Power and resistance in the age of informationalization

In this paper I will examine the ways that power operates and resistance might be possible under political, social, and cultural conditions which are increasingly manufactured and mediated by information technologies. More specifically, I will focus on how the work of Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard might be used to better understand the political problems and potentialities of informationalization. Some of the questions I address here are: What exactly are we speaking of when we call this the "information age?" Has it replaced or merely subsumed the older, industrialized era? What are some of the effects of informationalization on the subject, knowledge, and "reality?" Can Foucault's analytics of power (which describes the birth of the modern era) be extended to the problematic of informational society? Can Baudrillard's acidic descriptions of informationalized consumerism be used for progressive political projects? Finally, I will discuss what the role of the intellectual might be in informationalization. By examining the conditions of informationalization, I hope that we can better understand the theoretical and political implications of Foucault's and Baudrillard's work.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1994

Author dc:creator

• Farrar, Margaret Ellen

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Luke, Timothy W.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• White, Stephen K.
• Toal, Gerard

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-11242009-020310

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/46022