Alternative and activist new media - Leah A Lievrouw

Alternative and Activist New Media provides a rich andaccessible overview of the ways in which activists, artists, andcitizen groups around the world use new media and informationtechnologies to gain visibility and voice, present alternative ormarginal views, share their own DIY information systems andcontent, and otherwise resist, talk back to, or confront dominantmedia culture. Today, a lively and contentious cycle of capture,cooptation, and subversion of information, content, and systemdesign marks the relationship between the mainstream'center' and the interactive, participatory'edges' of media culture.

Five principal forms of alternative and activist new media projectsare introduced, including the characteristics that make themdifferent from more conventional media forms and content. The booktraces the historical roots of these projects in alternative media,social movements, and activist art, including analyses of key casestudies and links to relevant electronic resources. Alternativeand Activist New Media will be a useful addition to any courseon new media and society, and essential for readers interested innew media activism.