Stéphane Couture
Biographic Data
| ID | 261990 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stéphane Couture |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stéphane |
| FAMILY NAME | Couture |
| SIGNATURE | COUTURE S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Université de Montréal |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7095-8324 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 75 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Internet(s) alternatif(s)
On observe depuis longtemps déjà un désir pour un internet différent de celui que l’on pourrait qualifier de dominant, associé aux grandes entreprises du numérique. Ce mouvement pour un internet alternatif, ou à tout le moins pour des plateformes ou infrastructures alternatives, se manifeste à travers sa promotion des logiciels libres, son opposition à la surveillance par les données et à l’opacité de la gouvernance des plateformes commerciales, …
Fédérer les alternatives
En périphérie des grandes plateformes numériques commerciales, des médias sociaux alternatifs décentralisés et libres continuent de se développer. Nous appuyant sur des approches STS (science, technologie et société), notre méthodologie consiste à repérer et « suivre » des débats en ligne concernant le développement d’ActivityPub, le protocole informatique qui assure l’interopérabilité du Fédivers, un écosystème de médias sociaux alternatifs. Qua…
Midao
Numerous studies have highlighted the impact of interpersonal relationships in the dynamics of innovation adoption and diffusion.It is therefore natural that agent-based simulation is a commonly chosen approach for studying these dynamics, due to its ability to represent individual decisions and interactions between individuals.Some of these studies have focused specifically on the impact of social influences on the construction of an opinion on …
Melodies of the toppling trees
This paper develops a concept, ‘the tree farm pastoral,’ that describes the ability to perceive beauty in the midst of destruction and dispossession through a particular framing of the extraction of wood and the cultivation of crops. The tree farm pastoral is an affective orientation marked by a series of profound transformations in the management of forests – the development of ‘sustained yield forestry’ – which occurred around the middle of the…
Resisting and Claiming Digital Sovereignty
In this contribution to “Unthinking digital sovereignty,” we review some discourses and practical proposals that resist or challenge the digital sovereignty of “established states.” Our focus centers on two distinct sociopolitical groups engaged in such practices. The first group we highlight is what we call “civil society,” which is composed of nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations, and collectives, often inspired by anti‐capitalist, autonomi…
The value of information under ambiguity
Quand les mots font des choses
Toujours plus d'institutions choisissent d'adopter un langage dit ' inclusif ' et le domaine de l'informatique n'y fait pas exception. Ceci ne vient pas sans certaines oppositions. Cet article étudie une controverse concernant l'introduction d'un guide pour l'usage de termes inclusifs au sein de l'Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), un organisme clé de la gouvernance d'Internet. Les principaux arguments en faveur d'une terminologie inclusive …
Becoming Spectral
This article contextualizes contemporary forms of digital ghosting by examining how two of its historical precursors-Victorian calling culture and answering machines-have been represented in North American women's magazines. To do so, we develop mediated avoidance as an analytical heuristic. This concept captures the material, relational and social dimensions of a set of understudied media practices that seek to strategically engage with the gaps…
Pushing Back
This paper thus aims to contribute to media, communication, and digital technology studies by proposing a more systematic conceptualization of digital resistance. While the notion of resistance in relation to technology is often connoted negatively and associated the rejection of innovation of change, our approach to digital resistance takes here a new meaning: political and critical. Indeed, the notion of digital resistance is often used in acad…
Forging a format
Each weekday at one o’clock, American radio personality Mary Margaret McBride (1899–1976) chatted on the air with guests for 45 minutes. Her programme combined advertising, editorial content and interviews in a unique manner, and her relationship with listeners was experienced as close and personal. Building on radio scholars’ interest in the ‘intimacy’ of the medium, this article investigates the form and structure of McBride’s programme, how he…
Technological Sovereignty and Social Justice
Questions of independence and sovereignty have long been present with regards to the Internet. In 1996, for instance, John Perry Barlow published his now well-known “Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace”. Twenty-five years later, notions like “digital sovereignty”, “data sovereignty” and “technological sovereignty” are increasingly used in public debates. This presentation will explore “technological sovereignty” but through the lens of …
