"Forestal brings democratic theory and digital platform design together to explore the future of online community building. She paints a compelling and hopeful picture of that potential future. Technologically sophisticated, philosophically astute, and exhaustively researched, Designing Democracy argues that we can rebuild digital public spaces in ways that facilitate cooperative problem solving, in a word, we can democratize the internet. This is a welcome challenge to the techno-dystopian trend that has gripped much recent scholarship about the future of democracy in a digital age." Simone Chambers, University of California Irvine
"Many books claim that Facebook and social media are destroying democracy. In this important book, Jennifer Forestal starts from the other end, asking whether social media create the democratic spaces in which citizens can build communities, and attach themselves to these communities and improve them through experimentation, argument, and inquiry. Designing for Democracy has valuable insights for political theorists, media scholars, political scientists, and sociologists interested in clear analysis of the promise and problems of new media." Henry Farrell, Johns Hopkins University"Designing for Democracy is political theory at its absolute best. It is an extremely sophisticated, problem-driven account of the perils and possibilities of digital technologies, but it is much more than that. It is also a capacious and original theory of democracy that emphasizes the importance of communal membership, attachment, and the willingness to work collaboratively and creatively to improve the structures that bind us together. Forestal brilliantly illuminates the way that virtual space, much like physical space, can be structured to foster sustainable communities or to discipline and divide us." Margaret Kohn, University of TorontoHow should we "fix" digital technologies to support democracy instead of undermining it? In Designing for Democracy, Jennifer Forestal argues that accurately evaluating the democratic potential of digital spaces means studying how the built environment-a primary component of our "modern public square"-structures our activity, shapes our attitudes, and supports the kinds of relationships and behaviors democracy requires.
While many scholars and practitioners are attentive to the role of design in shaping behavior, they have yet to fully engage with the question of what structures are required to support democratic communities-and how to build them. Forestal closes this gap by providing a new theory of democratic space. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, she argues that "democratic spaces" must be designed with three environmental characteristics-boundaries, durability, and flexibility-that, taken together, afford users the ability to engage in fundamental civic practices.
Through extended analyses of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, Forestal shows precisely how well these digital platforms meet the criteria for democratic spaces, or whether they do so at all. The result is a nuanced analysis of the democratic communities that form-or fail to emerge-in these spaces, as well as more concrete suggestions for how to improve them.
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While many scholars and practitioners are attentive to the role of design in shaping behavior, they have yet to fully engage with the question of what structures are required to support democratic communities-and how to build them. Forestal closes this gap by providing a new theory of democratic space. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, she argues that "democratic spaces" must be designed with three environmental characteristics-boundaries, durability, and flexibility-that, taken together, afford users the ability to engage in fundamental civic practices.
Through extended analyses of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, Forestal shows precisely how well these digital platforms meet the criteria for democratic spaces, or whether they do so at all. The result is a nuanced analysis of the democratic communities that form-or fail to emerge-in these spaces, as well as more concrete suggestions for how to improve them.
Designing for Democracy: How to Build Community in Digital Environments
How should we "fix" digital technologies to support democracy instead of undermining it? In Designing for Democracy, Jennifer Forestal argues that accurately evaluating the democratic potential of digital spaces means studying how the built environment-a primary component of our "modern public square"-structures our activity, shapes our attitudes, and supports the kinds of relationships and behaviors democracy requires.
While many scholars and practitioners are attentive to the role of design in shaping behavior, they have yet to fully engage with the question of what structures are required to support democratic communities-and how to build them. Forestal closes this gap by providing a new theory of democratic space. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, she argues that "democratic spaces" must be designed with three environmental characteristics-boundaries, durability, and flexibility-that, taken together, afford users the ability to engage in fundamental civic practices.
Through extended analyses of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, Forestal shows precisely how well these digital platforms meet the criteria for democratic spaces, or whether they do so at all. The result is a nuanced analysis of the democratic communities that form-or fail to emerge-in these spaces, as well as more concrete suggestions for how to improve them.
While many scholars and practitioners are attentive to the role of design in shaping behavior, they have yet to fully engage with the question of what structures are required to support democratic communities-and how to build them. Forestal closes this gap by providing a new theory of democratic space. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, she argues that "democratic spaces" must be designed with three environmental characteristics-boundaries, durability, and flexibility-that, taken together, afford users the ability to engage in fundamental civic practices.
Through extended analyses of Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, Forestal shows precisely how well these digital platforms meet the criteria for democratic spaces, or whether they do so at all. The result is a nuanced analysis of the democratic communities that form-or fail to emerge-in these spaces, as well as more concrete suggestions for how to improve them.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940176421859 |
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Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
Publication date: | 02/15/2022 |
Series: | Oxford Studies Digital Politics |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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