Project Outline

Paper Outline

Part 1: Introduction

Thesis statement: "The new definition of collective action is currently in an embryonic stage; it is not yet clear what new activism will look like when it is better developed. OWS utilizes new digital technologies as its organizational media and attempts to organically generate solutions to their grievances without relying on the structure of the systems they oppose. By identifying the structural characteristics of Occupy Wall Street, this thesis seeks to define a new philosophy for activism now possible with digital communication technologies."

"This thesis will maintain the theme that new technology is the factor most responsible for the paradigm shift. This will require research about the Internet and its technologies’ influence on human behavior."

Tapscott, Don. Grown up Digital.

Wendy Brown. "Occupy Wall Street: Return of a Repressed Res-Publica." 

Part 2: The Occupation

Mission statement of #Occupy and demands
Importance of the individual

Why it happened - events
Where it happened - countries, cities
Who showed up (the 99%)
How long it lasted

How it ended

Media response


Part 3: The Old Paradigm

Broadcast (one-to-many)
"Activism’s traditional model of organization"
Anecdotes:
The civil rights movement
Women's suffrage


Part 4: Occupy in the New Paradigm

During the Occupation
Networking (many-to-many)

Harcourt, Bernard E. "Political Disobedience."

Lorde, Audre. "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House."

Rheingold, Howard. The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier.

Part 5: Occupy's Ongoing Legacy & Structure

"Occupy works in its own system – a people’s assembly – focused on the rhizomatic process of creating transformative change. Intrinsic to this new model are digital communication technologies."

"The affordances of digital media have worked to facilitate the faster and broader uncovering and spreading of information that empowers and provokes self-interested individuals. They work not just to protest wrongs, but also to unite in a community whose members are diverse and willing to change existing systems, or create new ones that are more reflective of modern needs and capabilities. This paradigm shift represents not just change in the philosophy of protest, but an evolution of the way humans communicate and enact change."

People's Assembly
Websites as well as Physical Meetups

Committees
-Occupy Student Debt
-Occupy University
-The Occupied Wall Street Journal

"Results" vs. Expectations
Longevity of the movement















occupywallst.org
nycga.net - NYC General Assembly
facebook.com/OccupyWallSt
occupywallstreet.net
twitter.com#occupy
http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet

Part 6: DTC

Internet/technologies' roles in...
-Uncovering grievances
-Planning
-Advertising/converting

Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody.