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New Media and Civic Life
What is media’s role in engaging the public in civic life?
At ZeroDivide, we believe one of the major functions of media is to create a public forum and a sufficiently informed public for democracy. There are many factors predicting people’s involvement in civic life. These factors can include social capital, use of mass media, and interpersonal communication. Immigrant populations face different situations when it comes to civic participation. As foreign-born populations who have grown up in families with different ethnic cultural background, immigrants usually embrace multiple cultural identity, social networks, multilingual ability and complex value systems. There are several individuals and organizations working to address these issues. One such individual is Dr. Konrad Ng, Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii Academy for Creative Media, where he focuses on the art, history, politics, and philosophy of film and media, particularly as it relates to Asians and Asian-Americans.
Dr. Ng joined the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program (APA Program) as a Visiting Scholar for 2009-2010. With ZeroDivide support, Dr. Ng's residency continues the APA Program's commitment to bringing the experience and knowledge of established and emerging APA scholars and artists to the Smithsonian. His work recognizes the impact of novel forms of media on the contemporary Asian Pacific American experience.
"ZeroDivide is excited to be a part of this effort to document and learn more about how new media tools are changing civic participation in the APA community," said Tessie Guillermo, President and CEO of ZeroDivide. "Professor Ng's academic and on-the-ground experience in utilizing media & technology tools provides him a unique perspective in doing this work. Support from the Smithsonian APA Program demonstrates a clear recognition of the important role technology plays in increasing the diversity of voices in our systems and institutions."
Dr. Ng is researching the political dimensions and civic engagement of Asian Americans in film, video, and new media. Later this month, we'll have the opportunity to engage with Dr. Ng and other thought leaders such as Dr. Richard Kurin, Folklorist, Author and the Director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, to discuss how new media and social networking technologies contribute to the research, presentation, and conservation of cultural, political, and aesthetic values.
Stay tuned for updates!
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