Cuando, hace algunos años, Sherry Turkle publicó su libro The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit, hoy en día un clásico en la materia, nadie podía imaginar aún el espectacular cambio que iba a producirse en la forma en que concebimos y utilizamos los ordenadores. Ya no damos "órdenes" a la máquina, sino que dialogamos, navegamos con ella, surcando mundos simulados y creando realidades virtuales. Y, además, el poder psicológico que posee el ordenador ya no se limita a la interacción persona-máquina, sino que se ha ampliado a un gran número de redes a través de las cuales podemos interactuar, hablar, intercambiar ideas y sentimientos e incluso asumir personalidades de nuestra propia creación. Éste no es, pues, un libro sobre ordenadores, sino sobre la gente y la reevaluación de sus identidades en la era de Internet, sobre nuestra implicación informática en nuevas formas de pensar acerca de la evolución, las relaciones, la política, el sexo y el yo. Y lo que acaba emergiendo, según Turkle, es un nuevo sentido de la identidad humana, descentrado y múltiple, que a su vez sirve para describir las últimas tendencias del diseño informático, de la inteligencia artificial y de las experiencias de la gente en ciertos entornos virtuales: el ordenador, en fin, como profeta del posmodernismo en la tierra.

This book investigates the use of football to create, shape and promote Spanish, Catalan and Basque national identities and explores the utilization of soccer to foster patriotic feelings, exposing the often dark vested interests behind the propagation of national narratives through soccer.

“But we can still rise now”, runs a line of Scotland’s unofficial national anthem Flower of Scotland, “and be the nation again” who defeated the English King Edward II in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. These short lines tell us much about the concept of the nation. Firstly, the pronoun of the nation is “we”. Secondly, nationhood remains aspirational for some, while it is entirely taken-for-granted for others. Thirdly, nations often trace their origins back to an implausibly dim and distant past. Finally, it points to the fundamentally discursive nature of the nation: the nation appears not as something which simply is, but as something which can be, called into existence through talk, official documents, official and unofficial national anthems, ceremonies and parades, monuments and statuary, press coverage and, increasingly, television. This book, which arose out of a conference held in Tarragona in 2007, focuses on the complex discourses of the nation to be found in the television systems of twelve different countries, examining how these circulate in fiction, in news and documentary (including re-enactment formats), and in entertainment programmes, adverts and the coverage of large-scale sporting events. The nation which emerges is everywhere and nowhere, talked about endlessly but never finally grasped, repeatedly staged and re-enacted but lacking a foundational script. In short, it is a site of struggle. The stakes are high, since the nation when mobilised is a force to be reckoned with, and the on-going attempts to define it are many, varied and often highly creative. This book details many such events, from the high drama of war reporting to the self-mocking irony of ten-second commercial spots.

The first comprehensive Reader to accompany the remarkable city of Barcelona

En los últimos años la expresión “cine transnacional” se viene utilizando como sinónimo de “cine contemporáneo” puesto que las actuales condiciones de producción, distribución y consumo cinematográficos conducen a unas transformaciones, también estéticas, que difícilmente pueden explicarse desde las culturas y políticas nacionales. La imposibilidad o, como mínimo, la dificultad de asignar una nacionalidad única o mayoritaria constituye una de las principales características del cine, y de la producción audiovisual, contemporáneos. Los textos incluidos en esta edición se ocupan de estas transformaciones a través de ejemplos relacionados con espacios geopolíticos (los países que componen Mercosur); la recepción y el consumo de producciones audiovisuales latinas en Estados Unidos o con el análisis de espacios ficcionales transnacionales: la ciudad global, la frontera y otros no lugares contemporáneos. Estos trabajos coinciden en una idea más general: el carácter transnacional del cine contemporáneo no es un asunto estrictamente cinematográfico, sino también político, pues tanto su realidad como su imaginario geopolítico afectan también al propio concepto de ciudadanía.

A multidisciplinary, authoritative outline of the current intellectual landscape of the field. Over the past three decades, the term ‘diaspora’ has been featured in many research studies and in wider theoretical debates in areas such as communications, the humanities, social sciences, politics, and international relations. The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture explores new dimensions of human mobility and connectivity—presenting state-of-the-art research and key debates on the intersection of media, cultural, and diasporic studies This innovative and timely book helps readers to understand diasporic cultures and their impact on the globalized world. The Handbook presents contributions from internationally-recognized scholars and researchers to strengthen understanding of diasporas and diasporic cultures, diasporic media and cultural resources, and the various forms of diasporic organization, expression, production, distribution, and consumption. Divided into seven sections, this wide-ranging volume covers topics such as methodological challenges and innovations in diasporic research, the construction of diasporic identity, the politics of diasporic integration, the intersection of gender and generation with the diasporic condition, new technologies in media, and many others. A much-needed resource for anyone with interest diasporic studies, this book: Presents new and original theory, research, and essays Employs unique methodological and conceptual debates Offers contributions from a multidisciplinary team of scholars and researchers Explores new and emerging trends in the study of diasporas and media Applies a wide-ranging, international perspective to the subject Due to its international perspective, interdisciplinary approach, and wide range of authors from around the world, The Handbook of Diasporas, Media, and Culture is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, lecturers, and researchers in areas that focus on the relationship of media and society, ethnic identity, race, class and gender, globalization and immigration, and other relevant fields.