User:)biyibiyibiyi(/RW&RM 04/thesis o 0 0 1

Introduction:

1. Background

I am interested in DIY hacktivism, forms of decentralization, alternative network, infrastructure and protocol. These subjects are of both contemporary and historical concern. Since the 1960s, the narrative of technological development is marked by antagonistic visions of technocratic elitism and technology for social, political autonomy.

In the present tense, my research responds to pervasive phenomenons and realities of techno-hegemony, such as forms of centralization, censorship and surveillance. Decentralizing practices and DIY hacktivism offer demystifying and empowering potentials to weave counter narratives against techno-hegemonic realities. The counter narrative also constructs interpretive tools to comprehend technology. Today's society at large present a rift between technological advancement and civic understanding of technology. The rift is due to technical thresholds, barriers created by intellectual property rights, and decreased knowledge mobility working in hyper-specialized divisions of labor. DIY Hacktivism and decentralizing practices offer porosity, transparency and flexibility as opposed to centralized organizations.

In particular, I am interested in situating my research in context of rapid urban and technological transformation in China. Subjects of hacktivism, centralizing/ decentralizing practices become more nuanced, considering the country's unique cultural environment and political climate. Widespread use of civic surveillance and censorship press urgency for critical comprehension, and practical inventions of ingenious tactics and resistances.

2. Thesis statement

DIY hacktivism, decentralizing infrastructures provide bottom up, peer to peer working attitude and methods. It is not only a contemporary phenomenon but also has deep roots in records in media archaeology. Working in this attitude and formats invites porosity, flexibility and transparency in critical collective making. Through the process of critical making, interpretive tools can be built to amend to technical illiteracy and alienation of human-machine relationship.

Chapter 1: Excavating the formation of modern networking. This chapter looks into history of networking, in particular its social, cultural and political implications. An illustrative example is the development of ARPANET in context of Cold War politics, as opposed to distributive networking protocols such as Usenet. During this time, civic dissents towards authoritative abuse of technology arose. Interpretive tools aiming to achieve social and political autonomy were made available, such as the Whole World Catalog, Computer Lib and Homebrew Computer Club. Historical investigation aim to answer: how did the notions of centralization and decentralization in into being? How may historical reading of technological counter culture inform contemporary hacker culture?

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