Karen Lumsden

Emily Harmer

This book explores the discrimination encountered and propagated by individuals in online environments. The editors develop the concept of 'online othering' as a tool through which to analyse and make sense of the myriad toxic and harmful behaviours which are being created through, or perpetuated via, the use of communication-technologies such as the internet, social media, and ‘the internet of things’. The book problematises the dichotomy assumed between real and virtual spaces by exploring the construction of online abuse, victims' experiences, resistance to online othering, and the policing of interpersonal cyber-crime. The relationship between various socio-political institutions and experiences of online hate speech are also explored. Online Othering explores the extent to which forms of information-technologies facilitate, exacerbate, and/or promote the enactment of traditional offline offences (such as domestic abuse and stalking). It focuses on the construction and perpetration of online abuse through examples such as the far-right, the alt-right and Men's Rights Activists. It also explores experiences of, and resistance to, online abuse via examples such as victims' experiences of revenge porn, online abuse and misogyny, transphobia, disability hate crime, and the ways in which online othering is intersectional. Finally, the collection addresses the role of the police and other agencies in terms of their interventions, and the regulation and governance of virtual space(s). Contributions to the volume come from fields including sociology; communication and media studies; psychology; criminology; political studies; information science and gender studies. Online Othering is one of the very first collections to explore a multitude of abuses and their relationship to information and communication technology.

Exploring Digital Violence and Discrimination on the Web

Online Othering

Aaron Winter

Doing research with criminals or deviants has inspired much academic reflection, particularly in respect of the risks and dangers which researchers may face in these contexts, as well as the ethical, legal and moral dilemmas they provoke. This collection contributes to, advances and consolidates discussions of the range of methods and approaches in criminology through the presentation of diverse international case studies in which the authors reflect upon their experiences with both powerless and/or powerful individuals/groups. Reflexivity, and the need to be reflexive, permeates all criminological research and the chapters in this collection cover various aspects of this, including gaining access to the field, building relationships with the researched, the impact of the researcher's identity on the research (including gender, class and race), ethics, risk, bias and partisanship, policy implications, and how to disseminate findings and 'give voice' to the researched. A range of research settings are drawn from including those typically involving the powerful, such as state institutions, courts and prisons, to those typically conceived of as powerless, such as deviant and dangerous individuals as well as subcultures including boy racers and hooligans. Research participants defined as vulnerable, for example victims of crime, are also considered. This comprehensive collection explores a variety of methods including interviews, participant observation, virtual ethnography and feminist research. Acknowledging the fluid nature of power relations and dynamics, this volume will be a valuable resource to scholars of criminology and sociology.

Karen Lumsden

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