For the next iteration of our Global Virtual Seminar Series, we are delighted to welcome:

Jessa Lingel, Associate Professor of Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Jessa has a fascinating new book out, “An Internet for the People: The Politics and Promise of Craigslist” and we’re so excited that she’ll be joining us for an engaged discussion of some of the pressing issues about the future of the internet that she raises in the book.

The craigslist ethic: A web 1.0 vision of online democracy

A growing number of tech insiders are raising doubts about the long term consequences of the mainstream internet, in terms of individual mental health as well as national democracy.  The need for a more ethical internet has led some to embrace sci fi imaginings and others to reject digital media altogether. This talk considers the vision of a single platform as instructive for thinking about the future of the web: craigslist. Over its 22 year history, craigslist has grown into a multi-faceted website for local exchanges, which can include buying, selling, hiring, apartment seeking, dating or simply ranting about the neighborhood. At once outdated and highly relevant, easy to use and easy to overlook, craigslist has mostly stayed the same while the web around it has changed, becoming less open and more profit driven. The design decisions and user policies governing craigslist give shape to particular a form of politics, and examining these rules and norms reveals what we stand to lose if the web continues to become less open, more homogenous and geared towards sleek professionalism over messy serendipity.

 

PCMLP Global Seminar Series

We recently started the Global Seminar Series with the express intention of breaking out of the traditional mold of in person seminars that are often rich in information but inaccessible to those outside of Oxford. By hosting the seminars live online we can bring fantastic speakers from around the world, and make their talks available to anyone with an internet connection regardless of location. We actively encourage virtual participation in all of our seminars and discussions.

To join the seminar live, follow this link: https://zoom.us/j/660143969

All of our seminars will be available afterwards on the PCMLP YouTube channel indefinitely.