Technology as a Site of Struggle: The Interplay of Identity, Morality, and Power in Four Popular Technologies
Stephanie Vie · Review of Communication · 2008
In this review essay I examine four technologies which, as a result of their integration into American society, have changed scholars’ views of the nature of writing, the nature of authorship, and the nature of writing instruction. Throughout, I call upon the three texts under review to show how they join in the conversation regarding the ethical, moral, and economic impact of these four technologies—the World Wide Web, peer-to-peer networks, plagiarism detection services, and video games—upon our society. The authors showcased here shed new light on technologies many of us take for granted; the questions they raise are ones academics should continue to consider as we grapple with the impact of computerized technologies on our moral lives.