The Internet in the Middle East : global expectations and local imaginations in Kuwait / Deborah L. Wheeler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wheeler, Deborah L., 1965-

Series:

SUNY series in computer-mediated communication

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Kuwait.

Internet.

Cyberspace--Middle East.

Cyberspace.

Telecommunication--Social aspects--Arab countries.

Telecommunication.

Telecommunication--Social aspects.

Arab countries.

Middle East.

Kuwait.

Physical Description:

xi, 241 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, [2006]

Summary:

Providing one of the first ethnographies of the Internet revolution in the Arab world, The Internet in the Middle East analyzes the ways in which the Internet affects public discourse and social practice in Islamic society. With a special focus on Kuwait, Deborah L. Wheeler offers an intimate journey through the lives of women, youth, and Islamist Internet users, and through their testimonies shows what the Internet means to various Internet subcultures in the emirate.

The book includes a historical overview of the values and design principles embedded in the Internet by its inventors and early adopters, and examines the major questions, debates, assumptions, and findings of the emerging field of Internet studies. Drawing on six years of research, including three years of fieldwork in Kuwait, Dubai, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, Wheeler provides a comparative overview of the meaning and manifestations of the Internet in the Middle East, giving careful attention to whether or not the Internet lives up to global expectations of promoting democracy, economic privatization, and personal freedom.

Contents:

The Internet in global and local imaginations

The Internet in the Middle East, Kuwait, and beyond

Contextualizing the Internet in Kuwait

Women, gender, and the Internet in Kuwait

The Internet and youth subculture in Kuwait

The Internet and Islam in Kuwait.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-233) and index.

ISBN:

0791465853

0791465861

OCLC:

57124378