A Big Thinkers Event: Internet and Society - what academic research actually knows about it

Abstract
Internet is the revolutionary communication technology of our time. It is in fact an almost 40 year old technology that has gone through transformations and stages. And yet, the understanding of its effects is blurred by ideology, futurology, and media sensationalism. In contrast with widespread misperception, scholarly research has gathered considerable evidence on the relationship between Internet and society around the world. This lecture will summarize what we actually know about the uses and effects of the Internet in the areas of sociability, business, culture, media, spatial organization, social change and politics. The summary of findings will be interpreted in the framework of current trends in cultural and social change. The lecture will not venture into predictions or policy prescriptions as this is not the domain of scientific research. However, questions and comments of all natures are welcome.

About Manuel Castells
Manuel Castells is the Wallis Annenberg Chair Professor of Communication Technology and Society at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and Research Professor of Information Society at the Open University of Catalonia in Barcelona. He is Professor Emeritus of Sociology and of City & Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for 24 years, after being on the faculty of the University of Paris for 12 years. He is also the Marvin and Joanne Grossman Distinguished Visiting Professor of Technology and Society at MIT, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Internet Studies at Oxford University, and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Santa Clara University. He has published 25 books, including the trilogy “The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture,” published by Blackwell in its first edition in 1996-98, and in its second edition in 2000-2004, which has been translated into 22 languages. He is the recipient of 15 honorary doctorates and University Medals. He is a Fellow of the European Academy, a Fellow of the Spanish Royal Academy of Economics, and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. He has served in a number of international advisory committees, including the Panel of Eminent Personalities appointed in 2003-2004 by the United Nations Secretary General to advise on the relationships between the United Nations and the global civil society. He is a founding member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council of the European Commission.

Back See All Big Thinker Events