Group Project: Mapping Social Media and Citizen Movements Around the World

This project is intended to be a collaborative project involving the entire class. However, students will work in small groups (maximum of 4 and a minimum of 3 per group) and the results from each group will feed into a collective project that will actually feed into a real research project being developed as part of the CORD (Collaboration on Research on Democracy) international network.

The key objective of the class project is to exam how emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs), specifically digital social networks, are changing the dynamics of citizen-state relations, and how network-mediated knowledge and awareness creation catalyzes and drives activism and rights claiming. A central question is how does network-mediated knowledge relate to knowledge that is generated through other more conventional channels? But to answer the latter question, there is a need to first map out what is happening in different parts of the world with regard to how citizens have been using technology to claim rights and/or actively engage with policy makers and with other like-minded organizations. The data gather from the mapping excise will allow us to make make comparison of different practices within the region and between regions around the world.

The exercise will be developed through several stages:

Stage 1:
1. Forming the group according to regional interest.

Each group will Identify and map [on a Google map] 3-4 different instances (1 case study per group member) in which citizens utilized technology to actively engage with policy makers, claim rights or demand social change. We have set up the key regions and students will form groups around the selected regions. It is strongly recommended that students pick the region with which they have some familiarity both in terms of language, culture and political context. Students will sign up on this page by Oct. 5.

Key data to collect include:

• How wide-scale was the usage and access to this particular form of technology?
• Which groups of citizens were involved in its usage and why?
• What is the particular political context of your area? Why do you feel this form of technology was utilized?
• How successful do you feel that citizens were in terms of making their voices heard and receiving positive change? What are the evidence?

Compare your individual case studies with other members of your group. What are the similarities and differences amongst case studies in your particular geographical area?
Part 2:
Once all groups have posted their key findings on the wiki, each group should choose at least one other geographical area in which you can draw similarities and differences in the democratic usage of technology.
What are the key findings of that other group? Briefly compare the political contexts, technologies utilized and whether outcomes were successful or not.

View Mapping ICT and Citizen Movements in a larger map