′By far the most sophisticated historical and theoretical treatment of the Internet to appear so far, yet a real pleasure to read. Enormously comprehensive and tough minded,
TheInternet and Society dramatically raises the level of discussion about a phenomenon that is radically changing the way we live.′
James Lull, Professor of Communication Studies, San Jose State University, California
′Slevin sets out to challenge traditional ways of looking at the internet and he achieves this. His book is challenging and thought–provoking, and a first step towards an understanding of the cultural impact of the internet. His work is well informed and well based in previous scholarship.′ Business History
′An insightful analysis into the interplay between communication and culture.′ Sunday Tribune (Dublin)
′This book deserves much praise. Slevin provides a well reasoned and systematic account that illuminates the social situatedness and significance of the internet within contemporary society.′ Lincoln Dahlberg, Convergence
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Preface.
Introduction.
1. Some Developments that have Transformed Modern Societies.
2. The Rise of the Internet.
3. Cultural Transmission and the Internet.
4. The Internet and Forms of Human Association.
5. Organizations and the Internet.
6. The Internet, the Self and Experience in Everyday Life.
7. Publicness and the Internet.
8. Globalization and the Internet.
9. Regulation and the Internet.
Concluding Reflections.
Notes.
Index.
Professor James Slevin , University of Roskilde
The Internet and Society explores the impact of the internet on modern culture beyond the fashionable celebration of ′anything goes′ online culture or the overly pessimistic conceptions tainted by the logic of domination. In this major new work, James Slevin develops an original account of the internet and relates it to the analysis of culture and communication in late modern societies.
Slevin offers a critical appraisal of contributions to the study of the internet and its related networks such as intranets and extranets. He argues that these studies fail to deal adequately with the nature of communication and its role in an increasingly uncertain world.
Slevin addresses this deficiency by elaborating a distinctive social theory of the internet and its impact. He develops his argument by offering an in–depth examination of the connections between the rise of the internet and new issues concerning the state, political and economic organization, the process of self–formation, globalization, publicness, regulation and, above all, the management of risk and uncertainty. Throughout the book, James Slevin relates his analysis of the internet to a variety of substantive examples of internet use from around the world and sets out and redefines the tasks for further study.
This book will be of interest to second–year undergraduates and above in media and communications studies, cultural studies, sociology and social theory and students and academics across the social sciences who are interested in the impact of new communication technologies.