Rethinking civic computing in China

Abstract

Civic computing research is concerned with the relationship of digital technologies to civic participation. We discuss Foucault’s work on the care of the self which considers how a person seeks a certain mode of being such as happiness, perfection, or wisdom. We describe our qualitative study of Chinese mainland citizens who used technologies to understand and participate in political events, in particular the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement. We examine how care of the self offers an alternative, critical perspective for rethinking civic participation and civic computing.

Resisting the Censorship Infrastructure in China

“…Such concern increases when infrastructures fall into private hands that are not subject to public eyes. The infrastructure that ordinary citizens rely on for information and news consumption is worth research attention [18]. For example, Internet companies such as Google, Twitter, and Facebook are gaining enormous power in today's internet infrastructure, as a substantial portion of the Internet traffic flows through these Internet giants' sites [36].…”