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Silicon Valley Imperialism
Techno Fantasies and Frictions in Postsocialist Times
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2024
About this book
Erin McElroy maps processes of gentrification, racial dispossession, and economic predation in the San Francisco Bay Area and postsocialist Romania to expose the mechanisms through which global techno-capitalism devours space and societies in order to expand its reach.
Author / Editor information
Erin McElroy is Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Washington and coeditor of Counterpoints: A San Francisco Bay Area Atlas of Displacement and Resistance.
Reviews
“In this strikingly original and important book, Erin McElroy forges a new field: postsocialist technology studies. Decentering the United States as the primary locale through which to apprehend the racial workings of technocapitalism, McElroy maps unexpected yet urgent connections between Silicon Valley and Romania. Alongside lucid accounts of the differential yet entangled operations of racial technocapitalism and racial banishment across these vastly different histories and locales, McElroy highlights the hopeful possibilities for anti-imperialist solidarities that can emerge against the odds.”
-- Neda Atanasoski, coauthor of Surrogate Humanity: Race, Robots, and the Politics of Technological Futures
“Brimming with compelling historical insights, Silicon Valley Imperialism is a conceptually engaging, empirically grounded, and essential contribution to postsocialist and decolonial studies, the contemporary history of Romania, and an understanding of techno-capitalism’s transatlantic ambitions.”
-- Michele Lancione, author of For a Liberatory Politics of Home
"Silicon Valley Imperialism stands as an indispensable read for anyone interested in the disruptive unfolding of tech-driven urbanism."
-- Emanuele Sciuva International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
-- Emanuele Sciuva International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
"Silicon Valley Imperialism critically attends to how racist imaginaries embedded in European liberal humanism and capitalism mobilize the technologies of state socialism and Western empire. Seated squarely within Black, Indigenous, queer, and Romani solidarity, the text illuminates the stakes of overlooking race in debates about STS, global politics, and capitalist relations."
-- Kaily Heitz Catalyst
-- Kaily Heitz Catalyst
"McElroy's theoretical framework makes her book relevant to students and academics beyond just those interested in the history of Eastern Europe. As a theoretically rich book, it would work well in a third-year undergraduate or postgraduate course. McElroy's book is a must-read for students and researchers interested in the debate on the emergence and impact of Silicon Valley, the politics of housing and infrastructure, socialism and racial capitalism, and historical anthropology. It is also an important book for those activists, policy makers and other societal actors concerned with the effects of Siliconization."
-- Tessa Pijnaker Social Anthropology
-- Tessa Pijnaker Social Anthropology
"Silicon Valley Imperialism is a must-read book for all researchers and practitioners interested in technology imperialism and racial dispossession. The novelty of the book rests not only in presenting a simple case of ‘Siliconisation’ in a former Eastern European communist country, but stands as an example of how Silicon Valley techno-capitalism challenges societies and spaces, evicts residents and generates income inequality in order to satisfy the consumerism of the rich."
-- Remus Cretan Dialogues in Urban Research
-- Remus Cretan Dialogues in Urban Research
"Silicon Valley Imperialism is a must read for anyone engaged in postsocialist, decolonial, Eastern European or technological studies, as well as geography and sociology. . . . McElroy’s highly original focus and analyses decentres the USA, exposes technofascism’s workings, and opens up new conceptual and empirical questions for scholars of multiple disciplines and geographies."
-- Ryan Powell Housing Studies
-- Ryan Powell Housing Studies
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
v -
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Acknowledgments
vii -
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Introduction
1 - Part I Silicon Valley Spatiotemporality
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1 Digital Nomads and Deracinated Dispossession
39 -
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2 Postsocialist Silicon Valley
69 -
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3 The Technofascist Specters of Liberalism
99 - Part II Techno Frictions and Fantasies
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4 The Most Dangerous Town on the Internet
133 -
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5 Corruption, Șmecherie, and Clones
155 -
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6 Spells for Outer Space
175 -
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Coda. Unbecoming Silicon Valley
209 -
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Notes
217 -
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Bibliography
237 -
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Index
269
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
February 2, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781478059219
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
280
eBook ISBN:
9781478059219
Audience(s) for this book
Professional and scholarly;