The document discusses Manuel Castells' theory of the informational society and how it relates to concepts like capitalism, class relations, power structures, and identity. It provides examples of how Walmart and local preservation campaigns illustrate tensions between global networks, inclusion/exclusion, and assertions of local identity. The reading assignment asks students to consider how macro social and political structures shape the character of cities through interactions of class, gender, and the exercise of power.

1. Cyberpolitics - Week 2: Informational society

2. Manuel Castells

3. The Trilogy The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture

5. Marx and Castells Mode of production Capitalism Material base Industrial society Class society Division of labour Exploitation Alienation - from product Class struggle Mode of production Capitalism Mode of development Informational society Network society Space of flow Inclusion or exclusion - Alienation - culture of virtual reality - threat Identity and local

6. industrialism informationalism capitalism statism Mode of development Mode of production

7. Production - class relation Experience - gender, sexuality, race, family relation Power - institutionalized power (state) and microphysics of power Social process

8. Class discussion: Where is Hong Kong located in the map? How do class relation (in production), gender / sexuality / family relation (in our experience) and power relation (institutional and micro-physical) interplay with the macro social political structure in shaping the distinctive character of the city?

9. Definition of informational society (p.21)

10. The Net and network society

11. Space of flows and the integrated global network

12. Case: Wal-mart

13. Inclusion or exclusion: Club membership

14. Culture of virtual reality Timeless time and placeless space

15. Identity and local movement transformative identity building process - Legitimizing identity - Resistance identity - Project identity

16. Anti-Walmart campaign e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATu-WhQ8IsY

17. Case II: Local Action - preservation campaign http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k18Y8pJGYBc

18. The role of the state - power

19. Concluding remarks

20. Next Class reading: Do Artifacts Have Politics? Workshop: Building our on-line community - list one thing that we need and explain why.