Social Movements and New Technology

The emergence of new communication technologies (such as the Internet and social media networking sites and platforms) has strongly affected social movement activism. In this compelling and timely book, Victoria Carty examines these movements and their uses of digital technologies within the context of social movement theory and history.

With an accessible and unique mix of theory and real-world examples, Social Movements and New Technology takes readers on a tour through MoveOn and Tea Party e-mail campaigns, the hacktavist tactics of Anonymous, global online protests against rapists and rape culture, and the tweets and Facebook pages that accompanied uprisings across the Arab world, Europe, and the United States. In each case study, the reader is invited to examine the movement, organization, or protest and their use of digital tools through the lens of social movement theory. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite critical thinking, further reflection, and debate.

Author Biography

Victoria Carty teaches in the sociology department at Chapman University. She is widely recognized for her work on the sociological implications of new technology she wrote the entries on The Internet and Social Movements” and Electronic Protest” for Blackwell encyclopaedia of Social and Political Movements and recently published a book of her own research, Wired and Mobilizing: Social Movements, New Technology, and Electoral Politics. Her accomplishments in the classroom have been recognized with the Wang-Fradkin award for excellence in scholarship and teaching (at Chapman) and Multicultural and International Student Affairs Office award for outstanding dedication and commitment to furthering student success (at Niagara).