Digital Technologies of the Self
Inspired by the “technologies of the self” theorized by Michel Foucault in the early 1980s, this volume investigates how contemporary individuals fashion their identity/identities using digital technologies such as ambient intelligent devices, social networking platforms and online communities (Facebook, CouchSurfing and craigslist), online gaming (SilkRoad Online, Oblivion and World of Warcraft), podcasts, etc. With high-speed internet access, ubiquitous computing and generous storage capacity, the opportunities for staging and transforming the self/selves have become nearly limitless.
This book explores how technologies contribute to the expression, (co-)construction and enactment of identities. It examines these issues from various perspectives as it brings together insights from different disciplines – design, discourse analysis, philosophy and sociology.
Yasmine Abbas is a French architect (1997), holds a Master of Science in Architecture Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2001) and a Doctor of Design (2006) from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her research and publications focus on the strategies adopted by neo-nomads to recreate with digital technologies a sense of belonging to places. She is the Founding Director of PanUrbanIntelligence, a consultancy offering pre-planning services. She currently works as an Environmental Sociologist for the first sustainable city, Masdar City, located in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Fred Dervin is Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Joensuu University (Finland) and Adjunct Professor of Language and Intercultural Education at Turku University (Finland). His books include Intercultural Education and Communication. Finnish Perspectives (2008, co-edited with E. Suomela-Salmi) and Students, Staff and Academic Mobility in Higher Education (2009, co-edited with M. Byram).
“As a resource for teaching about the impact of technology upon humanity, at the university level, I would recommend this work.”
– David T. Macknet, University of Glasgow in The Kelvingrove Review, Issue 5, 2010
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