Apr 15
Lines of Light is a graphic novel by Dan Nott, which examines the “history and geography of the internet.” I was fortunate enough to meet the author at the Massachusetts Independent Comic Expo, which was held at Lesley University. This quarter I am teaching two courses on related topics (Digital Globalization as well as CyberWar …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2019/04/lines-of-light-a-book-review/
Nov 26
In the summer of 2017 I traveled in Hong Kong and Macau, and visited Shenzhen. During my time in Hong Kong I was able to use the internet, and relied on Google Maps to find street markets when I became lost. Of course I’d heard about the Great Firewall of China, which is also called …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2018/11/the-great-firewall-of-china/
Oct 01
Mack DeGeurin has an interesting article in NY Magazine on cyberwar titled “U.S. Silently Enters a New Age of Cyberwarfare.” As DeGuerin notes, the first kinetic use of cyberwarfare (kinetic being a term used to describe the physical destruction or harm of an item or person) was the United States and Israel’s use of Stuxnet, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2018/10/cyberwar/
Nov 15
One thing that I have noticed teaching entirely online is that some of my students are digital nomads, which are sometimes also called digital wanderers. These are people who live their lives and careers in multiple countries, typically while self-employed. I believe that two different phenomenon served to drive this trend. First, the financial crisis …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2017/11/digital-nomads/
May 07
During the last U.S. presidential election campaign Wikileaks drew extensive news coverage, as it released data from the Democratic National Committee shortly before the election took place. In March Wikileaks released a massive amount of data regarding CIA’s espionage capabilities. But how does Wikileaks fact-check its data? Can you trust that what it posts is …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2017/05/can-you-trust-wikileaks/
Mar 01
I am currently teaching an online class on Digital Globalization, and we have just finished the section of the course that deals with surveillance and privacy. For a recent discussion question I asked students if they were more concerned about surveillance by the government or by corporations. Last year, my students were much more worried …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2017/03/digital-surveillance-and-privacy/
Feb 01
One of the great mysteries of the 21st century is the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. While his creation of the blockchain and a new cryptocurrency was an immense achievement, Bitcoin itself is only one of a diverse array of emerging currencies. Still, when I taught my Digital Globalization course last winter, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2017/02/bitcoins-perils/
Jul 30
After a military faction recently sought to overthrow the Turkish government by a coup, Turkey’s President Erdogan launched a massive and extreme purge of the nation’s military, academia, and judiciary. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs, or been arrested. The government even created a separate cemetery for dead coup plotters. While the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2016/07/wikileaks-and-politics/
Jul 25
One of my favorite podcasts is Reply All, which covers cyber issues in a creative and clever manner. The hosts recently had an interview (“Decoders,” episode #62) with New York Times’ journalist Rukmini Callimachi, as well as Runa Sandvik, the director of bureau security at this newspaper. In essence, Callimachi discovered a new means that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2016/07/isis-and-encryption/
Apr 15
This winter quarter I taught a fully-online class on Digital Globalization, which I greatly enjoyed. I believe that Digital Globalization is a form of globalization that is every bit as powerful as economic, political and cultural globalization. Of course, it is also inextricably linked to all these other forms of globalization. It’s strange, therefore, that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.introtoglobalstudies.com/2016/04/syllabus-for-an-online-course-on-digital-globalization/
