Diggit Magazine

Liberalism, aka ‘the left’ in the US?

Column
Christian Chun
17/04/2019
5 minutes to read

In his new column, Christian Chun zooms in on the use of 'liberalism' and 'liberals' as a synonym for the left in United States. Socialism and the left should should not be conflated with liberalism. 

In his new column, Christian Chun zooms in on the use of 'liberalism' and 'liberals' as a synonym for the left in United States. Socialism and the left should should not be conflated with liberalism. 

Health
© Photo by Vittore Buzzi on Unsplash

Anti-vaccine movement: the epidemic of stupid

Column
Blean Tsige
15/04/2019
13 minutes to read

The purpose of this column is to highlight the influence of social networking platforms on society. In particular on the way in which the outbreak of measles can be blamed on to misinformation that is spread on these platforms.

kunstmatig kind, ivf,
© Photo by Bastien Jaillot on Unsplash

Welkom in mijn baarmoeder, mijn lief kunstmatig kind 

Column
Seline Westerhof
29/03/2019
3 minutes to read

Ivf bood mijn moeder de mogelijkheid tot moederschap. Maar was zij een sterke vrouw met een eigen keuze of een willoos slachtoffer van de technologie?

capitalism, neoliberalism
© Victoriano Izquierdo on Unsplash

What’s in a word: Neoliberalism or capitalism?

Column
Christian Chun
20/03/2019
5 minutes to read

Is there a difference between capitalism and neoliberalism? And what are the affordances of employing one term over another? Does this matter? According to Christian Chun (University of Massachusetts Boston) it does matter. 

white terrorism, deus vult, crusader, knights templar

White terrorism, white genocide and metapolitics2.0

Column
Ico Maly
20/03/2019
7 minutes to read

The terrorist attack in New Zealand has an offline and an online dimension and it is crucial that we take this online/offline nexus on board when analyzing contemporary white terrorism. says Ico Maly (Tilburg University).

Marcuse's grave, cultural marxism, hoax, conspiracy theory new right
© Wikimedia Commons

Why has Cultural Marxism become the enemy?

Column
Jan Blommaert
17/03/2019
13 minutes to read

Cultural Marxism is blamed for "globalism" and its discontents. Perhaps exploring globalization can be an alternative for this deeply flawed conspiracy theory.

irony poinsoning

On being diagnosed with irony poisoning

Column
Piia Varis
14/03/2019
8 minutes to read

What is irony poisoning? And should we really take it seriously as scholars? Piia Varis (Tilburg University) joins the debate. 

Chinese intellectuals, digital media, weibo,
© kunshou

Where have the Chinese public intellectuals gone?

Column
Mingyi Hou
12/03/2019
9 minutes to read

In the democratization paradigm the focus is on the question to what extent media institutions are free from state intervention. In this column, Mingyi Hou questions the usefulness of this paradigm to explain why Chinese public intellectuals seem to be disappearing.

What linguistic landscapes hide

Column
Jan Blommaert
11/03/2019
6 minutes to read

Offline linguistic landscapes hide a lot that only becomes overt when one traces these landscapes to their online extensions. It is by this move that we begin to get a grasp of the real complexity of "local" phenomena in a superdiverse world.

Culture Wars
© Diggit Magazine

The return of the Culture Wars

Column
Ana Deumert
28/02/2019
7 minutes to read

In this column Ana Deumert reflects on the return of the cultures wars at universities and in popular culture. She suggests that the culture wars were not just a phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s, but that they are continuing. 

weibo, fans, fan culture

Fan communication on Weibo

Column
Mingyi Hou
19/02/2019
9 minutes to read

Nowadays, fans speak in a ritualistic and phatic manner on Weibo. They interpret Weibo’s popularity metrics and algorithms and use them for strategic communicative practices, aiming at boosting positive publicity and high media visibility for idols.