New Books Network Elisabetta Ferrari, "Appropriate, Negotiate, Challenge: Activist Imaginaries and the Politics of Digital Technologies" (U California Press, 2024)
Nov 29, 2025
Elisabetta Ferrari, an interdisciplinary scholar of digital technologies and social movements, discusses her latest book on activist imaginaries. She delves into how activists creatively appropriate and challenge Silicon Valley’s narratives around technology. Ferrari highlights significant movements from Hungary, Italy, and the U.S., revealing how they merge mainstream tech with their political goals. She emphasizes that while appropriation and negotiation thrive, genuine challenges to the dominant technocratic vision are rare. Plus, she shares insights on her upcoming research on mutual aid in the digital age.
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From Tools To Political Imaginaries
- Ferrari shifted focus from 'what activists do with tech' to 'how they think about tech politically.'
- She emphasizes activists' internal narratives, not just tool use.
Silicon Valley As A Political Imaginary
- Silicon Valley's technological imaginary ties freedom, technosolutionism, and neoliberalism into a political project.
- It mixes technocratic claims with populist legitimation to make tech appear both expert and democratic.
Technological Imaginaries Defined
- 'Technological imaginaries' are practice-based beliefs about technology's role in social change.
- Ferrari uses this concept to map how activists accept, adapt, or reject Silicon Valley ideas.
