Lecture 6 Flashcards
What are Dahlberg’s four democratic positions?
- Liberal-Individualist
- Deliberative
- Counter-Publics
- Autonomist-Marxist
What are the two main ways digital media and technologies can be understood within democratic positions?
As tools: Used by independent agents to communicate and engage in activism.
As constitutive: They shape spaces, subjects, and practices, potentially creating new democratic societies.
What are Hannan’s two possible explanations for the breakdown of public discourse?
Media content (Fake news is the problem; fact-checking and media literacy are solutions).
Media technology (The dominant media of the current age shape public discourse).
What was Postman’s main argument in Amusing Ourselves to Death?
Each medium has its own discourse, and television turns public debate into entertainment, which hinders deep, critical reflection and promotes shallow, unchallenging engagement.
How does Hannan apply Postman’s ideas to social media?
Social media, with its character limits and engagement-based algorithms, fosters a discourse that prioritizes quick, shareable content over nuanced discussion, turning public discourse into a “global schoolyard.”
What does “From optimism to pessimism” refer to in the context of digital media and democracy?
It refers to the shift from viewing digital media as democratizing forces (e.g., during the Arab Spring) to seeing them as harmful to democracy (e.g., through fake news, echo chambers, and online hostility).
What perception of citizens does the Liberal-Individualist model emphasize?
Citizens are rational individuals who have pre-defined interests and make informed decisions based on personal benefit. There is no expectation for active participation beyond voting.
How does the Liberal-Individualist model define democracy?
Democracy is viewed as the aggregation of individual wills, most clearly expressed through elections. Political representatives compete in a marketplace of ideas to attract votes.
What role do digital media technologies play in the Liberal-Individualist model?
Digital media facilitate free flows of information, enabling individuals to access competing political perspectives and make informed choices.
How does the Deliberative model perceive the ideal citizen?
Citizens are seen as rational and engaged participants who form opinions through open and reasoned debate. They should seek common ground and be open to changing their opinions.
What is the Deliberative model’s understanding of democracy?
Democracy is based on the ‘force of the better argument,’ emphasizing rational debate and consensus-building over mere aggregation of individual preferences.
How do digital media technologies contribute to democracy in the Deliberative model?
They afford spaces for rational debate and public opinion formation, provided these spaces are not dominated by state or corporate interests.
What are the expectations for citizens in the Counter-Publics model?
Citizens are seen as affective subjects, driven by emotions and shared identities, who should be actively engaged in forming groups and contesting dominant ideologies.
How does the Counter-Publics model define democracy?
Democracy is seen as a continuous ideological struggle where marginalized groups form counter-publics to contest the boundaries of dominant discourses.
What role do digital media technologies play in the Counter-Publics model?
Digital media afford both inward (group identity formation) and outward (challenging mainstream discourses) functions, facilitating collective activism and contestation.
