The Internet - from "Nuclear Hardened" Networks to Algorithmic Governmentality
Course: Media, Culture & Society 1. Introduction: Why Study the Internet Historically The Internet is not a naturally occurring technology, rather, it is a profoundly human artifact. To understand its current social and political implications, we must trace its origins to the Cold War, where the fear of nuclear mutual annihilation became the unlikely seedbed for the invention of the Internet. In this module, we will explore how military exigencies, scientific collaboration, and ideological visions of freedom and control intertwined to produce today’s Internet infrastructure. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to explain how rhetorical, political, and technological forces co-evolved in shaping the Internet’s materiality and discursive characteristics. ...