Hybrid Politics

Laura Iannelli is Lecturer of Sociology of Culture and Communication. She received her Ph.D. in Theory and Social Research from Sapienza University in Rome. Since 2011 she has been teaching ‘Political Communication and Participation’ at the University of Sassari in Sardinia (Italy). In 2014, she was Visiting Scholar at City University London and the University of Leicester. Her primary research focuses on communication processes and political participation. In 2013, she began coordinating a two-year interdisciplinary research project on contemporary public art, activism and performative citizenship, funded by the Region of Sardinia. In 2015, in collaboration with City University London she organized an international conference entitled ′Protest Participation in Variable Communication Ecologies′ in Alghero, Italy, and co-edited a special issue on this topic in the journal Information, Communication & Society. She has published various book chapters and articles on media and political participation, and in 2010 authored the book ‘Facebook & Co. Sociologia dei Social Network Sites’ (Milano: Guerini Scientifica).

This rich, original, and engaging volume provides a new vernacular for understanding hybrid politics; paths to civic engagement that frequently fly under the radar and do not count as political. Through her discussion of pop protests, performative publics, polymedia, and civic engagement, Iannelli expertly synthesizes contemporary work to contribute her own, original take on the always-current question of the political. Smart, informed, and a must read for those interested in the political character of the net.

• IntroductionChapter 1. Hybrid Research on Media and Political ParticipationMedia and ParticipationModern Media and Democratic Participation in Political Communication ResearchModern Media, Public Spheres, and Perfomative PublicsAlternative and Activist MediaInternet Studies and Political ParticipationBeyond the Single-Medium ApproachChapter 2. Hybrid Media and Political ParticipationMedia Ecologies, Remediation, Polymedia, MediamorphosisHybrid Media Logics in Political Communication ResearchThe Power of Publics between Convergent Cultural Practices and Spreadable Media ContentsMedia-reflexive ActivismResearch ChallengesChapter 3. Hybrid Media Participation: Tweeting TV Politics and Pop ProtestsAn Emerging Body of ResearchPerformative Publics Tweeting TV PoliticsPop Protests: Spreadable Hybrid Genres of Political StruggleConclusionsReferences