Articles by Christof Demont-heinrich
New Media & Society, 2004
Employing narrative analysis of ethnographic interviews with persons from a variety of socioecono... more Employing narrative analysis of ethnographic interviews with persons from a variety of socioeconomic, educational, and racial/ethnic backgrounds, this article examines the discursive structure of the digital divide debate as it is articulated among contemporary online users and nonusers in the United States. The article argues that the discourse of individualism serves as a filter that shapes and distorts all private and public conversations about the digital divide and thus limits public debate on the subject.
Some challenges to the dominance of individualism emerge when people discuss the digital divide in relation to the specific, lived situations of economic disadvantage. Yet we conclude that the potential political power of this critique is muted as it echoes rather than challenges the contradictions inherent to the promise of the digital era that are found at the heart of both corporate advertising and current social policies.
Interviews with 52 parents of varying income levels and positions on the digital ‘‘access rainbow... more Interviews with 52 parents of varying income levels and positions on the digital ‘‘access rainbow’’ are used to explore how parents discuss the widespread belief that ICT (information and communication technologies) access affects their children’s prospects for success. While all parents agreed that ICT competence is important, differences emerged along socioeconomic lines regarding how parents conceptualized the computer/success relationship. While upper-income parents demonstrated greater ICT proficiency and access and assumed that their children needed ICT proficiency for success, parents in the lower-income groups saw the need for ICT proficiency as more context-dependent and adopted broader definitions of success. All parents expressed concerns about the negative attributes of ICTs as entertainment rather than educational media; for lower- and middle-income families, however, this objection justified limits on use or access among children.
Papers by Christof Demont-heinrich
A given hegemonic order (re)produces itself in part by appeals to its apparent inevitability. Thi... more A given hegemonic order (re)produces itself in part by appeals to its apparent inevitability. This paper critically examines instances of precisely these sorts of appeals vis-a-vis the global hegemony of English. A condensed chapter from a recently completed dissertation, this paper critically examines selected texts taken from a pool of 275 accounts of the global rise of English published from Jan. 1, 1991 to May 1, 2003 in five American-owned prestige press publications. It focuses in particular on examples of the discursive construction of English as an unstoppable global juggernaut. It aims to draw attention to the valorization of English hegemony and to bring to critical light some of the paradoxical and often darker aspects of this global social phenomenon. The paper also aims to contribute to critical theoretical thought more generally. Change, linguistic and otherwise, is inevitable.
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2002
... Bryan C. Taylor, Christof Demont-Heinrich, Kirsten J. Broadfoot, Jefferson Dodge, and Cuowei ... more ... Bryan C. Taylor, Christof Demont-Heinrich, Kirsten J. Broadfoot, Jefferson Dodge, and Cuowei Jian ... so as to control markets and ensure huge profits (Richtel, 2001 b). The latter protested a lack of adequate consultation and projected compensation (Phillips & Healey, 2001). ...
World Englishes, 2008
... ways (Entman, 2004) eg they might include and foreground certain perspectives on the ... in... more ... ways (Entman, 2004) eg they might include and foreground certain perspectives on the ... international business, as the means of communication between Japan and Brazil, Germany and ... the world has accepted English as the language of international commerce, technology ...
World Englishes, 2000
This paper analyzes written discourse generated in response to an open-ended questionnaire admini... more This paper analyzes written discourse generated in response to an open-ended questionnaire administered to 136 students at two different universities in the southwestern United States and to 15 non-American students at a large Danish university. The questionnaire aimed to inspire reflection about the impact of the global rise of English on American mother-tongue speakers of English as well as on those who do not have English as a mother tongue, especially with respect to the question of mono vs. multilingual practice. Most American and non-American respondents represented the learning of a foreign language as something American mother-tongue speakers should do but as something which is not necessary. There was widespread, though not unanimous, agreement that English is necessary for non-mother-tongue speakers. Responses are also grouped, discussed, and analyzed in terms of the instrumental, multicultural, or mix of multicultural and instrumental logic used. The author is especially concerned with the intersections between the global hegemony of English and the learning of foreign languages. The study and analysis conducted here offer insight into these intersections. Given that so much is at stake in terms of the relationship between the global expansion of English and foreign language learning, the author concludes that further research into this relationship is needed.
International Communication Gazette, 2008
ABSTRACT
The Communication Review, 2009
This article zeroes in on “the American situation” with respect to the global hegemony of English... more This article zeroes in on “the American situation” with respect to the global hegemony of English. It does so by way of textual analysis of a number of articles taken from a pool of 275 American prestige press accounts of the global spread of English. Drawing parallels between prestige press and some academic accounts of culture and globalization, the article
Sociology Compass, 2011
... Much of the criticism came from scholars who employ a political economy approach to studying ... more ... Much of the criticism came from scholars who employ a political economy approach to studying and theorizing media and culture (Garnham 2000; Murdock 1995, etc.). ... Central Asian Survey 29(4): 389–403. CrossRef. Kraidy, Marwan. 2002. 'Hybridity in Cultural Globalization. ...
Journal of Sociolinguistics, 2011
Studies in Language and …, 2007
A given hegemonic order (re)produces itself in part by appeals to its apparent inevitability. Thi... more A given hegemonic order (re)produces itself in part by appeals to its apparent inevitability. This paper critically examines instances of precisely these sorts of appeals vis-a-vis the global hegemony of English. A condensed chapter from a recently completed dissertation, this paper critically examines selected texts taken from a pool of 275 accounts of the global rise of English published from Jan. 1, 1991 to May 1, 2003 in five American-owned prestige press publications. It focuses in particular on examples of the discursive construction of English as an unstoppable global juggernaut. It aims to draw attention to the valorization of English hegemony and to bring to critical light some of the paradoxical and often darker aspects of this global social phenomenon. The paper also aims to contribute to critical theoretical thought more generally. Change, linguistic and otherwise, is inevitable.
Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 2010
Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 2008
Journal of Communication Inquiry, 2005
Journal of Communication Inquiry, 2007
... Page 3. from the late US senator Paul Simon's (1980) milestone book The Tongue-Tied ... more ... Page 3. from the late US senator Paul Simon's (1980) milestone book The Tongue-Tied American. ... And Parameswaran (1999) examined the adoption and use of English-language romance novels by women in India to construct more modern and cosmopolitan identities. ...
Journal of Communication Inquiry, 2008
... Language is spread predominantly not by government or state coercion, military or police acti... more ... Language is spread predominantly not by government or state coercion, military or police action, but by speakers accepting the prestige and utility of new ... Gill (1993), for example, has noted that “the capacity to claim with credibility that the expansion of the power of the United ...
Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2002
... Bryan C. Taylor, Christof Demont-Heinrich, Kirsten J. Broadfoot, Jefferson Dodge, and Cuowei ... more ... Bryan C. Taylor, Christof Demont-Heinrich, Kirsten J. Broadfoot, Jefferson Dodge, and Cuowei Jian ... so as to control markets and ensure huge profits (Richtel, 2001 b). The latter protested a lack of adequate consultation and projected compensation (Phillips & Healey, 2001). ...
info, 2002
This paper focuses on the complex nature of privacy and freedom of speech issues as they arise at... more This paper focuses on the complex nature of privacy and freedom of speech issues as they arise at the ISP. It addresses these critical issues by way of an examination of multiple specific contemporary examples and legal cases. Also discussed are a number of different approaches to more clearly define the status of the ISP and its multi-faceted functions. Finally, some of the possible implications of various proposals for regulatory and legal schemes are examined. The author concludes that ultimately any such scheme must foreground the integral role that the ISP plays with respect to fundamental privacy and free speech rights on the Internet.
Uploads
Articles by Christof Demont-heinrich
Some challenges to the dominance of individualism emerge when people discuss the digital divide in relation to the specific, lived situations of economic disadvantage. Yet we conclude that the potential political power of this critique is muted as it echoes rather than challenges the contradictions inherent to the promise of the digital era that are found at the heart of both corporate advertising and current social policies.
Papers by Christof Demont-heinrich
Some challenges to the dominance of individualism emerge when people discuss the digital divide in relation to the specific, lived situations of economic disadvantage. Yet we conclude that the potential political power of this critique is muted as it echoes rather than challenges the contradictions inherent to the promise of the digital era that are found at the heart of both corporate advertising and current social policies.