Subversion 2.0: Leaderlessness, the Internet, and the Fringes of Global Society (Disruptive Technology and International Security)

Why are conspiracy theories, extremist rhetoric, and acts of antagonism by fringe elements of society so much more visible today than in years past? The Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021, and the surge of medical skepticism during the global COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the challenge of extreme rhetoric in global society, with increasing attention paid to the enabling role of the Internet. But beyond the ways in which the Internet allows for connection, how do fringe ideas travel into the mainstream to become more significant movements? In Subversion 2.0, Christopher Whyte describes the transformation of societal subversion in the digital age. Whyte makes the case that "leaderlessness"--characterized by an evolving and uneven feedback loop linking fringe spaces to mainstream elite rhetoric and popular discourse--has emerged in recent years as the default format of subversive activity. Through case explorations and novel data, Whyte shows how extreme narratives that originate in conspiratorial, restrictive virtual spaces are rapidly filtered into mainstream settings due to a series of socio-technological conditions present in the Web 2.0 era. As a result, fringe narratives and symbols often become the lens through which social and political elites interpret information that they then spread through public speech, which is projected back to subversive spaces and used to perpetuate fringe narratives. By examining the uneven feedback loop of leaderlessness, Whyte argues that social Internet platforms act as a vehicle for transmitting and amplifying extreme rhetoric but often fail to moderate extremism in turn. He ultimately shows how societal subversion, an activity that is about degrading existing power structures without directly attacking them, has taken on a new, dynamic form in the digital age.

Politics & Social Sciences

Whyte, Christopher

Social Sciences

Oxford University Press

The Gay Decameron

Ten gay men gather for a dinner party, and as the conversation flows the author reveals secrets about each of the guests.

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Victor Gollancz

As retired schoolmaster Archibald MacCaspin translates an obscure manuscript to pass the time, he unlocks a fantastic tale of a warlock born in 17th-century Scotland, who does battle with his evil grandmother and loses the lady he loves to the scaffold.

The Warlock of Strathearn

First edition. A near fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Dust soiling to the edges of the book's upper page block.

The Cloud Machinery

London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 2000

Ten gay men gather for a dinner party, but the conversation leaves a lot unsaid. Into the gaps, the author weaves the untold stories of the guests—Gavin's trip to Ireland to find the place where Colin died, and how Nicholas' ad in the classifieds led him to the hairiest body in Edinburgh.

Gollancz

Retired schoolmaster, Archibald MacCaspin, decodes an ancient manuscript, and finds himself caught up in the story of a child born in the seventeenth century with astonishing powers--he can talk to animals, inflict sores, heal illnesses, and see the dead

Too often seen as a ghost from the past, nationalism has resurfaced as a major factor in European politics and culture. A powerful commitment to national autonomy has marked Scottish writing throughout the twentieth century. How has the emergence of new voices from feminist, gay and lesbian critics transformed that commitment? How critical and pluralistic can the new nationalisms be? This collection serves notice that the tradition is being read in new and disruptive ways. Five women and four men examine the relationship between gender and nationality, how male and female authors portray women, the treatment of sexuality in Scottish writing, the construction of Scottish masculinity and its relation to class and homophobia. Covering modern fiction and theatre, poetry, film and television, it is a provocative reassessment of the gender and culture of a 'stateless nation'.

Gendering the Nation: Studies in Modern Scottish Literature

Self-Help

Edinburgh University Press

Although Scottish poetry gained an increasingly high profile towards the end of the twentieth century, this groundbreaking work is the first book length study of the field. Christopher Whyte takes significant collections by 20 poets writing in English, Scots and Gaelic as the starting point for an examination of their whole career and of the connections between them. Poets featured include Sorley MacLean, Edwin Muir, George Campbell Hay, Sydney Goodsir Smith, Edwin Morgan, Tom Leonard, W.S. Graham, Iain Crichton Smith, Liz Lochhead, Douglas Dunn, Kathleen Jamie, Carol Ann Duffy and Aonghas MacNeacail.Whyte argues that concerns with nationalism and national identity have so far shaped our reading of Scottish poetry and that the time has come to set these aside in favour of new approaches where Scottishness will no longer be a dominant concern. His sobering yet balanced reappraisal of the failures and achievements of the interwar period offers a sound basis for the discussion of more contemporary w

Modern Scottish Poetry

British & Irish

Dreuchd an Fhigheadair - The Weaver's Task: A Gaelic Sampler

MhicGhillBhain, Crisdean (editor)

Scottish Poetry Library

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Whyte, Christopher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Whyte, Christopher

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Whyte, Christopher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Subversion 2.0: Leaderlessness, the Internet, and the Fringes of Global Society (Disruptive Technology and International Security)

Subversion 2.0: Leaderlessness, the Internet, and the Fringes of Global Society (Disruptive Technology and International Security)

The Gay Decameron

The Warlock of Strathearn

The Cloud Machinery

The Gay Decameron

The Warlock of Strathearn

Gendering the Nation: Studies in Modern Scottish Literature

Modern Scottish Poetry

Dreuchd an Fhigheadair - The Weaver's Task: A Gaelic Sampler