The Technosocial Subject: Cities, Cyborgs and Cyberspace Ph.D. dissertation submitted to MANIPAL UNIVERSITY by Nishant Shah CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY (Affiliated to Manipal University) BANGALORE—560061 March 2012 Bangalore 2012 1 Declaration I, Nishant Shah, do hereby declare that this dissertation titled The Technosocial Subject: Cities, Cyborgs and Cyberspace contains original research work done by me in fulfilment of the requirements for my Ph.D. degree in Cultural Studies from the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society and that this report has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree or diploma in this or any other institution. This work has not been sent anywhere for publication or presentation purpose. Nishant Shah Bangalore 2012 2 Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (Affiliated to Manipal University) 29th Main, Poornaprajna HBCS Layout, Uttarahalli Bangalore 560061 Certificate Certified that this dissertation titled The Technosocial Subject: Cities, Cyborgs and Cyberspace, is a record of bonafide study and research carried out by Mr. Nishant Shah under my supervision and guidance. The report has not been submitted by her for any award of degree or diploma in this or in any other university. Dr.S.V. Srininvas (Supervisor) Ashish Rajadyaksha (Member, Ph.D. Committee, Director, CSCS) 3 Acknowledgements I owe much emotional and intellectual gratitude, to many people scattered over geographies and lifestyles, without whom, this dissertation would not have been possible. The list is long, and much labour expended by many people shall remain invisible here. But I hope that the people I name will realise what a crucial role they have played in my life, and the people I don‘t will know that I appreciate their presence in my life, beyond formal acknowledgements. My family has been my rock. My parents Amita and Nikunj Shah and my brother Swapnil, have given me hope, strength and the conviction to push through obstacles even when they seem insurmountable. They have been there, even when they might not always have understood choices that I make, ready to let me know that if everything fell through, I could always come home. The Centre for the Study of Culture and Society was my home away from home, where I found a warm and nurturing environment and friends and mentors who I shall cherish for life. S.V. Srinivas has been the guide that only a fortunate few can hope for – he pushed me without pushing me away, helped me without getting exasperated when I fumbled, and invested such faith in me that I wanted to do better than I thought I could. To him, this dissertation owes everything, from conception to final execution. Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Tejaswini Niranjana have been friends, philosophers and guides. From continued interaction with them – from their research practices as well as their guidance in shaping mine – I have learned and benefited immensely. I also owe my Asian Consciousness to their introducing the Inter Asia Cultural Studies project and know that my work remains richer for their presence in my life. 4 The intellectual life at CSCS has left its inedible traces in my work. The faculty and student body, in their own ways, have contributed to my ways of thinking and writing. However, there are some people in that space, who have shown incredible generosity, love, affection and warmth, and I want to mention them here because without them I wouldn‘t have found my gravitational centre. Radhika, Ratheesh, Sujith, Subhajit, Meera, Sufiya, Polly, Vishnu, Zainab, Nitya, Ram, Anup, Milind, Vivek, Mrinalini, Aparna, and Rochelle have all helped me grow through their own research and also because they helped me find home and heart in Bangalore. Asha Achuthan, you have been my writing buddy, my shoulder to cry on and the person who saw me through some of the toughest writing periods. I am glad that our collaboration and friendship has lasted beyond the research programme and I feel blessed to have found a friend and collaborator in you. There are other homes that I have found outside of CSCS – Ashwini, Chirag, Kiran (Jace), Manish, Pallavi, Yamini, Ganesh, Tana and Parag, all opened their houses and families to me, giving me love and solace and support when I needed it. Along with work on the dissertation, I have had the pleasure of working with some of the most interesting people in the country. Vijay Ramachandran who gave me my first IT job at Yahoo India, opened up a whole new world for me. Rufo Gurroeschi at Partecs and Sanjay Bobde at Comat have supported my career in unexpected ways. Kiran (Jace) Jonallagadda has been a friend and a colleague over many different projects across almost a decade, and I