This Thursday, Gabriella Coleman (or, as I like to think of her, Professor Chanology) breaks down the epic clash of cultures that is 4Chan vs Xenology. The talk is called “Old and New Net Wars over Free Speech, Freedom and Secrecy or How to Understand the Hacker and Lulz battle against the C0$” I’m not fancy enough to know what that means, so here’s her translation:
In this talk I present a cultural history and political analysis of one of the oldest Internet wars, often referred to as “Internet vs Scientology,” which in recent times has witnessed a different incarnation in the form of “Project Chanology,” which is orchestrated by a group called Anonymous who has led a series of online attacks and real world protests against the Church of Scientology. I argue that to understand the significance of these battles and protests, we must examine the culturally antipodal relationship between Scientology and hacker/geek culture. In so doing I will demonstrate how long-standing liberal ideals take cultural root in unexpected ways in the context of these battles and I will use these two cases to reveal important political transformations in Internet/hacker culture between the mid 1990s and today.
This happens Thursday the 13th from noon to 2 at Columbia University’s International Affairs Building, room 270B. See you there.
For more FOSS and free culture community events, check out the NYC community calendar.
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