Déjouer les algorithmes, une tactique de résistance numérique
Hackers. Au cœur de la résistance numérique. Recension du livre d’Amaelle Guiton (2013)
Ce texte propose une recension de lecture du livre Hackers. Au cœur de la résistance numérique, publié par Amaelle Guiton (2013). Bien que le sujet des hackers ait été amplement exploité par le passé, notamment par des auteurs.trices québécois (Coleman 2016 ; Grosbois 2018) et les directeurs.trices du numéro (Couture 2015, 2020 ; Toupin 2016, 2017), nous avons préféré nous attarder dans ce numéro spécial de Possibles à des aspects et des travaux …
Ideologies and Imaginaries in Blockchain Communities
Background: Academic literature on blockchains has focused on Bitcoin, which is traditionally associated with right-wing libertarianism. This article looks at Ethereum, an alternative that emerged in Canada and is now the second most used blockchain technology after Bitcoin. Analysis: Using participatory observation supplemented with publicly available material, this article examines the ideologies and imaginaries surrounding Ethereum and how the…
Feminist chatbots as part of the feminist toolbox
In late August 2017, the Brazilian non-profit laboratory for activism called Nossas Cidades (Our Cities) launched a feminist chatbot called Betânia, or Beta for short (See Figure 1). Beta is a text
Pluralisation des savoirs et cultures minoritaires
Cet article vise à étudier les enjeux culturels et politiques de la pluralisation des savoirs dans Wikipédia. Il analyse le cas du portail Franco-Ontariens comme exemple de représentation d'une minorité francophone au sein de l'encyclopédie. Bien que plusieurs travaux existent sur les dimensions linguistiques et culturelles de Wikipédia, peu d'études se penchent sur la place d'un groupe minoritaire au sein d'une édition linguistique de Wikipédia.…
What does the notion of “sovereignty” mean when referring to the digital
This article analyzes how the notion of “sovereignty” has been and is still mobilized in the realm of the digital. This notion is increasingly used to describe various forms of independence, control, and autonomy over digital infrastructures, technologies, and data. Our analysis originates from our previous and current research with activist “tech collectives” where we observed a use of the notion to emphasize alternative technological practices …
Activist Scholarship
Can Media and Technology Help Make “Another World Possible”? Reflections from the Media@McGill Research Delegation to the 2015 World Social Forum in Tunisia
This research-in-brief summarizes activities of our research delegation to the 2015 World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunis, including our participation in two associated events: the World Forum on Free Media (WFFM) and preparatory meetings for an eventual global Internet Social Forum (ISF). The WFFM and ISF provided rich terrain for our delegation to document and study contemporary struggles around communication media and technology issues. We report …
Can Media and Technology Help Make “Another World Possible”? Reflections from the Media@McGill Research Delegation to the 2015 World Social Forum in Tunisia
Non-participation in digital media
This article explores the notion of digital non-participation as a form of mediated political action rather than as mere passivity. We generally conceive of participation in a positive sense, as a means for empowerment and a condition for democracy. However, participation is not the only way to achieve political goals in the digital sphere and can be hampered by the ‘dark sides’ of participatory media, such as surveillance or disempowering forms …
The Cultural Politics of Free Software and Technology within the Social Forum Process
L'écriture collective du code source informatique
Cet article analyse l'écriture collective du code source informatique. Le code source est l'objet de la programmation informatique et peut être défini comme l'ensemble des instructions qui décrivent le fonctionnement d'un logiciel ou d'un système informatique. L'article s'appuie sur différents travaux en sociologie des sciences et des techniques et en anthropologie de l'écriture qui ont en commun d'insister sur le travail, parfois invisible, néce…
Forest management under fire risk when forest carbon sequestration has value
Public compensation for windstorm damage reduces incentives for risk management investments
What does the notion of “sovereignty” mean when referring to the digital
This article analyzes how the notion of “sovereignty” has been and is still mobilized in the realm of the digital. This notion is increasingly used to describe various forms of independence, control, and autonomy over digital infrastructures, technologies, and data. Our analysis originates from our previous and current research with activist “tech collectives” where we observed a use of the notion to emphasize alternative technological practices …
Non-participation in digital media
