Open AccessGeeks, Social Imaginaries, and Recursive Publics
Author(s) -
Kelty Christopher
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
cultural anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.669
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1548-1360
pISSN - 0886-7356
DOI - 10.1525/can.2005.20.2.185
Subject(s) - hacker , argument (complex analysis) , the imaginary , tinker , publics , sociology , the internet , free speech , code (set theory) , software , media studies , public relations , law , political science , computer security , computer science , psychology , psychoanalysis , politics , world wide web , biochemistry , chemistry , set (abstract data type) , anthropology , programming language
This article investigates the social, technical, and legal affiliations among “geeks” (hackers, lawyers, activists, and IT entrepreneurs) on the Internet. The mode of association specific to this group is that of a “recursive public sphere” constituted by a shared imaginary of the technical and legal conditions of possibility for their own association. On the basis of fieldwork conducted in the United States, Europe, and India, I argue that geeks imagine their social existence and relations as much through technical practices (hacking, networking, and code writing) as through discursive argument (rights, identities, and relations). In addition, they consider a “right to tinker” a form of free speech that takes the form of creating, implementing, modifying, or using specific kinds of software (especially Free Software) rather than verbal discourse.