Fuchs Ch 1, PCH 1-3

What is Fuchs’ definition of power? How does Fuchs distinguish between participation and power? 

How is that similar to, and different from Delwyche and Kelty? What considerations are particularly important for Fuchs?

What does Fuchs mean by saying that social phenomena such as money, markets and media “do not simply exist, but are the outcome of relations between human beings”?

What is “critical theory”?

How is networked power different from hierarchical power? Do institutions with hierarchical power tend toward serving the interests of some groups more than others?

What is commodification? How does it affect media production, consumption, and distribution?

Zero in on unpaid “Work” in social media. How does the gift economy intersect with capitalist economy? (Playbor, Fuchs 9-10)

What is “dialectics,” how does it relate to “contradictions,” and why does that matter?

What are some different approaches to intellectual property? Why is the intellectual commons heavily regulated, but the natural resources we hold in common—air, waterways, minerals—deregulated?

How would you distinguish between “media” and “culture”?

Can you talk about your own media literacy? Are there ways in which you’d call it advanced, and other ways less so?

Why are social movements in the United States associated with privilege? Is it the same everywhere?

Who’s right, and why? Abby Hoffman said “A modern revolutionary group heads for the television station, not the factory.” But Gil Scott-Heron sang in 1970: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,”

You will not be able to stay home, brother
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag
And skip out for beer during commercials
Because the revolution will not be televised

What do the terms “organized public” and “attention economy” mean?