{{Short description|British academic}} {{About|the academic and Labour Party activist|the British National Party politician and artist|Richard Barnbrook}} {{BLP primary sources|date=August 2016}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
'''Richard Barbrook''' is an academic in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages at the University of Westminster.
{{Infobox academic | name = Richard Barbrook | image = Richard Barbrook 2011.jpg | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1956}} | birth_place = Nottingham | occupation = Politician | education = Professor | alma_mater = Downing College, Cambridge, University of Essex & University of Kent | workplaces = University of Westminster }}
==Early life== Barbrook was born in Nottingham in 1956 and grew up in Canterbury, where his father taught US politics at the University of Kent.<ref name=ns>{{cite web |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/07/richard-barbrook-man-war-gaming-corbyn-government |title=Richard Barbrook, the man war-gaming a Corbyn government |last=Eaton |first=George |author-link=George Eaton (journalist) |date=18 July 2018|website=New Statesman|access-date=19 July 2018}}</ref>
He studied for a BA in Social & Political Science at Downing College, Cambridge, an MA in Political Behaviour at University of Essex and a doctorate in Politics & Government at University of Kent. {{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} thumb|Barbrook in 2015 Barbrook joined the Labour Party in 1980, aligning himself with the Labour Briefing left within the party.<ref name=ns />
==Career== In the early 1980s, he was involved with pirate and community radio broadcasting. Helping to set up the multi-lingual Spectrum Radio station in London, he published extensively on radio issues during this period.<ref>[http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/02/28/choice-or-participation-british-radio-in-the-1990s-by-richard-barbrook CHOICE OR PARTICIPATION? by Richard Barbrook]. Imaginary Futures (28 February 2007). Retrieved on 2016-05-14.</ref><ref>[http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/01/04/how-dyall-feel-out-there-pirate-radio-in-london-by-richard-barbrook F.M. Fatale by Richard Barbrook]. Imaginary Futures (4 January 2007). Retrieved on 2016-05-14.</ref>
Having worked on media regulation within the EU for some years at a research institute at the University of Westminster, much of his material was published in his 1995 book ''Media Freedom''. In the same year, he became the coordinator of the Hypermedia Research Centre at Westminster's Media School and was the first course leader of its MA in Hypermedia Studies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Barbrook, Richard {{!}} University of Westminster, London|url=https://www.westminster.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/directory/barbrook-richard|access-date=2020-12-27|website=www.westminster.ac.uk}}</ref> [[File:Richard_Barbrook_Pro_Arte,_SPB.JPG|right|thumb|Barbrook delivering a lecture at ''Pro Arte'', Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 2008]] Working with Andy Cameron (interactive artist), he wrote the essay "The Californian Ideology"<ref>[http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/04/17/the-californian-ideology-2 THE CALIFORNIAN IDEOLOGY by Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron]. Imaginary Futures (17 April 2007). Retrieved on 2016-05-14.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070207094545/http://www.salon.com/jan97/state2970120.html Smashing the State]. salon.com (January 1997)</ref> a pioneering critique of the neo-liberal politics of ''Wired'' magazine. His other important writings about the Net include "The Hi-Tech Gift Economy",<ref>[http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue3_12/barbrook First Monday] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124114628/http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue3_12/barbrook/ |date=24 November 2012 }}. First Monday (5 January 1998). Retrieved on 2016-05-14.</ref> "Cyber-communism",<ref>[http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/04/17/cyber-communism-how-the-americans-are-superseding-capitalism-in-cyberspace/ CYBER-COMMUNISM by Richard Barbrook]. Imaginary Futures (17 April 2007). Retrieved on 2016-05-14.</ref> "The Regulation of Liberty",<ref>[http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/04/16/the-regulation-of-liberty-by-richard-barbrook/ THE REGULATION OF LIBERTY by Richard Barbrook]. Imaginary Futures (16 April 2007). Retrieved on 2016-05-14.</ref> and "The Class of the New".
In 2007, Barbook moved to the Social Sciences School of the University of Westminster<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/mar/13/schools.news | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Too close for comfort | date=13 March 2007 | access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> and published his study of the political and ideological role of the prophecies of artificial intelligence and the information society Imaginary Futures.