This article explores the notion of digital non-participation as a form of mediated political action rather than as mere passivity. We generally conceive of participation in a positive sense, as a means for empowerment and a condition for democracy. However, participation is not the only way to achieve political goals in the digital sphere and can be hampered by the ‘dark sides’ of participatory media, such as surveillance or disempowering forms …
Public compensation for windstorm damage reduces incentives for risk management investments
L'écriture collective du code source informatique
Cet article analyse l'écriture collective du code source informatique. Le code source est l'objet de la programmation informatique et peut être défini comme l'ensemble des instructions qui décrivent le fonctionnement d'un logiciel ou d'un système informatique. L'article s'appuie sur différents travaux en sociologie des sciences et des techniques et en anthropologie de l'écriture qui ont en commun d'insister sur le travail, parfois invisible, néce…
Public compensation for windstorm damage reduces incentives for risk management investments
Forest management under fire risk when forest carbon sequestration has value
L'écriture collective du code source informatique
Cet article analyse l'écriture collective du code source informatique. Le code source est l'objet de la programmation informatique et peut être défini comme l'ensemble des instructions qui décrivent le fonctionnement d'un logiciel ou d'un système informatique. L'article s'appuie sur différents travaux en sociologie des sciences et des techniques et en anthropologie de l'écriture qui ont en commun d'insister sur le travail, parfois invisible, néce…
The Cultural Politics of Free Software and Technology within the Social Forum Process
Non-participation in digital media
This article explores the notion of digital non-participation as a form of mediated political action rather than as mere passivity. We generally conceive of participation in a positive sense, as a means for empowerment and a condition for democracy. However, participation is not the only way to achieve political goals in the digital sphere and can be hampered by the ‘dark sides’ of participatory media, such as surveillance or disempowering forms …
Can Media and Technology Help Make “Another World Possible”? Reflections from the Media@McGill Research Delegation to the 2015 World Social Forum in Tunisia
This research-in-brief summarizes activities of our research delegation to the 2015 World Social Forum (WSF) in Tunis, including our participation in two associated events: the World Forum on Free Media (WFFM) and preparatory meetings for an eventual global Internet Social Forum (ISF). The WFFM and ISF provided rich terrain for our delegation to document and study contemporary struggles around communication media and technology issues. We report …
Can Media and Technology Help Make “Another World Possible”? Reflections from the Media@McGill Research Delegation to the 2015 World Social Forum in Tunisia
Activist Scholarship
What does the notion of “sovereignty” mean when referring to the digital
This article analyzes how the notion of “sovereignty” has been and is still mobilized in the realm of the digital. This notion is increasingly used to describe various forms of independence, control, and autonomy over digital infrastructures, technologies, and data. Our analysis originates from our previous and current research with activist “tech collectives” where we observed a use of the notion to emphasize alternative technological practices …
Feminist chatbots as part of the feminist toolbox
In late August 2017, the Brazilian non-profit laboratory for activism called Nossas Cidades (Our Cities) launched a feminist chatbot called Betânia, or Beta for short (See Figure 1). Beta is a text
Pluralisation des savoirs et cultures minoritaires
Cet article vise à étudier les enjeux culturels et politiques de la pluralisation des savoirs dans Wikipédia. Il analyse le cas du portail Franco-Ontariens comme exemple de représentation d'une minorité francophone au sein de l'encyclopédie. Bien que plusieurs travaux existent sur les dimensions linguistiques et culturelles de Wikipédia, peu d'études se penchent sur la place d'un groupe minoritaire au sein d'une édition linguistique de Wikipédia.…
Technological Sovereignty and Social Justice
Questions of independence and sovereignty have long been present with regards to the Internet. In 1996, for instance, John Perry Barlow published his now well-known “Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace”. Twenty-five years later, notions like “digital sovereignty”, “data sovereignty” and “technological sovereignty” are increasingly used in public debates. This presentation will explore “technological sovereignty” but through the lens of …
Déjouer les algorithmes, une tactique de résistance numérique
Hackers. Au cœur de la résistance numérique. Recension du livre d’Amaelle Guiton (2013)
Ce texte propose une recension de lecture du livre Hackers. Au cœur de la résistance numérique, publié par Amaelle Guiton (2013). Bien que le sujet des hackers ait été amplement exploité par le passé, notamment par des auteurs.trices québécois (Coleman 2016 ; Grosbois 2018) et les directeurs.trices du numéro (Couture 2015, 2020 ; Toupin 2016, 2017), nous avons préféré nous attarder dans ce numéro spécial de Possibles à des aspects et des travaux …
