Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, and it will be populated mainly by cold, unfeeling citizens who act like robots. Techno-Orientalism investigates the phenomenon of imagining Asia and Asians in hypo- or hyper-technological terms in literary, cinematic, and new media representations, while critically examining the stereotype of Asians as both technologically advanced and intellectually primitive, in dire need of Western consciousness-raising.and#160;and#160;
Synopsis
Of the many groundbreaking developments in the 2008 presidential election, the most important may well be the use of the Internet. In Politicking Online contributors explorethe impact of technology for electioneering purposes, from running campaigns andincreasing representation to ultimately strengthening democracy. The book reveals how social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are used in campaigns along withe-mail, SMS text messaging, and mobile phones to help inform, target, mobilize, and communicate with voters.
While the Internet may have transformed the landscape of modern political campaigns throughout the world, Costas Panagopoulos reminds readers that officials and campaign workers need to adapt to changing circumstances, know the limits of their methods, and combine new technologies with more traditional techniques to achieve an overall balance.
About the Author
A. ANEESH is an associate professor of sociology and global studies at the University of Wisconsinandndash;Milwaukee and the author of Virtual Migration: The Programming of Globalization.
LANE HALL is a professor in the department of English at the University of Wisconsinandndash;Milwaukee. His work examines digital art and culture, procedural and experimental literature, and the history of the book.
PATRICE PETRO is a professor of English and film studies at the University of Wisconsinandndash;Milwaukee. She is past president of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies and has written and edited numerous books, including Idols of Modernity: Movie Stars of the 1920s, Rethinking Global Security: Media, Popular Culture, and the War on Terror, and Global Currents: Media and Technology Now (all published by Rutgers University Press).
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Making of Worlds
1. Global Media and Culture
2. Burning Man at Google: A Cultural Infrastructure for New Media Production
3. Apocalypse by Subtraction: Late Capitalism and the Trauma of Scarcity
4. These Great Urbanist Games: New Babylon and Second Life
5. Format Television and Israeli Telediplomacy
6. Mediating andldquo;Neutralityandrdquo;: Latino Diasporic Films
7. Killing Me Softly: Brazilian Film and Bare Life
8. The Man, the Corpse, and the Icon in Motorcycle Diaries: Utopia, Pleasure, and a New Revolutionary Imagination
9. Saudades on the Amazon: Toward a Soft Sweet Name for Involution
10. States of Distraction: Media Art Strategies Within Public Conditions
11. Bio Art
Notes
About the Contributors
Index