[Air-l] new vs old activism

[Frank Thomas]

Some ideas :

When were Greenpeace, Mécécins sans Frontiers (The French Doctors), The 
Red Cross founded - before or after the arrival of the Internet ?

Look into the literature on volunteering, go to your volunteer centre  : 
since when do churches, political parties, unions complain about a drop 
in activity by its members, a drop in membership - before or after the 
arrival of the Internet ?

Read Putnam on Social Capital (and don't believe that his model explains 
the changes in volunteering in other countries) Is the Internet a major 
explanatory factor in his analysis of the evolution of bridging capital 
in the US ?  Since when does traditional volunteering & door-to-door 
canvassing gets replaced by lobbying & mailing campaigns in Washington ?

And of course, read Castells & Barry, Riesman The Lonely Crowd (it's 
from 1961) to the ground swell

A technology can be an accelerator, a facilitator, a brake, in all cases 
an intervening variable, not a reason.

Just my 2 ct.
Frank



Kevin Sherman 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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-- 
..........................................
Dr. Frank Thomas
FTR Internet Research
93110 Rosny-sous-Bois
France