What is the digital divide? Is it accurate that the “information poor” constitute a new subgroup of hyper-disenfranchisement? (i.e. the “Fourth World”)?
Does information have its own politics? What is the relationship between information and power? In the current knowledge economy, or so-called information society, access to information is paramount. Those with access to information wield enormous control and power over the information have-nots! Whether it’s the state or creators of information or knowledge goods, access to privileged information means that one is better positioned to make decisions for his/her own advantage. In Africa, it means that one can escape vicious cycles of poverty, avoid or prevent common diseases, or better still, tap the enormous resources available on the continent. We focus on education and access to information as an important avenue to cause fundamental changes in people’s lives. If empowered (with information) at that level, they just might be able to turn their lives around. In this case, our work focuses on understanding how information goods (and public information resources) can be accessed and used by publics with limited potential to fully participate in the information markets. In Africa, such groups constitute a significant portion of the population and represent the future of African societies.
In a nutshell (and probably simplistic terms) digital divide is the gap between those with technology and those without. The reason we are preoccupied with the digital divide is because technology is an important mechanism for access to information and participation (civic/political, economic, etc). In Africa, the digital divide is present in environments already struggling with a lot of challenges, some of which are perceived as delinked from technology. Yet, the reality points to the opposite. That is why our project specifically focused on digital information, although preliminary findings point to print as the most important medium for now. Even with the limited usage of digital sources, we believe that electronic information is the future and with that is the need for a sound digital infrastructure.
New Releases in CIE’s Book and Research Series CIE is pleased to announce the publication of two recent edited collections, both of which feature the work of UWM faculty and are the result of CIE annual scholarly conferences. The first book, published in the New Directions in International Studies series, under the general editorship of CIE Senior Director Patrice Petro, is Aftermaths: Exile, Migration, and Diaspora Reconsidered (2008). Edited by UWM faculty members Marcus Bullock and Peter Paik, this volume features the work of ten contributors—well-established scholars and promising new voices—working in different disciplines and drawing from diverse backgrounds to present rich case studies from around the world. The editors and contributors to this volume—including UWM scholars Andrew Kincaid, Paul Brodwin, Zoran Samardzija, K.E. Supriya, and Ihab Hassan—show how we have reached a moment in history when it is imperative to question prevailing intellectual models. They argue that the interconnectedness of world economies can exacerbate existing antagonisms or generate new exclusions. The volume itself engages important academic topics as well as leading political issues of our time. The second volume, published in the Croatian performing arts journal Frakcija (2007), is co-edited by UWM faculty members b Lane Hall and Jon McKenzie. It features work by the editors as well as UWM scholars A. Aneesh, Melanie Marino, and Jasmine Alinder. The collection explores the tension between security and liberty in our 21st century world, where security cameras, satellite imaging, datamining systems, and other technologies create a global surveillance network capable of “constantly capturing” one’s every move and transaction (“Constant Capture” was the title of the 2006 CIE conference from which this volume was drawn). The authors, artists, and activists who contribute to this collection explore, confront, and respond to this situation in a variety of ways, showing how artists and activists incorporate surveillance video and computer technologies into protests and public information campaigns, performance art, visual art and installation, as well as through historical, sociological, and cultural analysis. CIE congratulates the editors of these collections and the scholars whose work contributes so much to UWM’s research profile and mission. 5
SPRING 2009