Starr Roxanne Hiltz: Pioneer Digital Sociologist

In 1978, an intriguing new book appeared, The Network Nation: Human Communication Via Computer,¹ the brainchild of a sociologist named Starr Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff, the “father” of the first computer conferencing system EMISARI (Emergency Management Information System and Reference Index). It was a technical work on computer networks and computer conferencing. The Network Nation was also the earliest work describing the sociology of a new type of community—a networked community of people spread around the globe, connected only through a computer network, who met, worked, discussed, argued, and collaborated entirely on the networked platform. The book was a crystal ball of sorts, offering interesting, bold predictions about the future development of virtual communities and their effects on society, politics, and law. Written in an almost playful style, it was astonishingly prescient, introducing ideas issues such as flaming, privacy, anonymity, telecommuting, and online political action that feature prominently in today’s online social behavior.

As one of the earliest sociologists studying online and virtual communities, Hiltz has carved for herself an important place in the history of computing. She was then, and still is one of the few sociologists to gain appointment as a tenured full professor in an academic computer science department, considered a male bastion at the time. Now retired, Hiltz is modest about her brainchild, pointing out that her pioneering work would not have been possible without Turoff’s work on computer conferencing.

Early Years

Starr Roxanne Hiltz was born on a US Army base in Little Rock, Arkansas, on 7 September 1942 to parents of German ancestry. Roxanne’s father John Donald Smyers and mother Mildred Violet Koons were conservative Protestants from western Pennsylvania who got married during the Great Depression shortly after her father graduated from the Wharton School. John was serving his “six months of active duty” in the military when Pearl Harbor occurred. He was in the Army for all of World War II, finishing with the rank of Major. Roxanne’s parents named her “Starr” in hopes of a bright future for the world during that dark period and “Roxanne” after the heroine of Cyrano de Bergerac who appreciated inner character over looks.

Hiltz recollected having lived in 26 places in her younger days—something that had a lasting influence on her. She saw rural, urban, religious, and social classes and became acutely aware of the differences. This got her interested in thinking about what makes people into what they were. She explained, it was “probably one of the things that made me a sociologist.”¹

. Background of Roxanne Hiltz

Born: 7 September 1942, Little Rock, Arkansas

Education: AB (magna cum laude, sociology and economics), Vassar College, 1963; MA (sociology), Columbia University, 1964; PhD (sociology), Columbia University, 1969.

Professional Experience: US Army Human Engineering Laboratories Systems Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, sociologist, 1967; Prudential Insurance Company of America, Operations Analysis and Research Department, research analyst, 1967–69, and special consultant, 1969–1973; Princeton University, Department of Sociology, visiting fellow, 1976–1977; Upsala College, assistant professor, 1969–1973, and associate professor, 1973–1981; Upsala College, chairperson of sociology, anthropology, and social work, 1973–1984, and, professor of sociology, 1981– 1985; New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Department of Computer and Information Science, professor, 1985–1993, distinguished professor, 1993–2000, and director of PhDs in information systems, 2000–2003 and 2005–2007; NJIT, Information Systems Department, distinguished professor, 2000–2007; Distinguished Professor Emerita, 2007–present.

Honors and Awards: NSF Faculty Fellowship in Science, 1976/1977; Electronic Networking Association’s Rodale Award for Creative Achievement, 1990; Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Pioneer Award, 1994; Sloan-C Award, 2004.

She spent much of her early days at Army posts. After the war, her father returned to his western Pennsylvania roots, where he bought a small farm. However, because they could not make much money by farming, he took up a traveling salesman’s job selling hunting goods. During the week, Mildred and her children lived on the farm by themselves. Roxanne acquired a lifelong love of gardening, but eventually her father realized that he was not really a rural...