ERIC Number: EJ1026065
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0159-6306
EISSN: N/A
Digital Spring? New Media and New Politics on the Campus
Bessant, Judith
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v35 n2 p249-265 2014
Whilst the dynamics informing processes have taken time to become clear, civic resistance initiated by young people using new media began in Egypt in 2010 against the Mubarak regime, soon widened to Tunisia, Yemen and Libya. Known as the "Arab Spring", this phenomenon re-ignited discussion about the political role of digital space and its democratic potential. While parallels between authoritarian regimes and universities and educational institutions might seem overdrawn to some readers, I suggest there is value in considering the "Digital Spring" (apropos the "Arab Spring") as a metaphor to suggest the possibility that similar processes are taking place in schools and universities. This invites discussion about the political significance of digital space and its democratic potential in those institutions. To assess how some young people engage in digitally mediated politics within schools and universities, I identify five propositions which amalgamate descriptive and normative elements derived from Habermas and Dahlgren. These propositions offer an ideal taxonomy of normative and descriptive elements to establish whether digital technology promotes participation and debate in ways that sustain democratic practice.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Internet, Childrens Rights, Children, Democracy, Democratic Values, Public Opinion, Citizen Participation, Personal Autonomy, Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance, Web Sites, College Students, Student Attitudes, College Faculty, Computer Mediated Communication, Trust (Psychology), Electronic Publishing
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A