| Blogistan: The Internet and Politics in Iran Contributor(s): Sreberny, Annabelle (Author), Khiabany, Gholam (Author) |
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ISBN: 1845116070 ISBN-13: 9781845116071 Publisher: I. B. Tauris & Company OUR PRICE: $34.15 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2008 Annotation: The Islamic Republic of Iran - of all places - has become a hub of cyber activity. It has an estimated 700,000 bloggers. The Internet is celebrated as an agent of social change in countries like Iran, where censorship is prevalent, but most literature on the subject has struggled to grasp what this new phenomenon actually means. In what ways does the Internet function differently to print culture? Are we seeing the construction of a new kind of public sphere? Will the Iranian blogosphere create a culture of dissidence, which eventually overpowers the Islamist regime? In this groundbreaking work, the authors give a flavour of contemporary Internet culture in Iran, and analyse how this new form of communication is affecting the social and political life of the country. Although they warn against stereotyping bloggers as dissidents, they argue that the Internet is changing things there, in ways which neither the government nor the democracy movement could have anticipated. 'Blogistan' offers a new reading of Iranian politics, and a new conceptual framework for understanding the politics of the Internet, with major implications for China, the wider Middle East and beyond. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Computers | Web - Blogging - Social Science | Media Studies - Political Science | World - General |
| Dewey: 302.231 |
| Series: International Library of Iranian Studies |
| Physical Information: 0.8" H x 5.4" W x 8.4" (0.65 lbs) 232 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Middle East - Chronological Period - 21st Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The protests unleashed by Iran's disputed presidential election in June 2009 brought the Islamic Republic's vigorous cyber culture to the world's attention. Iran has an estimated 700,000 bloggers, and new media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were thought to have played a key role in spreading news of the protests. The internet is often celebrated as an agent of social change in countries like Iran, but most literature on the subject has struggled to grasp what this new phenomenon actually means. How is it different from print culture[unk] Is it really a new public sphere[unk] Will the Iranian blogosphere create a culture of dissidence, which eventually overpowers the Islamist regime[unk] In this groundbreaking work, the authors give a flavour of contemporary internet culture in Iran and analyse how this new form of communication is affecting the social and political life of the country. Although they warn against stereotyping bloggers as dissidents, they argue that the internet is changing things in ways which neither the government nor the democracy movement could have anticipated. |