Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet by Lisa Nakamura

Description

Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet by Lisa Nakamura explores the intersection of race, technology, and digital media, focusing on how racial identities and racialized experiences are constructed, represented, and manipulated in online spaces. Nakamura’s work critically examines how the internet, as a visual and technological medium, shapes and disseminates racial stereotypes, often reinforcing or creating new forms of racial discrimination and inequality. In this book, Nakamura analyzes various aspects of digital culture, including online communities, social media platforms, gaming, and digital art, highlighting how race is visually and symbolically represented. She delves into the ways in which racialized individuals and groups navigate the internet, not just as consumers of digital content, but as producers and influencers of online culture. Nakamura discusses how racialized experiences can be amplified or distorted in the digital sphere, where anonymity, avatars, and meme culture intersect with real-world issues of racism and social justice. A key theme in Digitizing Race is the concept of “digitized racial identity,” where online interactions and digital representations are shaped by cultural and societal notions of race. Nakamura critiques how technology often perpetuates a limited or monolithic understanding of race, one that marginalizes complex, lived experiences. She also explores how racial categories are reinforced or transformed by digital technologies, noting the ways in which platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram rely on algorithmic processes that can inadvertently perpetuate racial biases. The book examines the role of visual culture—how racial identities are made visible (or invisible) in digital media—and offers a critique of the way race is often commodified in digital environments. Nakamura’s work is situated within a broader discussion of critical race theory, media studies, and digital humanities, arguing that the internet is not a neutral space, but one that is deeply embedded with the cultural, political, and social structures that shape racial inequality. Ultimately, Digitizing Race seeks to understand how racial identities are mediated through digital technologies, offering a nuanced exploration of the visual cultures that shape the way race is understood in the age of the internet. Nakamura’s analysis serves as an essential resource for those interested in the intersection of race, technology, and media studies, as it provides a critical lens through which to examine how digital spaces both reflect and influence societal conceptions of race.