A visual approach to mapping the intersection between scientific discourse, technological evolution, and social movements

The relationship between technology and sociopolitical change has been a major topic in academic discourse concerning political engagement and protest. Despite these two dynamics refer to different societal subsystems their relation has often been described through semi-causal relations as if new media could deterministically foster political engagement and spark protest [1] or, at the opposite if a specific socio-political context could deterministically produce technological innovation. This paper proposes to observe this problematic assumption through the lens on academic discourse about political engagement and protest from a longitudinal perspective covering the last 15 years of academic research. Aided by time-series visualisations [2], this talk draws a sociotechnical timeline of protest and media technologies scholarship to enhance our knowledge about academic research and, at the same time, to understand the perceived connection between media technologies and protest.