Manuel Castells Doctoral Seminar Series: Reading Seminar on 'Communication Power'
Monday 19 - Wednesday 21 October 2009
- Professor Manuel Castells, OII Distinguished Visiting Professor of Internet Studies, Research Professor, Open University of Catalonia
Location: Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 1 St Giles Oxford OX1 3JS. This event is restricted to Doctoral students at the University of Oxford, and OII MSc students. Students must attend all three sessions. If you would like to attend please email your name and a short statement of interest to: events@oii.ox.ac.uk Please note that space is limited.
This seminar, strictly reserved to graduate students, will analyze and discuss the book just published by Manuel Castells 'Communication Power', Oxford University Press, 2009. This book, based on many years of investigation on communication and political processes around the world, proposes a new theory of power in the network society. The book argues that power relationships are primarily constructed in the communication realm. After reviewing classical theories of power and situating them in the framework of the network society, the book proceeds with an empirical analysis of the technological and organizational transformation of the global communication system, emphasizing the rise of a new form of communication, mass self communication. The next three chapters examine the mechanisms by which messages are processed in the communication environment, the central role of media in politics, and the new possibilities for social change provided to social movements and insurgent politics by the use of new digital, horizontal networks of communication. The book ends with the proposal of a new theory of power based on communication.
Seminar Format
The seminar will not feature formal presentations. Participants are assumed to have read the whole book, and they will initiate each session with comments and questions related to their intellectual interests. Professor Castells will respond and elaborate, conducting an open ended debate on the contents of the book, and extending it to any additional related matters.
The seminar will be organized in three sessions. The first session will examine the transformation of communication: the discussion will center on chapter 2 of the book. The second session will focus on media politics, social movements, and insurgent politics, and will refer to chapters 3, 4, and 5. The last session will then proceed with a systematic discussion on a new theory of power, based on the commentary of chapter 1 and of the conclusion.
The sessions will be held from 14:00 to 16:00 on each day, without interruption
About the Speaker
Manuel Castells is Research Professor at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), in Barcelona. He is also Professor Emeritus of Sociology, and Professor Emeritus of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for 24 years. He is also Professor of Communication and the holder of the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Communication Technology and Society at the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, the Marvin and Joanne Grossman Distinguished Professor of Technology and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Internet Studies at the OII. He is also a fellow of the British Academy.
Manuel Castells is the foremost cited communications scholar in the world. He has authored 19 books, including the trilogy 'The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture', 1996-2003, published by Blackwell and translated in 23 languages. He has also co-authored and edited an additional 22 books.
