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====== Pursell, 324-348 -- Andrew Ross, "Hacking Away at the Counterculture" ======

In this reading, the author elaborates on his own concept that is //technoliteracy//. According to the text, technoliteracy is "to make a historical opportunity out of a historical necessity." In doing so, the author speaks to the opportunities in the hacking industry, despite the practice originating from something unanimously considered to be good: computer programming. Which new technological practices today are naively smiled upon that are hiding plenty of opportunities, some of which can be destructive? (--Nate Stringer)

I found this to be an interesting read. The focus was to look at and describe hacking outside of what may normally be thought. If we can look at technocutlrue into '"something like a hackers knowledge" then rewriting "cultural programs will be and reprogramming the social values that make room for the new technology." p.346. The last line of the entire chapter was very powerful. It states " Technoliteracy for us  is the challenge to make a historical opportunity out of a historical necessity." (347) To me, this means the world is evolving and we must evolve with it in order to be a successful country/person. No matter the difficulty, it is something that is vital for the continued modernization of our country. -- Erika Mabry

After reading this, I thought about the connections between digital technology and our changing culture. This article talked a lot about hacking and the implications of the word, and there were several more positive associations I had never had with the word. (When I hear hack I immediately think of computer viruses or malicious intent)(330) I think one of the most important aspects about digital technology's heavy involvement with our everyday lives is privacy and surveillance. With so much personal information online, it's scary to think about how easily someone could use that information to manipulate you or cyber-stalk you. I especially feel bad for celebrities who have every move online being closely monitored. 
-Meghan McDonagh

In Chapter 10: Toward Techno-literacy, Pursell starts with a discourse about the earliest computer viruses such as the one made by Robert Tapp Morris (he named it after himself), a student at Cornell University in 1988, which resulted in the first United States conviction under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This was the moment when the concept of malicious software entered the public consciousness and “became a thing.” The early sections of the chapter also discuss how viruses which make computers “sick” were compared to the viruses that make us sick, even comparing some of them to organic STDs, such that people said “Remember, when you connect with another computer, you’re connecting to every other computer that computer has connected to,” (Ross, 326) an example of our at times blatant sexualization of technology, comparing connecting computers to humans “getting busy” only to get infected with something. – Rachel Beatty.

====== World's Largest Digital Dump ======

This article, "Life in Sodom and Gomorrah: the world's largest digital dump", sheds light on where old digital and electronic technology, known as "e-waste", ultimately ends up when it is thrown away. This waste is much more problematic than other forms of trash because of the toxic chemicals found in these products. These toxins are not only harmful to the natural environment, but also the people that inhabit Sodom and Gomorrah. This article made me reflect on how much trash and waste western society produces. People often don't realize that the garbage they throw in the trashcan does not just disappear, especially synthetic products like the ones found in e-waste. - Jack Sweetak

This article opened my mind to the costs of living in a technology fueled world. I don't think about the communities that are affected when I get a new cell phone and I am a little ashamed to admit that. The fact that people risk poisoning themselves just to get food on their plate really demonstrates how privileged many countries are today. I hope that we can find a balance between technology and nature within my lifetime, but most likely not.-Kendell Jenkins

This article reminded me of a similar one that I read in my Digital Studies 101 class over the summer. It amazes me how much waste there is from technology. But prior to reading the articles over the summer, I never even considered where my waste went after I got rid of it. This slum city in Ghana is the biggest digital dumping grounds. They were exploited to transform from a once green land to a "global graveyard". The pictures throughout the article truly speak 1000 words. How can we as a society let this continue? We are now aware of all of the environmental impacts more than ever, yet I feel as if nothing is being done. People are dying and being exposed to chemicals and there were even fires that killed so many people, yet no one did anything. Once again, this article truly opened my eyes to a whole new world beyond mine. - Haley Denehy

This article, "World's Largest Digital Dump", is about how Sodom and Gomorrah became a dumping site for electronic waste products. Workers have to clean these sites every day because of toxins and a build-up of products. This cleaning happens by burning all the old products. This pollutes the air by releasing toxic smoke into the air and pollutes the water by allowing products to make its way into the Korle-Bu River. These dumpsites are a big reason why the environment is dying. The plastic and metal that makes its way into the Korle-Bu River might end up in oceans and be eaten by marine life. Polluting the air hurts the atmosphere and makes the air quality worse, making it harder to breathe. Sodom and Gomorrah are reasons why pollution is such a huge issue and why the Earth is getting impacted negatively. This just doesn't pollute the environment, it also pollutes the human body. Inhaling these toxins released by burning the trash causes lung damage and exposure to harmful chemicals. This article made me realize that these probably aren't the only dumping sites for electronics. Earth is becoming more polluted through these dumpsites. 
-Reilly Miller

I never really thought about how much electronics western societies really produce and where that waste would go once we were finished with the electronic. The people who live in Sodom and Gomorrah have to deal with the toxins from the "e-waste" in order to make any kind of money to survive. This article really makes you think where your e-waste goes when your electronics become out of date and people begin to throw them out for the new best thing that comes out. Maybe a company should step up and try to resolve some of this waste but at the same time it would be taking away the Sodom and Gomorrah people's only source of income even if it is very low unless the company hires these people to work for them. -Kevin Bach

I think it's interesting that they named the e-waste land Soddom and Gomorrah. In the Bible, the cities are known as the sinful cities. In the book of Genisis, the cities are destroyed by sulfur and fire because of the wickedness of the people. This can kind of be seen in the current Soddom and Gomorrah. The land is being destroyed by the e-waste. The citizens are burning all of the e-waste to be able to have some money. I am also surprised that I have not heard more about these problems. It's important that we do not send more e-waste to these countries so they can have a chance to slowly rebuild. -- Erin Madden

