[Air-l] Re: is this internet studies?

[david silver]

On Mon, 22 Dec 2003, Irina Shklovski wrote:

> general. I do not think as a field, we have a choice of whether our field
> is funded, at least in part, with military money. We have that choice only
> as individual researchers, when we choose which grants to apply for and
> accept.

i agree that we have a choice as individual researchers, but i strongly
disagree that we don't have a choice on larger levels.  i think we can
make our ideas known in, say, faculty and graduate meetings and in
university-level committees.

i also wonder what the role of air is.  if air exists, in part, to give
collective voice to internet researchers, then this is something that
might want to be addressed, discussed, debated, etc.  in the very least,
it should be something that is made visible.

just because militarization has always been a part of academia, esp US
academia, doesn't mean we have to continue along this path.  if we
diverge, there will be of course certain losses (like $45 million grants
from the US army) but those losses come with certain gains too.

david