15. Participatory Political Cultures Question: What are the political implications of a televisual landscape increasingly characterized by niche programming, specialized audiences, dispersed political cultures, and participatory media technologies? As scholars increasingly critique the possibility (or desirability) that network television might speak to and for a unified collective culture, various subcultures are appropriating new representational forms and participatory technologies to develop new ways of being political in and around television. This panel defines politics broadly. It seeks to explore a range of cultures—from the marginal to the dominant—that vary widely in their political orientation, preferred modes of representation and participation, and in their relationships to television as a cultural forum. |