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Technology and Social Inclusion
Rethinking the Digital Divide
“An impassioned,thoughtful,and unique analysis of the digital divide thatincorporates Mark Warschauer
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evidence from affluentand poor nations.Warschauer shows thatsocial context,far more e
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than hardware,shapes access to new technologies.” h Much of the discussion aboutnew technologies and
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Larry Cuban,School of Education,Stanford University social equality has focused on the oversimplified
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l notion of a “digital divide.”Technology and Social
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“The modern belief thatnew technologies hold the key to human progress seems to g Inclusionmoves beyond the limited view of haves and
be sacrosanct.Mark Warschauer’s compelling critique of technophilia offers a welcome y have-nots to analyze the differentforms of access to
corrective to this view.He emphasizes thatnew technologies are neither causes nor a information and communication technologies.
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cures,shifting the emphasis to the social contextin which such technologies appear. d Drawing on theory from political science,economics,
In so doing,he provides renewed energy for a reevaluation of the relation between S sociology,psychology,communications,education,
technology and social inequality.” o and linguistics,the book examines the ways in which
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Michael Cole,University Professor of Communication,Psychology,and Human i differing access to technology contributes to social
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Development,University of California,San Diego l and economic stratification or inclusion.The book
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n takes a global perspective,presenting case studies
The MIT Press c Technology from developed and developing countries,including
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u
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brazil,China,Egypt,India,and the United States.
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Cambridge,Massachusetts 02142 io A central premise is that,in today’s society,the
http://mitpress.mit.edu n ability to access,adapt,and create knowledge using
Social Inclusion
information and communication technologies is criti-
and
cal to social inclusion.This focus on social inclusion
shifts the discussion of the “digital divide”from gaps
to be overcome by providing equipmentto social-
Children ata “hole-in-the-wall”computer kiosk in W
developmentchallenges to be addressed through the
Rethinking the Digital Divide
New Delhi.The hole-in-the-wall program offers street a
effective integration of technology into communities,
children a chance to use computers,butwithoutany r
s institutions,and societies.Whatis mostimportantis
training,education,or community support,thus c
h notso much the physical availability of computers
raising questions aboutthe relationship of technology
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access to social developmentand inclusion. u and the Internetbutrather people’s ability to make
e use of those technologies to engage in meaningful
Photograph by Mark Warschauer
r
social practices.
Mark Warschauer is AssistantProfessor of
Education and of Information and Computer Science
atthe University of California,Irvine,and founding
editor of the journal Language Learning and
Technology.
0-262-23224-3
#!780262-cdccea!:t;K;k;K;k
Mark Warschauer
Technology and Social Inclusion
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Technology and Social Inclusion
Rethinking the Digital Divide
Mark Warschauer
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2003 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any
electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or
information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the
publisher.
This book was set in Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Warschauer, Mark.
Technology and social inclusion : rethinking the digital divide /
Mark Warschauer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-262-23224-3 (hc. : alk. paper)
1. Digital divide. 2. Marginality, Social. I. Title.
HN49.I56 W37 2003
303.48¢33—dc21 2002075130
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Keiko
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Economy, Society, and Technology: Analyzing the Shifting
Terrains 11
2 Models of Access: Devices, Conduits, and Literacy 31
3 Physical Resources: Computers and Connectivity 49
4 Digital Resources: Content and Language 81
5 Human Resources: Literacy and Education 109
6 Social Resources: Communities and Institutions 153
7 Conclusion: The Social Embeddedness of Technology 199
Notes 217
References 225
Index 247
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Acknowledgments
This book has been nearly ten years in the making, and its completion
would not have been possible without the great deal of institutional and
personal support I received over those years.
Most of the actual writing took place in 2001, while I worked as an
assistant professor in the Department of Education at the University of
California, Irvine. The department has been quite generous in allowing
me to devote time and resources to this book, and I would especially like
to thank the chair of the department, Rudy Torres; the former chair,
Louis Mirón; and the former acting chair, Robert Beck, for their full
support. Other colleagues in the department have also been extremely
helpful, including Hank Becker, Joan Bissell, and Ann De Vaney.
I am also affiliated with the UC Irvine Center for Research on Infor-
mation Technology and Organizations (CRITO), and my participation
in CRITO seminars has been very helpful to the development of my
ideas. I would like to thank CRITO and its former acting director, James
Danziger, for involving me in the center and its seminars.
During the summer of 2001, I took research trips to China, India, and
Brazil. I would like to thank all the individuals who took time to meet
with me, and especially to thank the following people who helped with
my arrangements and provided invaluable advice and assistance: Dr.
Chen Hong of Beijing Capital Normal University in China; Chetan
Sharma of Datamation in New Delhi; Naveen Prakash of Gyandoot
Samiti in Dhar, India; Senthil Kumaran of M. S. Swaminathan Founda-
tion in Madras, India; Aditya Dev Sood of the Center for Knowledge
Societies in Bangalore, India; Vera Mello of the University of São Paulo,
Brazil; and Solange Gervai of Yázigi Internexus in São Paulo.
