Techno-Politics of Domination & Resistance: A Historical Approach

Start: October 2025

Our digital age is marred by a form of disorientation in the face of rapid technological change. From discussions of a disintegration of democracy, the mutation of capitalism into something worse, or fears of an omniscient surveillance state, it seems as if the speed of change was sweeping the very foundations of our political worlds, threatening to upend life as we know it. 

However, we have been there before. Anxieties over technological change are as old as technology itself: did the ancient Hebrews not ban representations of God? Did the ancient Greeks – under Plato’s pen – not disparage writing? The enduring nature of technological panics beckons an investigation into the ways past human societies have dealt with technological change. Indeed, new communication technology profoundly reshapes the circulation of power in a given society, creating new opportunities for domination, but also for resistance to this domination. 

Led by Prof. Sharath Srinivasan and Dr Antoine Sander, this interdisciplinary research project seeks to draw on scholarship in various disciplines of the social sciences, humanities, and beyond to understand how previous technological innovations have reconfigured power. Its objective is to build on top of existing scholarship toward a political history of communication technology that could in turn help us address pressing issues raised by the digital oligarchy, surveillance capitalism, and the advent of generative AI. 

The team will strive to publish academic articles in leading social science journals and short-form commentaries on technological innovations in generalist media outlets, and to organise interdisciplinary workshops with scholars from archaeology, history, languages, science and technology studies, sociology and other disciplines who share an interest in the relationship between communication technology and politics. This work will ultimately be brought together in the form of a book intended for a non-specialist audience.