Part IV: Political Participation

Required Readings

Schlozman, Verba and Brady, "Participation is Not a Paradox," in British Journal of Political Science (25: 1995).

Study Questions

"The Promise of Political Participation," pp. 20-27 and "The Internet as Participatory Forum," pp. 168-86 in Davis, The Web of Politics (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999).

Study Questions

Web Guides:

Political Participation: A New Wave - Alim Abdulla

Political Participation: International Perspectives - Camran Monsef

Political Participation: Access to Government Information - Christine Tai

Political Participation of Ethnic and Minority Groups: A Web Group - Dan Sander

March 5 - Civic engagement, social capital, and the Internet

"Against the Tide?" pp.166-80 in Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

CUT: Harwood and Lay, "Surfing Alone:  The Internet as a Facilitator of Social and Political Capital?" This article is no longer required.

Study Questions

Web guides:

Initiatives of Communities in Building Trust through On-line Communities - Amber Ballard

The Internet and Civic Renewal - Tammy Tromba

On-line communications impact on Internet users social capital: A Web Guide - Karen Insley

Internet and social connection - Jon Cisecki

The Internet as a facilitator of civic engagement - Linda V. Andersson

Environmental Groups and Social Capital Through the Net - Christianne Peña-George

Study Questions/Lab prep checklist

TechSoup.org - Public Affairs Web Site Design
General guidelines for developing an issue-oriented web site.

TechSoup.org - Tips for Avoiding Bad Web Design
A short summary of some of the most common errors in site design.

Web Site Design and Usability Guidelines
These guidelines apply to all web sites -- no matter how simple or complex.

Unless you have already published your own web pages or sites, review one of the following:

Creating Webpages in Microsoft Word
A short how-to guide that focuses on program commands, not design advice.

Building Web Pages with Composer
A short, clear guide to creating web pages in Netscape Composer. Complete the steps from "Creating a new web page" to "Previewing your page."

Ingredients for the lab class

Next steps

Study Questions

Diani, "Social movement networks: virtual and real" in Webster, Culture and politics in the information age : a new politics? (London: Routledge, 2001).

Smith and Smythe, "Globalization, citizenship and technology: The MAI meets the Internet" in Webster, Culture and politics in the information age: a new politics? (London: Routledge, 2001).

Study Questions

Samuel, "Decoding Hacktivism: Purpose, Method, and Identity in a New Social Movement."

The Hacktivsmo FAQ.

Web guides:

Hactivism: A Marginalized Culture - Mark MacDonald

White Hat Hacktivism - Jeff MacKenzie

CyberActivism: An Alternative for the Future? - Harjit Singh Virdee

Decoding Hacktivism and Ownership - Drew Vodrey

The Anti-Globalization Movement and On-line Organizing - Mia Amir

 

to Part V:

Political Economy

Additional Links

Political participation — political science resources

Online political participation

Voting

"Does the Internet Increase Voter Participation in Elections?"

Internet voting: spurring or corrupting democracy (Craft)

Internet voting: will it spur or corrupt democracy? (Hoffman)

You need to create an ACM account to read these articles, but the account is free.

Is Internet voting fair?, 06/26/00

NSF Study: Internet Voting - Results

Re: Users need to be able to speak for themselves

Special Focus on Internet Voting - The Center for Democracy and Technology

VIP - Projects - Voting Technology

Will Internet voting be good news for American democracy?

Social capital and civic organizations online

Web design resources

Netscape Composer Reference Sheet

This page shows all the icons in the Composer toolbar, and tells you what each one does.

Creating Web Pages in Netscape Composer

This guide provides a comprehensive summary of commands available in Composer.

Making Web Pages for Beginners

This site walks you through designing a site in Word OR Netscape composer. The step-by-step tutorials are helpful, but are hard to read.

Creating Web pages in Word

A slightly more advanced guide to web design in Word, with ideas on how to make your page look better.

5 basic rules of web design

The essentials for creating a usable web site.

Web Building - CNET.com

A range of resources on web design, once you've mastered the basics.

TechSoup.org - What is a Public Affairs Web site?

Some suggestions for developing a web site that will motivate political action.

 

Social movements

On the Functions and Consequences of the Internet for Social Movements and Voluntary Associations

Hacktivism