Cultures of the Internet: Virtual Spaces, Real Histories, Living Bodies

The Internet is here. But have we caught up with all of the implications it holds for culture and everyday life? Bringing together a group of the most accomplished writers on the Internet and cyberspace, this volume presents a systematic description of the development of the Internet, its history in the military-industrial complex, and the role of state policies (such as those that lead to the building of information superhighways). Contributors examine the arrival of E-mail, explore online discussion groups, and consider the prospect of an online world. They also address the development of this technology as a commercialized leisure form and a forum for underground political organization and critique. Accessible and innovative, Cultures of Internet will appeal to students and scholars in sociology, cultural studies, media studies, and computer studies.

Rob Shields lectures in Culture and Communication at Lancaster University and maintains links with Carleton University, where he is Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology. He is author of Places on the Margin (1990) and Lifestyle Shopping (1993), and co-editor of Social Engineering: The Technics of Change (1995).

CONTRIBUTORS OUTSIDE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

David Chaney Durham University

Sadie Plant University of Birmingham

Mike Featherstone Goldsmiths, UK

Andre Lemos Universite Paris V