Ideologies and Imaginaries in Blockchain Communities
Background: Academic literature on blockchains has focused on Bitcoin, which is traditionally associated with right-wing libertarianism. This article looks at Ethereum, an alternative that emerged in Canada and is now the second most used blockchain technology after Bitcoin. Analysis: Using participatory observation supplemented with publicly available material, this article examines the ideologies and imaginaries surrounding Ethereum and how the…
Pushing Back
This paper thus aims to contribute to media, communication, and digital technology studies by proposing a more systematic conceptualization of digital resistance. While the notion of resistance in relation to technology is often connoted negatively and associated the rejection of innovation of change, our approach to digital resistance takes here a new meaning: political and critical. Indeed, the notion of digital resistance is often used in acad…
Forging a format
Each weekday at one o’clock, American radio personality Mary Margaret McBride (1899–1976) chatted on the air with guests for 45 minutes. Her programme combined advertising, editorial content and interviews in a unique manner, and her relationship with listeners was experienced as close and personal. Building on radio scholars’ interest in the ‘intimacy’ of the medium, this article investigates the form and structure of McBride’s programme, how he…
Resisting and Claiming Digital Sovereignty
In this contribution to “Unthinking digital sovereignty,” we review some discourses and practical proposals that resist or challenge the digital sovereignty of “established states.” Our focus centers on two distinct sociopolitical groups engaged in such practices. The first group we highlight is what we call “civil society,” which is composed of nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations, and collectives, often inspired by anti‐capitalist, autonomi…
The value of information under ambiguity
Quand les mots font des choses
Toujours plus d'institutions choisissent d'adopter un langage dit ' inclusif ' et le domaine de l'informatique n'y fait pas exception. Ceci ne vient pas sans certaines oppositions. Cet article étudie une controverse concernant l'introduction d'un guide pour l'usage de termes inclusifs au sein de l'Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), un organisme clé de la gouvernance d'Internet. Les principaux arguments en faveur d'une terminologie inclusive …
Becoming Spectral
This article contextualizes contemporary forms of digital ghosting by examining how two of its historical precursors-Victorian calling culture and answering machines-have been represented in North American women's magazines. To do so, we develop mediated avoidance as an analytical heuristic. This concept captures the material, relational and social dimensions of a set of understudied media practices that seek to strategically engage with the gaps…
Midao
Numerous studies have highlighted the impact of interpersonal relationships in the dynamics of innovation adoption and diffusion.It is therefore natural that agent-based simulation is a commonly chosen approach for studying these dynamics, due to its ability to represent individual decisions and interactions between individuals.Some of these studies have focused specifically on the impact of social influences on the construction of an opinion on …
Melodies of the toppling trees
This paper develops a concept, ‘the tree farm pastoral,’ that describes the ability to perceive beauty in the midst of destruction and dispossession through a particular framing of the extraction of wood and the cultivation of crops. The tree farm pastoral is an affective orientation marked by a series of profound transformations in the management of forests – the development of ‘sustained yield forestry’ – which occurred around the middle of the…
Internet(s) alternatif(s)
On observe depuis longtemps déjà un désir pour un internet différent de celui que l’on pourrait qualifier de dominant, associé aux grandes entreprises du numérique. Ce mouvement pour un internet alternatif, ou à tout le moins pour des plateformes ou infrastructures alternatives, se manifeste à travers sa promotion des logiciels libres, son opposition à la surveillance par les données et à l’opacité de la gouvernance des plateformes commerciales, …
Fédérer les alternatives
En périphérie des grandes plateformes numériques commerciales, des médias sociaux alternatifs décentralisés et libres continuent de se développer. Nous appuyant sur des approches STS (science, technologie et société), notre méthodologie consiste à repérer et « suivre » des débats en ligne concernant le développement d’ActivityPub, le protocole informatique qui assure l’interopérabilité du Fédivers, un écosystème de médias sociaux alternatifs. Qua…
Sociology (13 works) · Political science (11 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Social Media and Politics (7 works) · Media studies (6 works) · Cultural Insights and Digital Impacts (5 works) · Economics (5 works) · Law (5 works) · Politics (5 works)