[Air-l] Practice vs Scholarship

[Kevin Sherman]

Thanks everybody for your input.  It has been very helpful and
encouraging, encouragement I really needed at this point in time.  
 
I posted this new vs old activism question to a list owned by both
scholars and activists and the activists pretty much said: "activism is
activism"  which i read to mean that in the past people have tried to
change things (the world?) and today people are still trying to change
things (the world?). (the response to this, i think, is that while the
core reasons for activism haven't changed, perhaps the way in which that
activism is carried out, has).  But their response also had a decidedly
anti-scholarship feel to it--"while you scholars are busy studying
activism, we're busy actually doing it.  by the time your findings come
out, we've moved on to new things."  
 
But isn't that the plight of the scholar no matter what they
study...especially insofar as technology-related topics are concerned? 
Should I take that response to mean that I shouldn't bother studying
activism--in other words, are we talking to ourselves or are we making a
difference in the lives of those who practice what we study?  Guess I'm
having a bit of a...moment.  sorry.
 
Kevin Sherman
PhD Candidate
Centre for Communication Research
Auckland University of Technology


>>> massa at itc.it 22/11/2006 10:52 a.m. >>>
It seems nobody suggested this edited collection:

Cyberactivism: on-line activism in theory and practice. London:
Routledge.
Find a review at
http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/9.1/reviews/depew/index.htm 

I have in my toread list this paper that is in this edited collection
(but I haven't read it yet):
Garrido, M., & Halavais, A. (2003). Mapping networks of support for
the Zapatista movement. In M. McCaughey & M. D. Ayers (Eds.),

Hope it helps

P.

On 11/21/06, Kevin Sherman <kevin.sherman at aut.ac.nz> wrote:
> Can anyone direct me to significant literature regarding what
> constitutes old political activism vs new activism--particularly
insofar
> as its organisation, structure and implementation is concerned?  Of
> interest is how (and whether) the Internet plays a role in what some
are
> calling a new (global?) activism.
>
> Alternatively, if you think there's nothing particularly new about
> activism, I'd be interested in that as well...
>
> I realise this is a fairly broad question, but your responses
needn't
> be similarly expansive--just a quick thought here or there would be
> greatly appreciated!
>
> Kevin Sherman
> PhD Candidate
> Centre for Communication Research
> Auckland University of Technology
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