It’s absolutely disgusting that this technology is being dumped in their town.  What’s worse is that they are calling it donations.  These people are suffering because they have no choice but to, they are too poor to do anything about it.  They try to make do but are killing themselves in the process because of the toxins.  It’s so bad to burn plastic because the chemicals that can be breathed in.  It is creating birth defects and are making them very ill.  It’s sick that our electronic empire is built off of the people who are getting our trash. --Claire Starke

It's not surprising to see that more developed countries have been, and continue to, pray on more vulnerable populations. The fact that it was seen in the 80s as a "donation" reminds me a lot of missionary work and how the eradication of Native cultures was seen as saving their souls. I tried to find other articles about Sodom and Gomorrah and the massive amounts of e-waste and regular waste that has been shipped to Ghana, but I had a hard time. Most articles were from early 2010s and the only one I could find was from 2018 where they framed it more as a white savior narrative than a destructive act coming from countries that have enough power and money to dispose of these items properly. -K.Eastridge

While I knew that e-waste dumping was a huge issue in developing nations, I was not aware of the “donation loophole” that allows wealthy countries to “donate” old (often broken) electronics to developing nations. E-waste dumping highlights a larger global problem of sustainability. There are some sustainable methods for disposing of e-waste, but these methods are far more costly and time-consuming than simply illegally shipping garbage off to another country. (-Glynnis Farleigh)

It is beyond heartbreaking to know that so many people are mistreated and have to deal with things as ridiculous as first world electronic waste to this severity. Global powers could easily step in and assist with cleanup and prevention. How are cargo containers still illegally entering the country? It makes it seem as if the country at large is somehow benefiting, or at least thinking that it’s benefitting, by allowing countries to dump there. I wonder if the people in power in Ghana are attempting to prevent it, or in fact only encourage it to continue. The UN notes that 50m tonnes of e-waste are thrown away a year, but I’d like to know how much of that is illegally dumped in this specific location. - Dillyn Scott

When purchasing a new piece of technology, you never think about what happens to the technology it is replacing. After reading this writing, we come to realize that people somewhere suffer for our economical advances. It makes you think, the soon discontinuation of CD's could be a serous problem in places like Sodom and Gomorrah where they are forced to deal with the toxins involved with our technology to survive. It is crazy to think that the advances we have create a burden on the lives of those in third world countries. -Nick Bass

This was such an interesting read. To see that this Ghannian city became a slum when the capital was moved. You don’t think about the consequences of moving the capital, but there is a major difference to the economy when this happens. When all the jobs that were provided by the capital are gone, people are going to have to figure out what to do next. To think that people just started dumping their old electronics there, is just awful. It’s not good for the environment, not to mention just awful to have to see all the time. - Lauren Blouch

Computers and other “e-waste” products found their way to Ghanna’s southern slum city nicknamed Sodom and Gomorrah. They clear the e-waste by burning and collecting the material of electronic products. This no doubetly is problematic for health concerns, as the chemicals can exude poisonous material. The inhabitants clearly had to adapt to their situation of all the illegal e-waste that was dumped there. 
It is very interesting how the waste ends up in the Atlantic ocean, clearly by negligent companies. There is the infamous “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” that exists purely in the water, which has less of a visible impact on the landscape of individuals. -John Liberty

After reading this article it left me with a feeling of absolute guilt and confusion. How is this able to go on and how has no country stepped in to really stop this problem? I really am shook to the core with the fact that this goes on, and unless for this class I would have never known. The fact that containers are still continually shipped that cause different illnesses from the burning of the contents just makes me feel as though we have failed. The section where it talked about children dreaming to be footballers really hit me because it shows the innocence of the people that live there. They are forced to deal with everything that is brought there and left to fend for themselves. This is something that needs to be fixed. Is there a viable solution or will it just continue to happen? Thinking about this makes me think back to any technology that I have just thrown away like old parts of a computer or an old Ipod. This problem needs to be addressed by the United States and the world as a whole. This is very eye opening to read because we just dispose of things so easily here and never really think of the repercussions of what actually happens when it leaves our houses and our cities. -Tory Martin

Sodom and Gomorrah: I first heard about this place from a YouTube video by Vsauce (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5s4-Kak49o) and at 5:12, he explains that many industrialized nations find it less expensive to send their electronic waste marked as donations to dumps in Ghana, like the one in Agbogbloshie, which I find to be morally disgusting and done out of sheer racism and laziness on the part of the nations using these places as their junkyards. Many think they can get away with this because these poor towns and villages are inhabited mainly by people with dark skin, who for hundreds of years, have historically gotten the short end of the stick in their relationships with Europeans and others, and that’s if they even got any part of the stick at all. Imagine if some aliens decided to dump their old tech junk right in the middle of our cities and neighborhoods simply because we couldn’t do anything to convince them otherwise. – Rachel Beatty.

“Life in Sodom and Gomorrah; The World’s Largest Digital Dump” highlights the end state of most of the western world’s technological trash. As American’s we frequently have the newest, latest, and greatest technology, but what that translates to long term is that all of our old technological devices have to go somewhere… That somewhere is in Ghana, located on the western gulf of Africa. These e-waste dumping sites have sparked mini societies of their own, where extremely impoverished people live amongst the trash. The article was truly heartbreaking, and really beckons the reader to reconsider the waste they’re producing. -Elizabeth Davis

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