[Air-l] history of Internet Studies? (long)

[Denise N. Rall]

There are some histories, or historical views:

Silver, D. (2000). Looking backwards, looking forward:
Cyberculture studies 1990-2000. Web.studies: Rewiring
media studies for the digital age. D. Gauntlett.
Oxford, Oxford University Press: 19-30.
	
Silver, D. (2000). "A Field matures: Cyberstudies at
the turn of the millennium [online] Available at:
http://www.easst.net/easst004.html 19(4).

Strate, L. (1999). "The varieties of cyberspace:
Problems in definition and delimitation." Western
Journal of Communication 63(3): 382-412.
	
and some helpful papers by Aoir members:
	
Silver, D. (2004). "Internet/cyberculture/digital
culture/new media/fill-in-the-blank studies." New
Media & Society 6(1): 55-64.
	
Wellman, B. (2004). "Internet studies: fifteen, ten
and 0 years ago." New Media & Society 6(1): 123-129.

Rall, D. N. (2005). Exploring the range of
disciplinary backgrounds of  internet scholars
participating in AoIR meetings, 2000-2002. Internet
Research Annual Volume 3. M. Consalvo and K.
O'Riordan. New York, Peter Lang: 107-122.

Also a review of internet studies to date was
(unfortunately) rejected by the editors of the TIS
special issue, but takes a global view of internet
studies from 1999-present. Contact me personally if
you want a copy of the manuscript.

Regarding the internet as a research object, consider
the following:

Johns, M. D., S.-L. S. Chen, et al., Eds. (2004).
Online social research: Methods, issues, & ethics. New
York, Peter Lang.

Gurak, L. (2001). Cyberliteracy. Cambridge, MA, Yale
University Press.

Regarding disciplines:
	
Becher, T. and P. R. Trowler (2001). Academic tribes
and territories: Intellectual enquiry and the cultures
of disciplines. Buckingham, UK, SRHE and Open
University Press.

Weingart, P. and N. Stehr, Eds. (2000). Practising
interdisciplinarity. Toronto, University of Toronto
Press.
	
I would generally agree with Nancy that it's not a
discipline, however, media and communiction scholars
have different ideas about disciplinarity to mine,
which derive from the educational literature. 
However, there's been plenty of recent research to
support that it could be an interdiscipline or as she
says, a field of study. I would argue that it's
stronger than a field of study, rather a hybridized
(inter- trans- post- multi- cross-) discipline. 
William Dutton of the Oxford Internet Institute
suggested 'cross-discipline' and the term 'cross
disciplinary' research is used in the AoIR statement
of purpose.

My own definition follows:

Rall, D. N. (2003/2004). "A preliminary definition of
internet studies and research [online] Available at:."
http://scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/drall [1
August 2004].

Cheers, Denise



Denise N. Rall, Ph.D. submitted, School of Environ. Science,
Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA
Tuesdays: Room T2.12, +61 (0)2 6620 3577 or Mobile 0438 233 344
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/drall/index.html
Virtual member, Cybermetrics Group, University of Wolverhampton, UK
http://cybermetrics.wlv.ac.uk/index.html