scholarly journals Post-City (III): Co-spatiality Politics and New Mediality

Author(s):  
Dmitri Zamiatin

One of the most significant factors influencing the co-spatialities regimes of post-urban communities is the development of new urban media. On the one hand, new urban media symbolizes the complex transition to new post-urban communities and new spatial regimes of their existence; on the other hand, they are the basic element of the newly emerging policies of co-spatialities. From the phenomenological point of view, post-politics is treated as the growing dominance of flat communicative ontologies in post-urban spaces, characterized by the disintegration of the traditional modern methods of communication. A post-urban locality is defined as a medial co-being, centering the next here-and-now cartography of imagination, which can be considered as a post-political action. The de-territorialization of post-urban communities takes place through the “smoothing” of urban spaces, turning them into mostly “smooth spaces” with the help of the new media. Specific local geo-cultures, a new, “rhizomatic” type whose development is based on the post-political transcription of socialization and medialization of urban spaces, are formed. The affectivity of post-urban co-spatialities is manifested in the gradual increase in the number of new specific urban actors that herald the slipping away of traditional state and municipal policies. The post-political can be considered as a sphere of geo-semiotic violence aimed at the over-coding of co-spatial situations. The mapping of co-spatialities reproduces the Earth as a total chora of post-political ontology. The post-city nomos constantly forms a communicative periphery with the missing center, where any message can signal the transactions of imagination aimed at the devaluation of “center–periphery” systems.

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Thomas Olesen

Formålet med artiklen er at tilbyde en teoretisk og konceptuel ramme for forskning i uretfærdighedssymboler og sociale bevægelser. Uretfærdighedssymboler forstås som symboler, der for et kollektiv kondenserer og udstiller en generel uretfærdig tilstand i samfundet/verden. Studiet af uretfærdighedssymboler fremstår underbelyst i den politiske sociologi. Artiklen arbejder i to spor. På den ene side argumenteres det, at den nuværende samfundstype med globale kommunikationsstrømme og nye medieteknologier promoverer betydningen af uretfærdighedssymboler i de sociale bevægelsers aktiviteter. På den anden side pointeres det, at relationen mellem symboler og sociale bevægelser på ingen måde er historisk ny. Tværtimod er grundpåstanden, ikke mindst inspireret af den sene Durkheim, at symboler er et grundlæggende element i reproduktionen af menneskelige samfund. En udforskning af dynamikken mellem uretfærdighedssymboler og sociale bevægelser er sociologisk interessant af to grunde. For det første er uretfærdighedssymboler resultatet af politiske menings- og værdiprocesser, hvor kollektive aktører tillægger begivenheder, personer og andre objekter en universaliserende betydning. For det andet indgår uretfærdighedssymboler som en del af vores kollektive erindring og optræder derfor som idemæssige ressourcer, der kan mobiliseres uden for deres rumlige og tidslige forankring. Sociale bevægelser har med andre ord en social og politisk dobbeltrolle, hvor de både er skabere og ”forbrugere” af symboler. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Thomas Olesen: Injustice Symbols and Social Movements The purpose of the article is to offer a theoretical and conceptual framework for research on injustice symbols and social movements. Injustice symbols are understood as symbols that condense and expose an overall unjust situation in society/the world. The study of these symbols appears somewhat neglected in political sociology. The article pursues two tracks. On the one hand, it argues that the present type of society with global currents of communication and new media technologies is promoting the significance of injustice symbols in the activities of social movements. On the other hand, it stresses that the relation between these symbols and social movements is by no means historically new. On the contrary, not least inspired by Durkheim, the basic argument is that symbols constitute a fundamental element in the reproduction of human societies. An investigation into the dynamics between injustice symbols and social movements is interesting from a sociological point of view for two reasons. First, injustice symbols are the result of political opinion- and value processes whereby collective actors ascribe a universalizing meaning to events, individuals and other objects. Second, these symbols form part of our collective memory. Consequently, they act as ideational resources that can be mobilized outside their spatial and time-related framework. In sum, social movements have a social and political double role where they are both creators and users of symbols. Keywords: social movements, symbols, new media ecology, Durkheim, injustice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (261) ◽  
pp. 163-178
Author(s):  
François Viangalli

