Some on this list may be interested in the MacArthur Foundation volume on Digital Media and Civic Engagement (Full details below)
******************************************************************************** From: Andrew Flanagin [EMAIL PROTECTED] The New Media Consortium and the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education, working in collaboration with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, are soliciting abstracts for chapters to appear in a series of volumes entitled the MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. The MacArthur Foundation Series will explore the intersection of digital media and learning from the perspectives of experts, visionaries, and thought leaders chosen from across the globe. As many as 60 authors will be selected to write chapters for one of the six volumes that will comprise the first topics in the series. The project enjoys substantial support; authors who are selected to participate will each receive an honorarium of $10,000 for their chapters. The Call for Abstracts contains considerable information on the project, submission information, and detailed descriptions of each of the topics. That document can be viewed at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/MacArthur_Series_CFA.pdf Please share this announcement broadly -- we hope to reach both the leading thinkers and writers in the world on these topics as well as those whose ideas are significant but less well known. ------------------------------------------------------------- Digital Media and Civic Engagement Editor: Lance Bennett, University of Washington This volume explores the idea that digital media enable new forms of participation, collaboration, distribution and social relationships. This volume explores applications and effects of information technologies in the following areas of civic engagement as they apply to contemporary youth. Citizenship, identity and civic education: How are digital media applications addressing shifts in citizen identity, attitudes toward government and authority, and participation that is less driven by sense of obligation? How are young people redefining politics and participation, both online and off, and what are the implications for democratic life? What approaches to civic education incorporating ICTs can supplement textbook instruction to instill more lasting effects on future participation? Relationships between online and offline experiences: What kinds of online participation count as political, and who says they do? How do various forms of online engagement affect offline participation is there evidence that they encourage, replace or merely serve as pale substitutes for more conventional forms of participation? Elections and campaigns: Many believe that websites such as Moveon.org significantly influenced involvement in the last presidential election and continue to influence youth involvement in political activities. These claims need to be assessed. Other applications in electoral politics also need to be examined, from interactive campaign sites, and youth engagement networks, to targeted e-mail appeals. Political activism and organization: It has been theorized that digital media may serve to level hierarchical or authoritarian relations within or across economic, social, or political institutions and organizations. To what extent is such a leveling phenomenon experienced and understood by young people and how might it shape their understanding of civic, national, or global engagement, values and goals? Have new network and affiliation models changed conventional interest organizations that have experienced graying and declining memberships? Is there a loss of goal setting capacity compared to hierarchical organizations? Information and participation: What is the future of news, given its growing abandonment by younger audiences? Is there evidence that digital media can inform and engage new generations? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TELECOM-CITIES Current searchable archives (Feb. 1, 2006 to present) at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Old searchble archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
