Digital Modernity

This is the first systematic theorization of digital modernity, arguing that the digital age cannot be understood apart from the long historical arc of modernity. Bridging digital humanities, critical theory, sociology, philosophy, and global history, Digital Modernity demonstrates that contemporary...

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1. autor: Smithies, James
Format: Online
Język:angielski
Wydane: Taylor & Francis 2026
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Dostęp online:ONIX_20260415T184307_9781040752715_13
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author Smithies, James
author_browse Smithies, James
author_facet Smithies, James
author_sort Smithies, James
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description This is the first systematic theorization of digital modernity, arguing that the digital age cannot be understood apart from the long historical arc of modernity. Bridging digital humanities, critical theory, sociology, philosophy, and global history, Digital Modernity demonstrates that contemporary digital systems are continuations rather than ruptures of the modern project. It offers a robust conceptual framework for examining how technological infrastructures intersect with democracy, governance, colonial legacies, and the public sphere. Across nine chapters, the book moves from conceptual foundations to future-facing proposals. Topics include the cultural logic of Silicon Valley, digital colonialism, digital infrastructure, and the epistemic crisis of the digital public sphere. It also engages philosophical questions about emergence, historicism, and artificial intelligence. Drawing on applied digital humanities, the book rejects technological determinism while offering accessible accounts of computing’s technical and political histories. Readers benefit from a coherent theoretical lens that integrates history with socio-technical critique, enabling a clearer understanding of digital modernity’s present and future stakes. This book is intended for scholars and students across digital humanities, media and communication studies, science and technology studies, sociology, the philosophy of technology, and modern history. Its interdisciplinary scope also supports research and teaching in software studies, critical AI, infrastructure studies, and global modernities. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses, it will be especially valuable for researchers seeking to historicize digital systems while advancing critiques grounded in cultural theory, political economy, and postcolonial perspectives. By placing the digital within a longer history of modernity, the book offers both a foundational text and a springboard for further research in critical digital studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1759422026-04-20T09:24:43Z Digital Modernity Smithies, James Digital humanities theory Critical infrastructure studies Sociotechnical systems Postcolonial technology Computational epistemology Public sphere analysis Historicising digital transformation thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GL Library and information sciences / Museology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHB Sociology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies This is the first systematic theorization of digital modernity, arguing that the digital age cannot be understood apart from the long historical arc of modernity. Bridging digital humanities, critical theory, sociology, philosophy, and global history, Digital Modernity demonstrates that contemporary digital systems are continuations rather than ruptures of the modern project. It offers a robust conceptual framework for examining how technological infrastructures intersect with democracy, governance, colonial legacies, and the public sphere. Across nine chapters, the book moves from conceptual foundations to future-facing proposals. Topics include the cultural logic of Silicon Valley, digital colonialism, digital infrastructure, and the epistemic crisis of the digital public sphere. It also engages philosophical questions about emergence, historicism, and artificial intelligence. Drawing on applied digital humanities, the book rejects technological determinism while offering accessible accounts of computing’s technical and political histories. Readers benefit from a coherent theoretical lens that integrates history with socio-technical critique, enabling a clearer understanding of digital modernity’s present and future stakes. This book is intended for scholars and students across digital humanities, media and communication studies, science and technology studies, sociology, the philosophy of technology, and modern history. Its interdisciplinary scope also supports research and teaching in software studies, critical AI, infrastructure studies, and global modernities. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate courses, it will be especially valuable for researchers seeking to historicize digital systems while advancing critiques grounded in cultural theory, political economy, and postcolonial perspectives. By placing the digital within a longer history of modernity, the book offers both a foundational text and a springboard for further research in critical digital studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license. 2026-04-20T09:24:42Z 2026-04-20T09:24:42Z 2026-04-16T13:16:13Z 2026 book ONIX_20260415T184307_9781040752715_13 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/112474 9781040752715 9781003684398 9781040752753 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/175942 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/112474/1/9781040752715.pdf Taylor & Francis Routledge 10.4324/9781003684398 10.4324/9781003684398 fa69b019-f4ee-4979-8d42-c6b6c476b5f0 9781040752715 9781003684398 9781040752753 Routledge 220 Oxford open access
spellingShingle Digital humanities theory
Critical infrastructure studies
Sociotechnical systems
Postcolonial technology
Computational epistemology
Public sphere analysis
Historicising digital transformation
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GL Library and information sciences / Museology
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHB Sociology
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies
Smithies, James
Digital Modernity
title Digital Modernity
title_full Digital Modernity
title_fullStr Digital Modernity
title_full_unstemmed Digital Modernity
title_short Digital Modernity
title_sort digital modernity
topic Digital humanities theory
Critical infrastructure studies
Sociotechnical systems
Postcolonial technology
Computational epistemology
Public sphere analysis
Historicising digital transformation
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GL Library and information sciences / Museology
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHB Sociology
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies
topic_facet Digital humanities theory
Critical infrastructure studies
Sociotechnical systems
Postcolonial technology
Computational epistemology
Public sphere analysis
Historicising digital transformation
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCT Media studies
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies
thema EDItEUR::U Computing and Information Technology::UB Information technology: general topics
thema EDItEUR::G Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary subjects::GL Library and information sciences / Museology
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTQ Colonialism and imperialism
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHB Sociology
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies
url ONIX_20260415T184307_9781040752715_13
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