The Political Subject in Participatory Culture: Investigating Post-truth in the Digital Age

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute towards a re-thinking of the nature of participatory culture, with the belief that such a move can be of great benefit to understanding the political subject in an era diagnosed with post-truth. This is accomplished by examining the writings of Hannah Arendt alongside theory within science and technology studies so as to provide an outline of the tension between the digital and the political subject, and then developing a stance on post-truth as inscribed in the fabric of participatory culture.
This is brought out concretely in diagnostic review of participatory culture, along with a study of recent academic work tackling misinformation. Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of assemblage serves as a particularly beneficial way to guide the diagnostic of participatory culture. The hope is that such a self-reflection on participatory culture and its political valence can open up to new practices of being a political subject, and provide novel insight on the tendencies of post-truth.