AbstractThe Corsican language is in a paradoxical situation characterized, on the one hand, by a decline in its use which is directly related to strong political action by the French Republic in favour of a complete centralization of the language in the country – which began in the middle of the nineteenth century as regards Corsica in particular – and, on the other hand, by a strong political desire, expressed by a large majority of the population and carried out by the Corsican Assembly, to initiate a real program of linguistic revitalization in order to grant the language of the island an official status. This situation enlightens the linguistic tension hidden behind the official monolingualism that the French Constitution enacts. It constitutes a real challenge for the State, on both political and legal grounds. This article expounds, from a political and legal point of view, especially in municipal, international and European law, the different obstacles such a desire for a revitalization will encounter, as well as the potential legal disputes that could emerge from it, on the base of the European Convention on Human Rights or European Union law.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Rivas

AbstractThe purpose of this article is, on the one hand, to explain what clientelism is through a description of its characteristics in its current Argentinean form. On the other hand, it will evaluate clientelism from a legal and political point of view. In order to achieve these purposes, we will distinguish clientelism from legitimate politics, and then offer a critical evaluation in case there were any differences. Regarding the first objective, it will be necessary to resort to some kind of canonical definition, broad enough to grasp different clientelistic phenomena. Then, it will be possible to explain its Argentinean particularities, noting that it happens to be a specially interesting kind of clientelism because of its refinement and breadth. As to the second objective, we will oppose to the reasoning that equates clientelism and legitimate types of political action. We will argue that ordinary politics is different and that, in fact, this difference turns clientelism illegitimate. Criticism against clientelism may include empirical approaches but, as these only show deficiencies of a particular public policy, they lack the ability to be extended to other cases. Alternative criticism may be more interesting, but it will necessarily be weaker as it may only reveal a model of citizens and political relations upon which clientelism is grounded.


In medias res ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (16) ◽  
pp. 2489-2498
Author(s):  
Divna Vuksanović ◽  
Dragan Ćalović

Taking the philosophy of media as a starting point, this text examines the possibilities, forms and status of critique in our times which are dominated, at least in the West, by what is known as media culture. On the one hand, the text avoids reducing systemic and strategic critique of capitalism to merely a critical point of view, while on the other it problematizes and examines the critique of modern media practices. The authors implicitly conclude that merely asking these questions paves the road to comprehensive critical action, within the existing systems of this media universe, as well as beyond it, i.e. in the particular socio-economic system of thought and action. This text also examines the possibility of achieving critical practices through art, and in the context of emerging new technologies. Possibilities for critique within the framework of new media art are explored in particular, as this might revolutionize not only media practices, but also the social, historical and economical practices of capitalism as such.


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-81
Author(s):  
Juan Usubillaga

Cities today face a context in which traditional politics and policies struggle to cope with increasing urbanisation rates and growing inequalities. Meanwhile, social movements and political activists are rising up and inhabiting urban spaces as sites of contestation. However, through their practices, urban activists do more than just occupy spaces; they are fundamental drivers of urban transformation as they constantly face—and contest—spatial manifestations of power. This article aims to contribute to ongoing discussions on the role of activism in the field of urban design, by engaging with two concepts coming from the Global South: <em>insurgency</em> and <em>autonomy</em>. Through a historical account of the building of the Potosí-Jerusalén neighbourhood in Bogotá in the 1980s, it illustrates how both concepts can provide new insight into urban change by activism. On the one hand, the concept of insurgency helps unpack a mode of bottom-up action that inaugurates political spaces of contestation with the state; autonomy, on the other hand, helps reveal the complex nature of political action and the visions of urban transformation it entails. Although they were developed at the margins of conventional design theory and practice, both concepts are instrumental in advancing our understanding of how cities are shaped by activist practices. Thus, this article is part of a broader effort to (re)locate political activism in discussions about urban transformation, and rethink activism as a form of urban design practice.


Author(s):  
Guido Tejerina

Language is the first social science that man possesses. Languages change, usually very slowly, sometimes very quickly. There are many reasons why a language can change. An obvious reason is the connection between language and social consciousness. Then, the author is dedicated to the investigation of changes in the Spanish language that reflect those of society. The relevance of the subject is even more evident if we remember the speed with which social relations are changing in our time, new technologies are born, new media appear. The language accepted, adopted and sheltered new definitions of activities that are direct daughters of modern communication technologies. Its power of sociabilization and viralization impacted the anatomy of a language that lives in constant transformation. Language is a living entity, it grows, it transforms, adopts new terms. If it were not, we would continue speaking in Latin. To achieve the objective of identifying the connection between language changes and those of society, the author uses the following methods. On the one hand, he observes the changes in the meaning of words imposed by politicians to achieve a kind of nebula that we call politically correct. On the other hand, he comments on the new words that appear in the language thanks to technological development, through social networks and youth jargon. The last part is about language discrimination. To identify and describe the changes in language, the author analyzes from the linguistic point of view the speeches of modern political figures, newspaper texts and publications in social networks. As a result, the author clearly shows the connection of modern trends in the Spanish language with changes in society.


