La ricerca sulla comunicazione fra globale e locale: territorio e virtualità

In the last ten years the developments in the research about communication are definitely signed by the fierce acceleration of two phenomena: globalization and digitalization. Only the latter can be correctly said new, as some recent studies have put in evidence. But from the whole point of view, the original mix between the two phenomena is the scenario of our investigation. Facing this theme I am going to put into account this scenario and two factors essentially. a) first theme: the relationship between virtual space and real place, which is often brought to mind in the debate. The complicated matter asks for investigation because global/local and virtual/real are linked in a range of way. If the Thompson’s distinction among immediate, mediate and almost mediate communication is been into consideration, we can easily realize how the matter has become fruitfully complicated. b) second theme: which geography are we talking about? About the subjective geography, imagined by the subjects which make a representation of the space, and about the geography of the scholars. Here the interesting aspect is given by the forms of representation of the streams of communication, persons, goods, and by the new emergences that these geographies are building. The former is specifically object of a qualitative sociology, both in the micro form and in the visual sociology form. The latter is the object of forms of representation of the quantitative data, according to processes useful to build the sociologic imagination, processes that must be found out. By this way, considering the impact of the increasing internationalisation of studies that (also) sociologists deal with is a matter of great interest as well.

Fausto Colombo, La ricerca sulla comunicazione fra globale e locale: territorio e virtualità in "SOCIOLOGIA DELLA COMUNICAZIONE " 37/2005, pp , DOI: