The Dark Social: Online Practices of Resistance, Motility and Power

This book explores how people interact online through anonymous communication in encrypted, hidden, or otherwise obscured online spaces. It challenges the binary of dark versus light and argues that practices of 'dark resistance, motility, and power' are enacted by emerging data cultures. It will be a key resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students of media studies, cultural studies, communication studies, research methods, and sociology.

Format: Hardback
Length: 156 pages
Publication date: 07 November 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This captivating book delves into the intricate realm of human interaction in encrypted, hidden, or otherwise obscured online spaces, extending beyond the confines of the Dark Web. It explores the broader concept of 'dark social,' which broadens the horizons for examining notions of darkness and sociality in the age of digitality and data-fuelled life. The authors meticulously consider a range of technical, moral, ethical, and pragmatic responses from individuals and communities seeking to embrace or belong to the dark.

Scholarship on the Darknet and Dark Social Spaces often concentrates on the utilization of encryption and other privacy-enhancing technologies to facilitate resistance acts. These interpretations of the dark social run counter to social and political theories that assert that for politics and actions to hold significance, they must be visible to the public eye. They also clash with popular narratives that portray the 'dark recesses of the web' as perilous and undesirable, as these spaces are sought to be controlled and monitored by structural powers who aim to maintain their subjects' knowledgeability and locatability on the clear web.

In this groundbreaking book, the authors challenge the binary of dark versus light by proposing that emerging data cultures enact practices of 'dark resistance, motility, and power.' Through a fusion of scholarship, activism, and creativity, the authors aim to transcend conceptual binary positions and develop fresh approaches to darknet and dark social studies. This book will serve as an invaluable resource for academics, researchers, and advanced students engaged in the fields of media studies, cultural studies, communication studies, research methods, and sociology.

Originally published as a special issue of Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, The Dark Social: Online Practices of Resistance, Motility, and Power has already garnered significant attention and praise in the academic community. It is a testament to the authors' dedication to exploring the complex dynamics of online communication and their commitment to pushing the boundaries of knowledge in this field.

Weight: 470g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032593456