2020 ◽  
pp. 265-268
Author(s):  
Camila Vergara

This chapter discusses possible scenarios in which plebeian power could be institutionalized from the point of view of revolutionary politics. It argues that if the aim of revolution is liberty, which demands self-emancipatory political action, then revolutionary change could be achieved without the need of an outright revolution. It also refers to the redistribution of political power that could be done by revolutionary reformers within the boundaries of the Constitution or by the people themselves, claiming collective power and authority by disrupting the ordinary administration of power with their extraordinary political action in local assemblies. The chapter emphasizes that the only power with enough authority to lead structural reforms would be the one exerted by the assembled many themselves. It reviews the proposed blueprint for institutionalizing the power of the many that contributes to guiding prudent and able leaders, revolutionary vanguards, and commonsense people.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Caponnetto ◽  
Michele Milazzo

Man and technology seem to co-evolve into a process of reciprocal conditioning. On the one hand, the man modifies (and evolves) the technology according to his needs, on the other the technology revolutionates the man and the way in which it lives. Psychology, therefore, as a discipline afferent to the human sciences, is called to take an interest in this relationship and to understand its complexity. A fundamental role in this sense is covered by “cyberpsychology” which investigates all those psychological phenomena that are associated with technology and aims to analyse the processes of change triggered by the interaction between man and the new media. From the psychological point of view, if on the one hand it is important to understand how man changes in contact with the new technologies and to what problems he is meeting. On the other hand, there is a need to understand how new technologies, given their transformative potential, can find a place within the therapeutic practice. In this regard, some of the technologies used in the clinical field have been analysed including: virtual reality, biosensors, artificial intelligence and affective computing. With the aim of understanding to what extent and how technological progress and the emergence of new technologies can contribute and generate value within the psychological panorama. Following the PRISMA statement a bibliographic research was carried out, which provided for consultation of the Medline and PsycINFO databases. The criteria according to which works have been selected rather than others refer to their precision and sensitivity with which they propose to treat technological applications in the field of health psychology and from this the emergence of the new theme “CYBER HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY”. The results of the research suggest that the integrated use of psychological techniques and new technologies is extremely productive in terms of potential improvement of health and therefore of “health empowerment”. In this vision, new technologies are not intended to replace traditional procedures but to integrate them by making available features and potential that man does not have in nature. Given the great potential of the instruments analyzed that still today continue to evolve and refine it is advisable to know them, validate their effectiveness and adapt our operational models to new realities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Bulajić ◽  
Miomir Despotović ◽  
Thomas Lachmann

Abstract. The article discusses the emergence of a functional literacy construct and the rediscovery of illiteracy in industrialized countries during the second half of the 20th century. It offers a short explanation of how the construct evolved over time. In addition, it explores how functional (il)literacy is conceived differently by research discourses of cognitive and neural studies, on the one hand, and by prescriptive and normative international policy documents and adult education, on the other hand. Furthermore, it analyses how literacy skills surveys such as the Level One Study (leo.) or the PIAAC may help to bridge the gap between cognitive and more practical and educational approaches to literacy, the goal being to place the functional illiteracy (FI) construct within its existing scale levels. It also sheds more light on the way in which FI can be perceived in terms of different cognitive processes and underlying components of reading. By building on the previous work of other authors and previous definitions, the article brings together different views of FI and offers a perspective for a needed operational definition of the concept, which would be an appropriate reference point for future educational, political, and scientific utilization.


Author(s):  
Jesse Schotter

The first chapter of Hieroglyphic Modernisms exposes the complex history of Western misconceptions of Egyptian writing from antiquity to the present. Hieroglyphs bridge the gap between modern technologies and the ancient past, looking forward to the rise of new media and backward to the dispersal of languages in the mythical moment of the Tower of Babel. The contradictory ways in which hieroglyphs were interpreted in the West come to shape the differing ways that modernist writers and filmmakers understood the relationship between writing, film, and other new media. On the one hand, poets like Ezra Pound and film theorists like Vachel Lindsay and Sergei Eisenstein use the visual languages of China and of Egypt as a more primal or direct alternative to written words. But Freud, Proust, and the later Eisenstein conversely emphasize the phonetic qualities of Egyptian writing, its similarity to alphabetical scripts. The chapter concludes by arguing that even avant-garde invocations of hieroglyphics depend on narrative form through an examination of Hollis Frampton’s experimental film Zorns Lemma.


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