[ecrea] Special section of IJoC on Max Weber and Digital Divide

We are pleased to inform you that our special section of IJoC on Max
Weber and Digital Divide studies has now been released.

It is our hope that this push to consider Weber in digital divide
studies will stimulate much debate.

Best regards

Massimo Ragnedda (also on the behalf of Glenn Muschert)



International Journal of Communication 
Publishes Special Section on
“Max Weber and Digital Divide Studies”

Seminal sociologist Max Weber rarely wrote about media dynamics;
however, the Weberian perspective offers rich potential for the analysis
of various media issues, including the study of digital divides. In
particular, the contribution of a Weberian school of thought to the
field is the addition of noneconomic and nontechnical concerns to the
study of digital inequalities, most notably the importance of
status/prestige, legitimacy, group affiliations, life chances, and
political relations as areas of focus.

Facets of social life are migrating and expanding on-line, including the
functioning of key social institutions; yet digital participation (like
all other aspects of social life) remains unequal. A Weberian
perspective allows a multifaceted view of such digital divides which
include the interplay of social class (lifestyle and culture), social
status (prestige and market influence), and power (political impact).
Indeed, these key distinctions Weber identified about inequality are
still significant and important in the digital age, although this
perspective is in its nascent stage. This Special Section focuses
precisely on the potential of applying Max Weber’s thought to digital
divide studies.


This Special Section of the International Journal of Communication
presents a fresh look at insights garnered in studies of digital
inequality via the application of Weberian thought. It invites the
reader to consider the expanding conceptualization of inequalities in
digital spheres, one which moves beyond the economic and technical
dimensions.

Max Weber and Digital Divide Studies—guest-edited by Massimo Ragnedda
and Glenn W. Muschert—is a Special Section of IJoC.  It presents four
theoretical essays (though some are backed with empirical analyses)
focusing on multiple facets of Weber’s theory of stratification as
applied to the digital sphere. Thus, the articles in this collection
examine issues of social status, class relations, life chances, and
political participation.

Contributors:

·          Dimitar Blagoev, “St. Kliment Ohridski,” University of 
Sofia,
Bulgaria

·          Grant Blank, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK

·          Darja Groselj, Oxford Internet Institute, University of
Oxford, UK

·          Glenn W. Muschert, Miami University, USA

·          Massimo Ragnedda, Northumbria University, UK

·          Ralph Schroeder, Oxford Internet Institute, University of
Oxford, UK

·          Bridgette Wessels, University of Sheffield, UK

Read this Special Section that just published August 14, 2015 at
http://ijoc.org <http://ijoc.org/>.


--
Massimo Ragnedda
Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication
Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK)
mragnedda.wordpress.com <http://mragnedda.wordpress.com>
skype: massimo.ragnedda

http://northumbria.academia.edu/MassimoRagnedda
Connect with me on *Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook*



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