Worlding: Identity, Media, and Imagination in a Digital Age

Synopsis

Worlding Brings Ideas About Virtual Places And Societies Together With Perceptions About The Real World In An Era Of Mounting Global Uncertainty. As Mass Media And The Internet Consume Ever-increasing Portions Of Our Lives, Are We Becoming Disengaged From Face-to-face Human Interaction And Real-world Concerns? Or Is The Virtual World Actually Bringing People Closer Together And Making Them More Involved With Social Issues? Worlding Argues That The Virtual And The Real Are Profoundly Interconnected, Often In Ways We Don's Fully Appreciate. Drawing On Sociology, Culture Studies, Philosophy, Media Analysis, And Technology Studies, Worlding Makes The Argument That Virtual Experience And Social Networking Can Be Vital Links To Utopian Visions And An Appreciation Of The World's Diversity. Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction -- Virtual Or Real? -- Worlding And Identity -- 2. World Systems Of Thought -- Time And Memory -- Knowledge Domains -- World Philosophy -- Cosmology -- Utopia -- 3. Consuming Desires -- Getting And Spending -- Wants Versus Needs -- Consumer Society -- Shopping In Space -- 4. Mapping Media -- Communication Territories -- Growing Up With Media -- Representation And Storytelling -- Media Entertainment Complex -- 5. Destination America -- Americana Dreams -- Jewel City -- Casino Capitalist -- Be A Tourist In Your Own Town -- 6. Virtual Culture -- Virtual Worlds In Historical Perspective -- Imagined Communities -- Immersive Games -- Convergence Culture -- 7. Mean World -- Mean World Syndrome -- Shock And Awe -- Witnessing Violence -- We Like To Watch -- Crime And Punishment -- 8. Globalization -- Resources And Crises -- Science And Belief -- Post-american World -- Hope And The Future. David Trend. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.