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"This chapter introduces the book's argument and approach. It argues that participatory democracy-understood as a method of collective problem-solving-is well-suited for understanding the democratic implications of digital technologies. The chapter then explains why the book takes the methodological approach of examining the democratic effects of digital technologies through the lens of the built environment. Ultimately, the reason is one of power: the built environment exerts considerable power over us, shaping our behavior in often-invisible ways. Insofar as democracy requires citizen participation in the decisions that shape their lives, they require a built environment that 'affords' the opportunity to engage in the requisite democratic practices-specifically, the practices of recognition, attachment, and experimentalism. In order to facilitate these practices, democratic environments must have three characteristics: 1) boundaries, to facilitate recognition, 2) durable spaces, to cultivate attachment, and 3) flexible spaces, to provide opportunities and resources for experimental habits"--

Abstract
Incels (short for "involuntarily celibate") have recently gained notoriety for their aggressive, often violent, misogyny, yet incels were not always an antidemocratic social group. They thus pose a challenge for thinking about democracy and identity in (anonymous) digital environments: how can we create spaces for marginalized social groups while ensuring the resulting identities remain democratic? While many scholars point to technological affordances or corporate content moderation policies as providing some solutions, in this article I propose a more democratic approach. Drawing from incel wikis and archived forum posts from two early incel communities—IncelSupport and LoveShy—I argue that a community's social norms, and the moderation practices required to sustain them, are user-directed interventions that have outsized effects in shaping group identities in democratic ways.

While there is disagreement over the value of public shaming, scholars largely agree that social media introduce pathologies. But while scholars rightly identify the effects of online public shaming (OPS), they misidentify the cause. Rather than solely a problem of scale, OPS's effects are also shaped by the network structure within which they take place. In this article, I argue that the social conditions necessary for productive public shaming are more likely to obtain in a closed social network structure. Using the cases of Twitter, Wikipedia, and Reddit, I show how the design of social media platforms facilitates different network structures among users, with differing results for OPS. In evaluating OPS by way of network structure, I argue, we can not only better understand why OPS works productively in some cases and not in others, but also derive lessons for how to deploy, discuss, and respond to it more effectively.

Deliberative democracy requires both equality and difference, with structures that organize a cohesive public while still accommodating the unique perspectives of each participant. While institutions like laws and norms can help to provide this balance, the built environment also plays a role supporting democratic politics—both on- and off-line. In this article, I use the work of Hannah Arendt to articulate two characteristics the built environment needs to support democratic politics: it must (1) serves as a common world, drawing users together and emphasizing their common interests and must also (2) preserve spaces of appearance, accommodating diverse perspectives and inviting disagreement. I, then, turn to the example of Facebook to show how these characteristics can be used as criteria for evaluating how well a particular digital platform supports democratic politics and providing alternative mechanisms these sites might use to fulfill their role as a public realm.

The problem of trolls exemplifies the challenges of building democratic communities in the digital environment of social media. Distinguishing trolls from activists can be difficult; democratic theorists have yet to adequately address how to prevent the former while remaining open to the latter. In this article, I outline a theory of democratic politics that takes space as a central element in shaping democratic interactions. Using the work of John Dewey, I draw out two key characteristics of democratic space: boundedness and flexibility. Using these criteria, I then evaluate Kinja, Gawker Media's commenting platform, both before and after trolls attacked the site in 2014. I find that in altering its boundaries to successfully protect against trolls, Kinja introduced a new problem: a lack of flexibility that continues to affect the possibility for democratic discourse on the platform. I conclude by suggesting how this theory of democratic space might shape future research.

Married to the canon : writing the history of western philosophy / Jennifer Forestal & Menaka Philips -- Xanthippe : shrew or muse / Arlene Saxonhouse -- Self-sacrifice as wifely virtue in Aristotle's political theory / Sara Brill -- Authoring Machiavelli : Barbera Salutati la Mandragola and the performance of political theory / Boris Litvin -- Educating gentlewomen : the women of Locke's circle and their influence on Some thoughts concerning education / Emily C. Nacol -- Jeanne de Lartigue, Madame de Montesquieu : Calvinist refugee and wife of an Enlightenment philosopher / Bryan A. Banks -- Thérèse Levasseur's improvised life with Rousseau / Jennifer M. Jones -- The hidden labors of Mary Mottley, Madame de Tocqueville / Ross Carroll -- The "beloved and deplored" memory of Harriet Taylor Mill : rethinking gender and intellectual labor in the canon / Menaka Philips -- "Mere auxiliaries to the movement" : how intellectual biography obscures Marx's and Engels's gendered political partnerships / Terrell Carver -- The future of intellectual labor / Jennifer Forestal & Menaka Philips.

The increased use of anonymous digital platforms raises substantive concerns about accountability in digital spaces. However, contemporary evaluations of anonymity focus too narrowly on its protective function: its ability to protect a diversity of speakers and ideas. Drawing on two examples of anonymous political engagements – Publius's writing of the Federalist Papers and college students' use of the social media platform Yik Yak – we develop an account of anonymity's associational function: the processes by which people generate and negotiate collective identities, discussions, and actions in wider publics. As we argue, anonymity's associational function can (1) generate conditions under which individuals develop collective interests and identities to foster collective action, and (2) enable novel interactions between these individuals and communities and the larger publics of which they are part. We conclude with a discussion of how attention to associational anonymity can contribute to a more nuanced account of democracy in practice.

The Wives of Western Philosophy examines the lives and experiences of the wives and women associated with nine distinct political thinkers—from Socrates to Marx—in order to explore the gendered patterns of intellectual labor that permeate the foundations of Western political thought. Organized chronologically and representative of three eras in the history of political thought (Ancient, Early Modern, and Modern), nine critical biographical chapters explore the everyday acts of intellectual labor and partnership involving these "wives of the canon." Taking seriously their narratives as intimate partners reveals that wives have labored in remarkable ways throughout the history of political thought. In some cases, their labors mark the conceptual boundaries of political life; in others, they serve as uncredited resources for the production of political ideas. In all instances, however, these wives and intimates are pushed to the margins of the history of political thought. The Wives of Western Philosophy brings these women to the center of scholarly interest. In so doing, it provides new insights into the intellectual biographies of some of the most famed men in political theory while also raising important questions about the gendered politics of intellectual labor which shape our receptions of canonical texts and thinkers, and which sustain the academy even today. ; https://ecommons.luc.edu/facultybooks/1188/thumbnail.jpg