2000

Mizrach Steve

CyberAnthropology

http://www.eff.org/Net_culture/Misc/cyberanthropology.paper

CyberAnthropology recognizes that the new 'virtual' communities are no longer defined by geographic or even semiotic (ethnic/religious/linguistic) boundaries. Instead, communities are being constructed in cyberspace on the basis of common affiliative interests, transcending boundaries of class, nation, race, gender, and language. Even as old systems of social organization are imploding, the various 'virtual communities' are growing. (cf. Howard Rheingold.) This parallels the way in which on the global scene civil society is reclaiming social space from both the public and private sectors - how the NGO (nongovernmental organization) is continuing to check the power of the nation-state and the multinational corporation.