Anonymous
The Performance of Hidden Identities
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Anonymous
The Performance of Hidden Identities
A rich sociological analysis of how and why we use anonymity.
In recent years, anonymity has rocked the political and social landscape. There are countless examples: An anonymous whistleblower was at the heart of President Trump’s first impeachment, an anonymous group of hackers compromised more than 77 million Sony accounts, and best-selling author Elena Ferrante resolutely continued to hide her real name and identity. In Anonymous, Thomas DeGloma draws on a fascinating set of contemporary and historical cases to build a sociological theory that accounts for the many faces of anonymity. He asks a number of pressing questions about the social conditions and effects of anonymity. What is anonymity, and why, under various circumstances, do individuals act anonymously? How do individuals accomplish anonymity? How do they use it, and, in some situations, how is it imposed on them?
To answer these questions, DeGloma tackles anonymity thematically, dedicating each chapter to a distinct type of anonymous action, including ones he dubs protective, subversive, institutional, and ascribed. Ultimately, he argues that anonymity and pseudonymity are best understood as performances in which people obscure personal identities as they make meaning for various audiences. As they bring anonymity and pseudonymity to life, DeGloma shows, people work to define the world around them to achieve different goals and objectives.
In recent years, anonymity has rocked the political and social landscape. There are countless examples: An anonymous whistleblower was at the heart of President Trump’s first impeachment, an anonymous group of hackers compromised more than 77 million Sony accounts, and best-selling author Elena Ferrante resolutely continued to hide her real name and identity. In Anonymous, Thomas DeGloma draws on a fascinating set of contemporary and historical cases to build a sociological theory that accounts for the many faces of anonymity. He asks a number of pressing questions about the social conditions and effects of anonymity. What is anonymity, and why, under various circumstances, do individuals act anonymously? How do individuals accomplish anonymity? How do they use it, and, in some situations, how is it imposed on them?
To answer these questions, DeGloma tackles anonymity thematically, dedicating each chapter to a distinct type of anonymous action, including ones he dubs protective, subversive, institutional, and ascribed. Ultimately, he argues that anonymity and pseudonymity are best understood as performances in which people obscure personal identities as they make meaning for various audiences. As they bring anonymity and pseudonymity to life, DeGloma shows, people work to define the world around them to achieve different goals and objectives.
280 pages | 15 halftones | 6 x 9 | © 2023
Sociology: Collective Behavior, Mass Communication, General Sociology, Social Institutions, Theory and Sociology of Knowledge
Reviews
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Anonymous Acts
The Social Dynamics of Anonymous Acts
Naming, Namelessness, and Pseudo-Names
Freedom and Constraint in the Breach of Personal Identity
The Exhibitionist and the Voyeur: Anonymity and Information Control
Impersonal Agencies: Someone, Anyone, Everyone, and No One
Culture and Meaning in the Performance of Anonymity
Outline of the Book
Chapter 2. Protective Anonymity
Concealed Authorship and the Performance of Elena Ferrante
Social Ethics of Anonymity
Anonymous Altruism and Charity
The Screened Confession and the Masquerade
The Impartiality of Impersonality and the Performance of Academic Evaluation
Anonymous Communities and Forums
Anonymous Therapeutics and the Case of Alcoholics Anonymous
Computer-Mediated Anonymous Forums
Anonymous Consumption and Exchange
Exploiting Protective Anonymity
Chapter 3. Subversive Anonymity
Subversive Art and Literature
Masked Social Movements and Anonymous Rebellion
The Religious, Theatrical, and Festive Roots of Masked Social Protest
Masked Movements and Their Subversive World Orders
The Anonymous Performances of Ku Klux Klan Terror
Performing the Digital Guerrilla Insurgency: The Hacker Networks of Anonymous
The Klan and Anonymous: Shared Characteristics of Subversive Anonymity
FBI Counterintelligence and the Anonymous Subversion of Subversive Activity
Chapter 4. The Anonymity of Social Systems
Institutions and Systems as Cover Representations
Wall Street and the Financial Crisis
Corporate Personhood and Electoral Politics
The NSA, Big Tech, and Electronic Surveillance
Distance Killing and the Nation at War
The Modern State as “Humane” Executioner
Anonymous Labor and Systems of Production
Chapter 5. The Anonymity of Types and Categories
Typification and Social Performance
Anonymous Others in Situated Encounters
The Anonymity of Class and Occupation
Anonymous Sex
Racial Typification, Law Enforcement, and Police Violence
Cisgaender Typification and the Segregation of Public Restrooms
Analytic Typifications
Chapter 6. The Social Contradictions of Our Hidden Identities
Unmasking Acts
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
The Social Dynamics of Anonymous Acts
Naming, Namelessness, and Pseudo-Names
Freedom and Constraint in the Breach of Personal Identity
The Exhibitionist and the Voyeur: Anonymity and Information Control
Impersonal Agencies: Someone, Anyone, Everyone, and No One
Culture and Meaning in the Performance of Anonymity
Outline of the Book
Chapter 2. Protective Anonymity
Concealed Authorship and the Performance of Elena Ferrante
Social Ethics of Anonymity
Anonymous Altruism and Charity
The Screened Confession and the Masquerade
The Impartiality of Impersonality and the Performance of Academic Evaluation
Anonymous Communities and Forums
Anonymous Therapeutics and the Case of Alcoholics Anonymous
Computer-Mediated Anonymous Forums
Anonymous Consumption and Exchange
Exploiting Protective Anonymity
Chapter 3. Subversive Anonymity
Subversive Art and Literature
Masked Social Movements and Anonymous Rebellion
The Religious, Theatrical, and Festive Roots of Masked Social Protest
Masked Movements and Their Subversive World Orders
The Anonymous Performances of Ku Klux Klan Terror
Performing the Digital Guerrilla Insurgency: The Hacker Networks of Anonymous
The Klan and Anonymous: Shared Characteristics of Subversive Anonymity
FBI Counterintelligence and the Anonymous Subversion of Subversive Activity
Chapter 4. The Anonymity of Social Systems
Institutions and Systems as Cover Representations
Wall Street and the Financial Crisis
Corporate Personhood and Electoral Politics
The NSA, Big Tech, and Electronic Surveillance
Distance Killing and the Nation at War
The Modern State as “Humane” Executioner
Anonymous Labor and Systems of Production
Chapter 5. The Anonymity of Types and Categories
Typification and Social Performance
Anonymous Others in Situated Encounters
The Anonymity of Class and Occupation
Anonymous Sex
Racial Typification, Law Enforcement, and Police Violence
Cisgaender Typification and the Segregation of Public Restrooms
Analytic Typifications
Chapter 6. The Social Contradictions of Our Hidden Identities
Unmasking Acts
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
Awards
Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction: Charles H. Cooley Award
Won
ASA Theory Section: The Theory Book Prize
Won