Self-representation and digital culture / Nancy Thumim.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thumim, Nancy, 1974-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Self-presentation in mass media.

Digital media--Social aspects.

Digital media.

Physical Description:

x, 205 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Summary:

Taking a close look at ordinary people 'telling their own story', Nancy Thumim explores self representations in contemporary digital culture in settings as diverse as reality TV, online storytelling, and oral histories displayed in museums. Self-Representation and Digital Culture addresses the institutional contexts of production, technology and form of the texts, and the point of view of those who represent themselves. This original research examines how contradictory and widely different politics inform and shape examples of 'speaking for oneself'. Thumim argues that analysis and theorization of the activity of self-representation is vital for media, communication and cultural studies at a time when examples of this genre both surround us and appear, at first glance, to all be alike. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Self-Representation and Digital Culture 1

Self-representation 1

Digital culture 10

Theoretical approach 13

2 Histories of Self-Representation 19

Introduction 19

Constructing ordinary people and community 21

Constructing the public, building the nation 28

Debating the public, broadening the nation 31

Representing the public, limitations of the nation 35

Publics represent themselves inside, outside and against the nation 38

Political and economic contexts: the UK case 44

Conclusion: mediation and self-representation 46

3 Mediation 49

Introduction 49

Mediation 51

Audience research 63

4 Broadcasters 70

Introduction 70

Broadcasters, self-representation and digital culture 71

Capture Wales: textual mediation 73

Capture Wales: cultural mediation 79

Capture Wales: institutional mediation 87

Conclusion: self-representation and broadcasters 101

5 Museums and Art Worlds 104

Introduction 104

Institutional mediation 106

Cultural mediation 125

Textual mediation 129

6 Self-Representation Online 136

Introduction 136

Institutional mediation 138

Cultural mediation 144

Textual mediation 150

Conclusion 154

7 Self-Representation, Digital Culture and Genre 157

Introduction 157

Self-representation and genre 158

Mediation and the uses of the genre of self-representation 167.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-201) and index.

ISBN:

9780230229662

0230229662

OCLC:

785873634

Online:

Cover image