Theory of the Has#tag, Cambridge: PolityPress , 2019, de Andreas Bernard

Résumé

Theory of the Hashtag by Andreas Bernard may be a small book but opens great avenues of thought around the discrete but central hash sign. The book is constructed around seven chapters that seem to be written in total autonomy in which each chapter adds a layer of comprehension to the preceding ones. It can be read like a cultural biography of the hashtag and accompanies the spectacular rise of # symbol from its predecessor keyword to two fundamental domains: political activism and marketing. Using emblematic examples such as #MeToo or #OccupyWallStreet social movements, Bernard elucidates not only the ways the hashtag has influences social-political life, but also some of its central tenets and consequences. This is a recommendable book that presents an easy to read introduction to a cultural perspective on the hashtag. Although it does not fully address the topic of how the hashtag is shaping the public sphere it certainly is an important reading on the historical and cultural ways the hashtag is transforming contemporary digital culture.