Manuel Castells facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Manuel Castells
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Castells in 2020
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| Minister of Universities | |
| In office 13 January 2020 – 20 December 2021 |
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| Monarch | Felipe VI |
| Prime Minister | Pedro Sánchez |
| Preceded by | Pedro Duque (Universities) |
| Succeeded by | Joan Subirats |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 February 1942 Hellín, Albacete, Spain |
| Spouse | Emma Kiselyova |
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| Alma mater | University of Paris |
| Known for | Research on the information society, communication and globalization Organization theory Network society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Sociology, urban planning, communication studies |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge; University of Southern California; Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia); EHESS; University of Paris X: Nanterre |
| Doctoral students | Ananya Roy Sasha Costanza-Chock |
| Other notable students | Daniel Cohn-Bendit |
Manuel Castells Oliván (born 9 February 1942) is a Spanish sociologist, which is a person who studies how people live and behave in groups. He is famous for his books about the "Information Age," a time when technology like the internet changed everything. He has studied how information, communication, and globalization (the way the world is becoming more connected) affect our lives.
Castells has taught at many famous universities around the world. These include the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Southern California, and the University of Cambridge. He is considered one of the most important thinkers in the world on the topics of communication and society.
For his work, Castells has won major awards. In 2012, he received the Holberg Prize for helping people understand how cities and countries work in a "network society"—a society connected by technology. From January 2020 to December 2021, he served as the Minister of Universities for the government of Spain.
Contents
Early Life and Activism
Growing Up in Spain
Manuel Castells was born in Hellín, Spain, in 1942. Because his father was a government finance inspector, his family moved around a lot. He grew up in several Spanish cities, including Madrid and Valencia.
Castells grew up during the rule of Francisco Franco, a dictator who led a government that limited people's freedom. This experience had a big impact on him. He said, "You had actually to resist the whole environment, and to be yourself, you had to fight and to politicize yourself from the age of fifteen or sixteen." This means he felt he had to stand up for his beliefs from a young age.
Becoming an Activist
Castells was a very good student and started studying law and economics at the University of Barcelona when he was only sixteen. However, he was also interested in theatre and writing. The government at the time censored many forms of art and free expression.
This inspired Castells to join a secret student group that was against Franco's government. It was very dangerous work. In 1962, he took part in a student strike to support miners who were being treated unfairly. After the strike, many of his friends were arrested. Castells managed to escape to Paris, France, as a political refugee. He was only 20 years old.
Because he had to flee Spain, he could not finish his degree in Barcelona. Instead, he completed his studies in Paris, earning a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Paris.
Academic Career and Main Ideas
At just 24 years old, Castells began teaching at universities in Paris. In 1979, he moved to the United States and became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught for 24 years. He later joined the University of Southern California (USC). Today, he divides his time between Spain and the U.S.
The Information Age
Castells is best known for his ideas about the Information Age. He wrote a famous set of three books called The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture. In these books, he explains how our world has changed because of new technologies like computers and the internet.
He says that society is now built around a "network." Think of it like a giant spiderweb connecting people, companies, and countries. Before, society was organized like a pyramid, with powerful people at the top. Now, power and information flow through these networks.
Castells also talks about the difference between the "Net" and the "Self." The "Net" is this global network of information. The "Self" is our personal identity—who we are, where we come from, and what we believe. He studies how people try to hold on to their own identity in a world that is becoming more and more connected online.
What is Informationalism?
"Informationalism" is a term Castells uses to describe our modern society. In the past, during the age of industrialism, the main goal was to make things and grow the economy. Now, in the age of informationalism, the main goal is to create and share knowledge.
He argues that huge global networks, powered by technology, are now more important than ever. These networks connect businesses and people across the world. However, he also points out that this can leave some people behind. Communities that are not connected to these global networks can feel excluded.
From Marxism to New Ideas
When he was younger, Castells was influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx, a philosopher who wrote about the struggles between different social classes. Castells used these ideas to study cities and social problems. For example, he wrote about how things like public transportation and housing can become political issues.
As he got older, Castells felt that Marxism alone couldn't explain everything he wanted to study, like gender or national identity. He moved away from these ideas to explore a wider range of topics. He said he became more interested in asking "relevant questions" rather than finding "correct answers." This allowed him to develop his own unique theories about the network society.
See also
In Spanish: Manuel Castells para niños
