Eighteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Puchner (2017) and the text ‘The Written World’, present a history of literature and how it has influenced world civilizations. From Don Quixote to the Communist Manifesto, key texts throughout history have shaped social orders and civilizations. In the current digital age, one might consider digital media, as influencing civilization-building in a similar manner. Looking at the key global social issues of the 21st century - gender inequality, racial/ethnic/class prejudice, income inequality as well as climate change, this paper reflects on the way in which digital media influences discourse, and exacerbates or ameliorates digital divides, broadly and in the context of lessons from the dynamic of historical texts in a civilization-building role, including reflections on the innovation of participatory media that has democratized the public sphere and the global civilization shaping force of ideas in textual and other media, facilitated in digital spaces.