<b>Digital Divide| Max Weber and Digital Divide Studies — Introduction</b>

Authors

  • Massimo Ragnedda Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK)
  • Glenn W. Muschert Miami University

Keywords:

digital divide, digital inequality, Max Weber, social stratification

Abstract

Seminal sociologist Max Weber rarely wrote about media dynamics; however, the Weberian perspective offers rich potential for the analysis of various media issues, including the study of digital divides. In particular, the contribution of a Weberian school of thought to the field seems to be the addition of noneconomic and nontechnical concerns to the study of digital inequalities, most notably the importance of status and legitimacy and group affiliations and political relations as areas of focus. This piece introduces the Special Section on Max Weber and digital divide studies and clarifies the inspiration behind it. It briefly presents the article contributions, while summarizing their arguments, and offers a broad discussion of Weber’s relevance to digital divide studies as a way of understanding the individual articles as a shared intellectual effort.

Author Biographies

Massimo Ragnedda, Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK)

Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication

Glenn W. Muschert, Miami University

Glenn Muschert is Associate Professor of Sociology at Miami University. He received his B.S. in International Area Studies from Drexel University in 1992 and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2002. After serving a one-year appointment on the Law and Society Faculty at Purdue University, in 2003 he joined Miami University's faculty as an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology. In 2009, Dr. Muschert was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor. Glenn's areas of scholarly interst lie in the sociological study of crime and social problems, including the mass media framing of high profile crimes, school shootings, missing persons, and social control through surveillance technologies. His publications have appeared in American Behavioral Scientist, The Gerontologist, Research in Social Problems & Public Policy, Critical Sociology, Sociological Inquiry, Justice Policy Journal, Sociological Imagination, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Annual Review of Law & Social Science, Sociology Compass, Social Science Journal, and Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice.

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Published

2015-08-13

Issue

Vol. 9 (2015)

Section

Special Sections

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