Holeton, Composing Cyberspace Discussion Threads Chapter 5

Chapter 5 index || Forward Thinking || Research Links || More Online Readings & Resources || Electronic Discussion

1. re: Grossman and Katz
2. re: Grossman, Katz, and Winner
3. re: Schwartz and Varley
4. re: Grossman, Katz, Schwartz, and Varley
5. re: Electronic Democracy
New Threads for CC Online:
6. re: Grossman, Katz, Winner and the Benton Foundation
7. re: Schwartz, Varley and the Benton Foundation
8. re: Winner and Kedzie

re: Grossman and Katz
1. What similarities and differences do you find between Lawrence K. Grossman's vision of the Electronic Republic and Jon Katz's vision of the Digital Nation? Which vision do you find more appealing or persuasive, and why?

re: Grossman, Katz, and Winner
2. How would you compare Lawrence K. Grossman and Jon Katz as "computer romantics," according to the criteria suggested by Langdon Winner in "Mythinformation"? To what degree do you think they share the same assumptions about information, knowledge, and power, as outlined by Winner, or lack "the qualities of social and political insight that characterized revolutionaries of the past" (¶ 12)? What uses or potential uses of network communication discussed by Grossman or Katz do you think Winner would find valuable, and why? What assumptions or values, if any, are shared by all three of these writers?

re: Schwartz and Varley
3. What criteria for measuring the success of civic networks are suggested or implied in the articles by John Schwartz and Pamela Varley? Based on those criteria, how would you compare the success of BEV and PEN? From your comparison, your other reading, and your own experience, can you suggest a combination or modified set of criteria for critically evaluating civic electronic networks?

re: Grossman, Katz, Schwartz, and Varley
4. To what extent do you think the civic networks BEV and PEN, as described by John Schwartz and Pamela Varley, realize the visions of Lawrence K. Grossman's Electronic Republic or Jon Katz's Digital Nation?

re: Electronic Democracy
5. After rereading some of the visions, realities, and criticisms of electronic democracy in this chapter—and possibly having tried some of the computer tools referred to in these selections -- what is your assessment of the potential for electronic technologies to reshape politics in constructive ways? What is your judgment about the pitfalls of electronic democracy, or about Langdon Winner's assertion that "the formula information = knowledge = power = democracy lacks any real substance" (¶ 39)? What vision would you propose for an "electronic republic" or a "digitial nation," and what values would it be based on?

re: Grossman, Katz, Winner, and the Benton Foundation
6. Compare the Benton Foundation's vision of the democratic potential of emerging technologies with those of Lawrence K. Grossman and Jon Katz. For example, how do you think Grossman and Katz would respond to the distinctions drawn by the Foundation among the roles of business, government, and nonprofit organizations in promoting electronic democracy? How would you compare the warnings and concerns about electronic democracy raised by the Foundation report with those expressed by Langdon Winner?

re: Schwartz, Varley, the Benton Foundation, and the Web today
7. The Benton Foundation report discusses Santa Monica's PEN, explored in depth by Pamela Varley, among its examples. How would you apply the lessons outlined by the Foundation to the actual community networks discussed by Varley and John Schwartz? From your own use of the Web, what's your impression about how noncommercial, public-interest uses of the Internet are balancing out against entertainment, consumer services, and other commercial uses? To what extent do you think the Web is encouraging "the electronic equivalent of public spaces, where people come together as informed citizens—or ... only electronic malls, where people are targeted as spectators and consumers"?

re: Winner and Kedzie
8. Christopher R. Kedzie provides detailed statistical evidence supporting what he calls "mounting anecdotal evidence that new information and communication technologies are facilitating democratic change worldwide," and he suggests strong associations among democracy, economic growth, and technology. Offer a critical reading of Kedzie's study from the perspective of Langdon Winner. To what extent do Kedzie's assumptions, reasoning, or conclusions perpetuate what Winner calls "mythinformation"?