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A joint Chicago Chapter ACM / Loyola University Computer Science Department meeting
Social Networks and Political Revolution - Fact or Fiction?
Panel Discussion
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm (Social Hour, light refreshments)
6:30 pm Presentation
Loyola University Water Tower Campus (Chicago/Michigan Area)
111 E. Pearson Street, Chicago IL 60611
Beane Ballroom (13th Floor, Lewis Towers) Campus map
Admission: Free (General Admission, No Reserved Seats)
RSVP on the Chicago ACM website (chicagoacm.org)
"Is Social Networking Useless for Social Change?" asks the Huffington Post, or is Social Networking really capable of shifts of political and economic power?
Media accounts of recent events in Egypt and Tunisia cite bloggers, anonymous or otherwise, as key catalysts. Do these social networking "players" actually affect social change or are they just casually and vicariously involved spectators to greater events?
Do proponents of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, et al overemphasize the effectiveness of these networks? Or are the critics of social networks such as Malcolm Gladwell out of touch with true changes in political organizing and communication?
In addition to the question of effectiveness, who really controls these networks and what is their agenda - if any?
We will hear from an interdisciplinary panel:
Steve Jones of UIC's Department of Communication, a noted contributor to WBEZ.
Peter Schraeder of Loyola's Political Science Department, who was in Tunisia at the time of its revolution.
Peter Dordal of Loyola's Computer Science Department, a networks specialist who has an interest in social, ethical, and legal issues in computing.
The panel and you, the audience, will discuss this timely subject where technology meets politics, economics, and freedom.
Steve Jones is UIC Distinguished Professor of Communication, Research Associate in the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, Adjunct Professor of Electronic Media in the School of Art & Design at the University of Illinois – Chicago, and Adjunct Research Professor in the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was the founder and first President of the Association of Internet Researchers and serves as Senior Research Fellow at the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Peter Schraeder, Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago, has teaching and research interests in foreign policy theory, North African politics and international democracy promotion and other forms of intervention in world politics. He has lived, lectured or carried out research in all regions of the African continent and teaches in Tunisia every January, placing him there during their recent revolution. He is also a prolific author of books and articles in various journals.
Peter Dordal received both his A.B. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from the the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Harvard University. He joined the Loyola faculty upon graduation from Harvard. His research interests include set theory, mathematical logic, computer networks and computer security; he is also interested in the social, ethical and legal issues in computing.
While there will be light refreshments available, feel free to "brown bag" it and bring in food from the outside to eat during the social hour.
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