Transgression 2.0: Media, Culture, and the Politics of a Digital Age

Description

One doesn't need to look far to find examples of contemporary locations of cultural opposition. Digital piracy, audio mashups, The Onion and Wikipedia are all examples of transgression in our current mediascape. And as digital age transgression becomes increasingly essential, it also becomes more difficult to define and protect. The contributions in this collection are organized into six sections that address the use of new technologies to alter existing cultural messages, the incorporation of technology and alternative media in transformation of everyday cultural practices and institutions, and the reuse and repurposing of technology to focus active political engagement and innovative social change. Bringing together a variety of scholars and case studies, Transgression 2.0 will be the first key resource for scholars and students interested in digital culture as a transformative intervention in the types, methods and significance of cultural politics.

Ted Gournelos is an Assistant Professor of Critical Media and Cultural Studies at Rollins College, FL. He is the author of Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies and the Tao of South Park and co-editor of A Decade of Dark Humor: How Comedy, Irony, and Satire Shaped Post-9/11 America. David J. Gunkel is Presidential Teaching Professor in the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University. He's also the managing editor of the International Journal of Zizek Studies.

Transgression 2.0 is a carefully crafted and nuanced collective account of transgression in an age of social networks feeding revolutions, of the reign of software in election campaigns, of omnipresent porn and spam, the 'triumph' of Wikileaks, and of the endless amateur cultural production of everything. Full of tasty detail covering a range of highly contemporary issues, the book avoids hyper-optimistic or dismissive claims and offers new ways of understanding the dynamics of resistance and appropriation, creativity, emancipatory change and enclosure, that are core to transgression. This is a rare find for anyone looking for a balanced account of today's network- and software-reliant cultures in terms of their convoluted aesthetic and political powers. -- Dr Olga Goriunova, Senior Lecturer in Media Practice, London Metropolitan University, and author of Art Platforms and Cultural Production on the Internet This is a smart, diverse collection of essays that has something to thrill -- and enrage -- everyone. Which, of course, is exactly what any good book about transgression /should/ do. If you want to be comforted, wrap yourself in a blanket and make a pot of tea. But if you want to think seriously about the promises and perils of transgressive politics in the 21st century, read this book. --Gilbert B. Rodman, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, University of Minnesota