have the privilege of continued work and social interaction with him. Pooja Sood at Khoj in 5 Delhi gave me the first sandbox to implement my ideas on and I will always remain grateful for the energy and warmth that Khoj has always brought to my life. I spent the happiest months of my adult life as a visiting scholar in Taiwan at the National Central University. Chen Kuan-Hsing, who examined my proposal and inspired and supported me to have larger regional visions shall always remain my hero. Josephine Ho at the Sex Centre is a visionary who made it possible for me to visit Taiwan and live in Chungli. Amie Parry and Naifei Ding took it upon themselves to show me how valuable generosity, love and affection are, even in the midst of rational theorisation. I found friendship, perspective and hope in Taiwan, and I owe it to the friends who I shall cherish for life – Zona, Ted, Madalena, Christina, Mandy, the other Mandy, Amy, David Barton, David Stewart, Teri Silvio, Eric Ilya Lee and the many other friends, colleagues and students who went out of their way to make me feel at home in a country where nobody knew my name! Bangalore found me before I found the city. The vibe, the structures of support, and the networks of collaboration in this city are unparalleled. A wide range of people who live here, who passed through here, and who keep on coming and going away from the city have been my base, my inspiration and my support. Lawrence Liang, whose work I admire, has been a friend and a mentor and has shaped my life in more ways than he would know. Namita, Maya, Nithin, Suchetan, Vivek, Kalindi, Aneesha, Noopur, Prayas, Rashmi, Tejas, Yash, Zeenath – you have all shaped my intellectual horizons and pasts and I am grateful for that. Kavita Phillip, who, in a short while, has become such a close friend, has inspired me in her work and her conversations to approach life and work with better sense and sensibility. 6 At the Centre for Internet and Society, I found peers within a new institutional structure and the platform to implement and execute my research visions in extraordinary ways. To my research team there, but especially to colleagues who inspired me towards new forms and methods of research – Anja, Prashanth, Haseena, Samuel, Shweta, Malavika – I shall always be proud that I had the opportunity to share and collaborate with you in several research and personal capacities. Also through CIS, I had the opportunity to work with the fantastic cutting edge and fun research team at Hivos – Josine Stremellaar, Fieke Jansen, Hapee de Grot, Seema Nair, Remko Berkhout – who taught me that in the midst of earnestness are moments of fun and joy. Renee Ridgway, Stephen Wright, Julia Hoffman, Marlieke Kiebom, Sally Wyatt, Bernike Pasveer and Esha Shah have all found intersections with my life in Netherlands, and I am sure you know, that you form my home screens in Europe. The entire Digital Natives team that across Asia, Africa and Latin America has taught me more in the short three years than I had learned in all my life as a researcher – You guys are absolutely ‗teh rock!‘ I have always been blessed with teachers who have gone beyond their call of duty to help me make intelligent choices, in education and in life. Suguna Ramnathan, Sarvar Sherichand and Rita Kothari at St. Xavier‘s College Ahmedabad shall be my teachers for life, for it is with them that I learned to really read and write. Sharmila Rege at the Women‘s Studies Centre (Pune University) taught me how to be political in my personal and continues to be a strong influence in my life. Friends I have grown up with in my life as a student – Judith, Susan, Shantanu, Urvi, Priya, Pradnya, Kasturi – have taught me, over the years, lessons more valuable than anything that is ever taught in a classroom. 7 Several Institutions and the people therein have played a significant role in shaping my ideas by making their resources and knowledge available to me. The Centre for Media Culture and Communication at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, Faculty of Humanities at the Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi, Sarai and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies at the Delhi University, Dutch Art Institute in The Netherlands, Christ University in Bangalore, Association of Internet Researchers, Library.nu, Inter Asia Cultural Studies Society in Taiwan, Centre for Contemporary Studies at the Shanghai University in Shanghai, Asia Scholarship Foundation in Thailand, University of Maastricht and The Institute of Network Cultures also in The Netherlands, and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University in Cambridge, have all shown me what wealth lies in collaboration and how sharing only increases knowledge capitals.