Technology Of The Oppressed: Inequity And The Digital Mundane In Favelas Of Brazil

231 Pages·2022·3.892 MB·English

by  David Nemer

TECHNOLOGY OF THE OPPRESSED
The Information Society Series
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Technology of the Oppressed: Inequity and the Digital Mundane in Favelas of Brazil,
David Nemer
TECHNOLOGY OF THE OPPRESSED
INEQUITY AND THE DIGITAL MUNDANE
IN FAVELAS OF BRAZIL
DAVID NEMER
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2022 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This work is subject to a Creative Commons CC- BY- NC- ND license. The open access edition
of this book was made possible by generous funding from the MIT Libraries. Subject to such
license, all rights are reserved.
The MIT Press would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers who provided comments
on drafts of this book. The generous work of academic experts is essential for establishing the
authority and quality of our publications. We acknowledge with gratitude the contributions
of these otherwise uncredited readers.
This book was set in Bembo Book MT Pro by Westchester Publishing Services.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Nemer, David, 1983– author.
Title: Technology of the oppressed : inequity and the digital mundane in favelas of
Brazil / David Nemer.
Description: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2022] | Series: The information
society series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021023066 | ISBN 9780262543347 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Information technology–Social aspects–Brazil. | Information society–
Brazil. | Digital divide–Brazil. | Internet and the poor–Brazil. | Slums–Brazil. |
Poor–Brazil. | Marginality, Social–Brazil. | Brazil–Social conditions–1985–
Classification: LCC HN290.Z9 I569 2022 | DDC 303.48/330981–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021023066
To Maria

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
1 INTRODUCTION 1
Mundane Technology: The Technology of the Oppressed 4
Mundane Technology as an Intersectional Approach 10
Favelas: The Site of Oppression 11
Territory of Good: Gurigica, São Benedito, Itararé,
and Bairro da Penha 17
Race Divide: The Other Side of the Avenue 21
Digital Inequalities in Vitória 27
Positionality 29
2 REPAIRING THE BROKEN CITY 33
Repair as Mundane Technology 35
Repairing the Keyboard 37
The Internet of the Oppressed 41
Mobile Mundane Technology 46
Mundane Technology: Resistance as Repair 50
3 COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY CENTERS AS MUNDANE
TECHNOLOGIES 55
Rethinking the Role of Telecenters in Communities 56
LAN Houses: Can a Mundane Technology Be For- Profit? 71
4 SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SURVIVAL 81
Social Media: Facebook and YouTube 82
The Liberation of the Selfie 91
Breaking the Culture of Silence through Selfies 93
5 PROUD FAVELADAS: RESISTING GENDERED OPPRESSION
IN TERRITORY OF GOOD 99
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and Feminist Criticism 101
CTCs as Spaces of Gender Oppression 103
Telecenters as Safe but Limited Spaces for Women 107
Digital Technologies Amplifying Gender Oppression 111
viii Contents
6 GEOGRAPHIES OF OPPRESSION: UNCOVERING SPACES
OF SILENCING 121
The Social Movement of the Oppressed 123
Social Boundaries on Social Network Sites 128
The Orkutization of Shoppings 130
“Is it because I’m Black?” 137
7 TECHNOLOGY OF THE OPPRESSOR 141
From June Journeys to the Rise of Bolsonaro 142
From Facebook to WhatsApp 147
The Rise of Right- Wing Extremism 150
The Human Infrastructure of Fake News 152
From Misinformation to Radicalization 156
Why Do Bolsonaro and the New Right Hate Paulo Freire? 162
8 TECHNOLOGY OF HOPE: RELIVING TECHNOLOGY
OF THE OPPRESSED 165
Appendix: Methodology 173
References 187
Index 211
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I started and finished writing this book in the midst of the COVID-1 9 pan-
demic, and this accomplishment was only possible thanks to the essential
and frontline workers who put themselves at risk so people like me could
stay safely at home. In Brazil, favelas were disproportionally affected by
the pandemic; their residents were killed, infected, and left unemployed in
higher numbers than anywhere else in the country. Once again, they were
largely abandoned by the state and had to rely on each other to organize
their own responses to fight the coronavirus. Such resilience, struggle (luta),
care, and sense of community in all things is what inspired me to write this
book. Thus, I offer my endless gratitude to favela residents, especially those
from Territory of Good, for generously offering their time, allowing me
into their homes, and sharing their lives with me.
Writing this book was the hardest, but most fulfilling, thing that I
have ever done. I wouldn’t have finished it if it wasn’t for the guidance
and unconditional support from Melissa Adler, Matthew Wilson, Cidinha,
and my family: Gláucia, Paula, Alberto, Aloizio, Luciana, Victória, Alber-
tinho, Laura, Antônio Pedro, my godson Aloizio Neto, and the VanMid-
dlesworths. I also would like to express my gratitude to my Charlottesville
family who has made this city feel like home: Meredith Clark, Christopher
Ali, Ben Reeves, Andre Cavalcante, and Stephen Ninneman.
This book is a collective effort. As a transdisciplinary scholar who has
lived in six different countries, I am grateful for belonging to many different
academic families and institutions where I have greatly benefited from the
mentorship, friendship, and criticism of amazing colleagues. In the follow-
ing, with the fear of omitting people to whom I feel a great deal of grati-
tude, I name these amazing colleagues whom I had the privilege to be with
at Indiana University, Microsoft Research, University of Kentucky, United
Nations University, Google Research, and University of Virginia (UVA).