The Media Ecology Association selected Imaginary Futures as the winner of the 2008 Marshall McLuhan Award for Outstanding Book of the Year in the Field of Media Ecology.<ref>[http://www.media-ecology.org/awards/mea_recipients.html Past MEA Award Recipients]. Media-ecology.org. Retrieved on 14 May 2016.</ref> Barbrook is a founding member of Class Wargames and co-wrote the script to the group's film: Ilze Black (director), ''Class Wargames Presents Guy Debord's The Game of War''.<ref>[http://www.classwargames.net/?page_id=149 FILM | Class Wargames: ludic subversion in the bureaucratic society of controlled consumption]. Class Wargames. Retrieved on 14 May 2016.</ref>
During the 2016 Labour leadership election, he wrote Jeremy Corbyn's Digital Democracy Manifesto.<ref name="BBC News">{{cite web |title=Corbyn proposes digital bill of rights |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37219140 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 June 2019 |date=30 August 2016}}</ref> In May 2017, he assisted in the development of the viral 2017 general election videogame CorbynRun.<ref>[https://corbynrun.com CorbynRun]</ref> In November 2017, Barbrook began working with the Labour Party on digital democracy and games.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Manthorpe|first=Rowland|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/upvote-16-tech-politics-podcast-richard-barbrook-jeremy-corbyn-labour-party|title=UpVote 16: inside political war games with Labour's digital guru|date=2017-10-18|magazine=Wired UK|access-date=2020-02-08|issn=1357-0978}}</ref> His work focuses on preparing the Labour for government through crisis planning and role-playing of future scenarios that may occur after a potential Labour election win.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/prudent-for-labour-to-war-game-for-power-says-partys-digital-guru-11054819|title=Prudent for Labour to 'war-game' for power, says party's digital guru|website=Sky News|accessdate=30 March 2023}}</ref>
==Selected works== *{{cite book | first = Richard | last = Barbrook | year = 2015 | title = The Internet Revolution: from dot-com capitalism to cybernetic communism | publisher = Network Notebooks | location = Amsterdam| isbn = 978-94-92302-01-4 | url = https://networkcultures.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/0585-INC_NN10-totaal-RGB.pdf}}. *{{cite book | first = Richard | last = Barbrook | year = 2014 | title = Class Wargames: ludic subversion against spectacular capitalism | edition = paperback | publisher = Minor Compositions | location = Wivenhoe / New York / Port Hudson| isbn = 978-1-57027-293-6 | url = http://www.classwargames.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/5-Class_Wargames_book.pdf}}. *{{cite book | first = Richard | last = Barbrook | year = 2007 | title = Imaginary Futures: from thinking machines to the global village | edition = paperback | publisher = Pluto Press | location = London | isbn = 978-0-7453-2660-3 | url = http://www.imaginaryfutures.net}}. *{{cite book | first = Richard | last = Barbrook | year = 2006 | title = The Class of the New | edition = paperback | publisher = OpenMute | location = London | isbn = 0-9550664-7-6 | url = http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/wp-content/the_class_of-_the_new.pdf}}. *Barbrook, Richard (2000) [1999]. "[http://www.imaginaryfutures.net/2007/04/17/cyber-communism-how-the-americans-are-superseding-capitalism-in-cyberspace/ Cyber-Communism: How The Americans Are Superseding Capitalism In Cyberspace]". ''Science as Culture''. '''9''' (1), 5–40. *Barbrook, Richard. (15 May 1996). "[http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=32 Global Algorithm 1.5: Hypermedia Freedom]". ''CTheory''. '''19''' (1–2). *{{cite book | first = Richard | last = Barbrook | year = 1995 | title = Media Freedom: the contradictions of communications in the age of modernity | edition = paperback | publisher = Pluto Press | location = London | isbn = 978-0-7453-0943-9 }} *Barbrook, Richard. Andy Cameron. (1996) [1995] "[http://www.mendeley.com/research/californian-ideology/ The Californian Ideology]". ''Science as Culture''. 26, 44–72.
==References== {{Commons category|Richard Barbrook}} {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbrook, Richard}} Category:Academics of the University of Westminster Category:Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Category:Alumni of the University of Essex Category:Alumni of the University of Kent Category:Living people Category:Educators from Nottingham Category:Labour Party (UK) people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)