On Editorialization: Structuring Space and Authority in the Digital Age

Description

In On Editorialization: Structuring Space and Authority in the Digital Age Marcello Vitali-Rosati examines how authority changes in the digital era. Authority seems to have vanished in the age of the web, since the spatial relationships that authority depends on are thought to have levelled out: there are no limits or boundaries, no hierarchies or organized structures anymore. Vitali-Rosati claims the opposite to be the case: digital space is well-structured and material and has specific forms of authority. Editorialization is one key process that organizes this space and thus brings into being digital authority. Investigating this process of editorialization, Vitali-Rosati reveals how politics can be reconceived in the digital age. Author Marcello Vitali-Rosati is Associate Professor in the Department of French Literature at the University of Montreal and holds the Canada Research Chair on Digital Textualities. In his research he develops a philosophical approach to the changes brought by digital technologies. Previous publications include Riflessione e trascendenza: Itinerari a partire da Levinas (ETS, 2003), Corps et virtuel: Itineraires àpartir de Merleau-Ponty (L’Harmattan, 2009), S’orienter dans le virtuel (Hermann, 2012), and Egarements: Amour, mort et identites numeriques (Hermann, 2014). This is his first book in English. Acknowledgments 5 1. A Conclusion as an Introduction 6 Main Thesis Complementary Thesis and Definitions The Path of the Book Methodology 2. The Crisis of Authority 10 A Particular Structure of Space Space and Relationships Space and Writing Space and Politics Space and Authority 3. The Structure of the Digital 33 What is the Digital? Cyberspace A Space of Writing A Space of Actions Reality and Virtuality Liquid or Structured The Values of Digital Space Algorithms and Values A Hybrid Space 4. Editorialization 60 A History of the Term What is Editorialization? The Processual Nature of Editorialization The Performative Nature of Editorialization The Ontological Nature of Editorialization The Multiple Nature of Editorialization The Collective Nature of Editorialization Editorialization and Authority 5. Writing the Public Space 86 Criticizing Authority Public and Private Everything is Private Digital Labor The Border Between Public and Private The Pessimistic Argument Digital Literacy, Détournements, and Tactical Media Free Software Open Access Conclusions 104 Bibliography 106