Race and racism in digital media : What can critical race theory contribute to research on techno-cultures?

This chapter examines the contemporary contributions of critical race theory (CRT) for interpreting representations of race and racism in multimodal and digital literacy research and practice. It argues that the digital communications environment has enabled the extension of ideologies located in Western culture, and that the new affordances of digital media need to be evaluated critically with attention to equity and colonization. The chapter examines current techno-cultures and their associated discourses, practices, and identities through the lens of three tenets of CRT: Whiteness as property, colorblind racism, and counter-stories. At the same time, LatCrit strongly emphasizes intersectionality as it seeks to acknowledge differences among Latinos' experiences and to address the intersections of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression. The chapter applies CRT principles to demonstrate the potentials of CRT to formally engage in research of techno-cultures. It demonstrates how the key principles of CRT have untapped potentials for examining race in digital cultures.