Research Colloquium at SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology in Surrey presents

Andrew Feenberg

Wednesday January 31, 2007 at 1:30 pm

Room 14-400, SFU Surrey Campus, 14th floor Central City Tower

Andrew Feenberg

Title: A Democratic Internet?

Abstract:

The debate over the contribution of the Internet to democracy is far from settled. Some point to the empowering effects of online discussion and fund raising on recent electoral campaigns in the US to argue that the Internet will restore the public sphere. Others claim that the Internet is just a virtual mall, a final extension of global capitalism into every corner of our lives. This paper argues for the democratic thesis with some qualifications. The most important contribution of the Internet to democracy is not necessarily its effects on the electoral process but rather its ability to assemble a public around technical networks that enroll individuals scattered over wide geographical areas. Medical patients, video game players, musical performers, and many other publics have emerged on the Internet with surprising consequences.

Bio:

Andrew Feenberg is Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Technology in the School of Communication of Simon Fraser University. He was previously professor of Philosophy at San Diego State University. He has also taught at Duke University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the Universities of California, San Diego and Irvine, the Sorbonne (Paris I), the University of Paris-Dauphine, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, the University of Tokyo, Harvey Mudd College, and Santa Clara University.

Dr. Feenberg is the author of Lukacs, Marx and the Sources of Critical Theory (Rowman and Littlefield, 1981, Oxford University Press, 1986), Critical Theory of Technology (Oxford University Press, 1991), Alternative Modernity (University of California Press, 1995), Questioning Technology (Routledge, 1999), and Heidegger and Marcuse (Routledge, 2005). A second edition of Critical Theory of Technology appeared with Oxford in 2002 under the title Transforming Technology.

Philosophy of technology is enriched by contact with real technical domains. Feenberg’s approach to philosophy of technology has been applied to the study of the Internet, in particular online community and online education. He is currently pursuing these studies with his graduate students and post-doctoral associates at the ACT Lab.

The ACT Lab was established at the Harbour Centre campus of Simon Fraser University by a grant from the Canadian Fund for Innovation. The lab is associated with the School of Communication. It is dedicated to research on communication technology and society, with an emphasis on Internet research and new media in the arts. The lab web site can be found at www.actlab.org.

(Re)Inventing the Internet: one day workshop, 23 Feb 2007

Andrew Feenberg's website