jen forestal
@seejenspeak.bsky.social
3.7K followers 910 following 95 posts
political theorist, assoc professor at Loyola Chicago. studying digital technologies, democratic practices, (software) architecture, & civic engagement. she/her
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seejenspeak.bsky.social
ah, yes! I've also seen the Kirk quote from 2023 (re)circulating now, so thinking about contexts as both multiplatform and also temporally.

this does make me wonder about what is different about context collapse now vs "regular" games of telephone or gossip/hearsay that de/recontextualize.
seejenspeak.bsky.social
the collapse of (horrible) contexts on my BS feed means im not even sure which reason that is.

(im assuming Kirk. if so, yes, but what's weird is how it's revealing context collapse not as a *passive* feature, but as the result of the right-wing actively *forcing* x's context to all other spaces)
Reposted by jen forestal
associationpt.bsky.social
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seejenspeak.bsky.social
i guess my point is that i don't know that this is a problem that "more real doctors" would fix, since it's really a question of whether people think there's a responsibility to manage the consequences of our behavior for others, and that the state has a role in doing that
seejenspeak.bsky.social
no, i agree it's a problem & that parents would have a legitimate claim to have been harmed, in any reasonable world. but whether a lawsuit would matter to policymakers in this scenario is different. is there any reason to think that the FL courts would not have the same insane "you do you" logic?
seejenspeak.bsky.social
right, i mean, we kinda already know what the response is going to be, because it already happened in texas six months ago:
www.texastribune.org/2025/03/20/t...
“It was her time on Earth,” the translator said the parents told her. “They believe she’s better off where she is now.”

“We would absolutely not take the MMR,” the mother said in English, referring to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination children typically receive before attending school. She said her stance on vaccination has not changed after her daughter’s death.

“The measles wasn’t that bad. They got over it pretty quickly,” the mother said of her other four surviving children who were treated with castor oil and inhaled steroids and recovered.
seejenspeak.bsky.social
yeah, i think that's an insane take that's neatly captured by her refusal to call it X and acknowledge the platform is fundamentally different. I'm all for persuasion, but it's interesting (telling?) she doesn't seem to discuss the fact that journos are the ones that may be persuaded... to be nazis
seejenspeak.bsky.social
gah, *VIRALITY* not vitality! stupid autocorrect
seejenspeak.bsky.social
and while i do agree that's what's happening here, i'd probably argue that the bigger problem is not necessarily the fact of context collapse (which, as "vitality" *can* actually be quite good for democracy i think!), but that mainstream journalists view Twitter as the whole world.
seejenspeak.bsky.social
for citational clarity: while i maybe popularized (?) it for PT, "context collapse" comes from @alicetiara.bsky.social and @zephoria.bsky.social's classic essay!
Reposted by jen forestal
jamellebouie.net
the story today is of a profoundly low energy military parade being met with millions of americans in nationwide protests denouncing the dictatorial pretensions of the president
Reposted by jen forestal
osmanfaruqi.bsky.social
Bluesky won’t recreate peak Twitter. Twitter won’t recreate peak Twitter. Instagram isn’t going to go back to good Instagram. All this handwringing seems to yearning for a moment in social media history that isn’t ever coming back. Get used to it, figure out new things, build real community.
seejenspeak.bsky.social
or the book version, designing for democracy, that I think complements your argument about "community" quite well! great study!
global.oup.com
seejenspeak.bsky.social
this is SO nice to hear! thank you! going to try and carry this energy into some Monday morning writing....
seejenspeak.bsky.social
this was my exact first thought (in only the best way)
profhalloran.bsky.social
Also: Chicago is going to go berserk.
Reposted by jen forestal
blockclubchi.bsky.social
Da Pope: Chicago loses its mind over homegrown pontiff.

Within minutes of the announcement, Chicagoans had Photoshopped the new pope holding an Italian beef sandwich and made at least 50 Malört jokes. buff.ly/hxnbaII
seejenspeak.bsky.social
ah. yeah, that's pretty similar to conversations i had this semester within my grad course (though they were more enthusiastic about decentralization/protocols). like most great classes/interesting issues, i walked away with more questions than answers.
seejenspeak.bsky.social
ah, thanks stefan! this is great to hear. what (kind of) platforms were they thinking about? i'm starting a new project on decentralized stuff; i'm curious if it's similar!
seejenspeak.bsky.social
i've been finding it (uncharacteristically!) hard lately to find any point to writing about dem. & digital platforms given... everything, esp the blatant cynicism of tech ppl who use the language of democracy as cover for authoritarian inclinations. but these essays brought me back! i'm grateful!
seejenspeak.bsky.social
CPT just published a symposium on my book! huge thanks to Susan Bickford, @pollysigh.bsky.social, @nicolecurato.bsky.social, @jgastil.bsky.social, Victor Bruzzone, @jamesmuldoon.bsky.social for contributions that critique, stretch, & apply the book's argument in such generous & productive ways
Thinking democracy in a digital age - Contemporary Political Theory
Contemporary Political Theory -
link.springer.com