[Air-l] social class and online community

[Denise N. Rall]

Yes, the issue of class in computing generally was of
special interest to noted ethnographer David Hakken,
and I would suggest that his/Barbara Andrew's research
applies as well (with some new wrinkles of course) to
online coummities:

Hakken, D., & with Andrews, B. 1993. Computing myths,
class realities: An ethnography of technology and
working people in Sheffield, England. Boulder:
Westview Press.

Hakken, D. 1991. If computing is a cultural process,
what constructs should inform its practice? Paper
presented at the Annual Meeting American
Anthropological Association, Chicago, IL

Hakken, D. 1993. Computing and social change: New
technology and workplace transformation, 1980-1990. In
Annual Review of Anthropology (Vol. 22, pp. 107-132).

Actually my PhD thesis looks at internet scholarship
as a potential exercise in cross-purposes between
academic theory and real life pursuit of knowledge in
the community of internet scholars, and to explicate
that arena, I used Hoggart:
Hoggart, R. 1957. The uses of literacy: Aspects of
working-class life, with special reference to
publications and entertainments. London: Chatto &
Windus.

Of course it is a different use of Hoggart's theory as
the working-class became an extended metaphor for
"real life pursuit of knowledge" rather than a measure
related to class itself. But Hoggart's tensions
between 'home' and 'school' might be useful within
virtual worlds. 

If this makes no sense query me off list, thanks!

Denise





Denise N. Rall, PhD thesis submitted, School of Environ. Science,
Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA
Tuesdays: Room T2.17, +61 (0)2 6620 3577 or Mobile 0438 23 33 44
http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/rsm/staff/pages/drall/
Virtual member, Cybermetrics Group, University of Wolverhampton, UK
http://cybermetrics.wlv.ac.uk/index.html


 
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