In the book, you describe how black people can be enthralled by the promises of technology as much as anyone else in the united states or around the world. You write that where the west dreams of domination, black folk dream of liberation. And for me, i am wary. Liberation is definitly a goal, but liberation to what end? Liberation for home. I have been influenced by latin philosopher ivan ilich and conviviality has become really important as i begin to build out what i call afro optimism. It's not so much liberation as it is building spaces that sustain and support us regardless of what environment we find ourselves in.
Paris Marx is joined by André Brock to discuss the history of Black people’s online activity, the internet’s association with whiteness, and what Black Twitter can tell us about the centrality of Black people to digital culture.
André Brock is an associate professor of media studies at Georgia Tech. He writes on Western technoculture, Black technoculture, and digital media. His award-winning book, Distributed Blackness: African American Cybercultures, theorizes Black everyday lives mediated by networked digital technologies. You can get if from NYU Press, and it’s available through open access. Follow André on Twitter at @DocDre.
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Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
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