Hashtags Memes, Digital Tribes

Catalog description

Tracks digital life and creative expression of groups online in a close study of images, captions and hyperlinked tags. Examines rituals, symbols and cultural patterns that structure everyday life of digital tribes online and investigates impact of digital and social media (Twitter, Instagram Facebook, Periscope) on the constitution of communities online and offline. Studying varied array of digital tribes: tribes of the deaf, of oil rig workers, of Hindu worshippers, of prison wives and laptop entrepreneurs, students learn about underlying myths, rituals, and cultural symbols that connect groups of people online.