Self.Net 2006: Thursday, 3pm Tutorial Blog

Reflective post

2006-12-13T19:59:00.001+09:00

It is my first time to experience the integration of weblogging into education. I always thought that the weblogs function as manifestations of personal feelings or sharing of the same interests. But here weblog is a platform learn and build up more dimension to the course, it make the course more interactive. We can read other students work and exhange comments to gap the inadequacy in our own studying and reading through this online community. It give us a a chance to explore more and reach further whereas in real space, it would be much harder just by doing it alone. It also induces inspiration though discussing the issues in the course interactively.

On top of that, I’m amazed by Donna Haraway’s idea of cyborg. I’ve never thought of that before. Realizing that the technologies we use and encounter in our daily life indeed turn us into cyborg in some extent, even as small and common as things like wearing contact lens is kind of freaky in some way. But it inspire me to think more about what role are we playing in such advanced technological era, and what it leads us to. How are we going to see ourselves as human?

Tutorial presentation

2006-12-07T06:44:00.000+09:00

This week topic is Self. Gov II: Resistance is Fertile, and I’ve chosen the reading written by Matthew Soar, “The First things First Manifesto and the politics of culture jamming: towards a cultural economy of graphic design and advertising” to present this week topic.

We are living in world considered to be soaked in massive advertisements and media graphic images. It has been long claimed that ‘advertising and design are readily distinguishable from other economic institutions because of their declared expertise in creating specially cultural forms of communication.’ Graphic designers, however, are act as cultural intermediaries and play an important role in ‘lending traction to the contemporary routines of capital accumulation by articulating values and tastes to the promotion, in particular, selling of ideas and events, services and products’. However, it’s all becomes way consumer capitalism and commercialism. In Matthew Soar’s article, he investigates the “The First Things First Manifesto” as ‘a call for social responsibility’ of the graphic design professionals in creating media images as well as identifying their professional as ‘potent agents of positive social change’ which aims to resist the production of “junk”,– badly conceived and executed design work, and “Culture Jamming” as the act of transforming existing mass media to produce political, and most likely negative commentary about itself.

In respect to the dominant of media images becomes overwhelming and people are becoming less aware of the mechanism and manipulation of advertising, ‘The First Thing First Manifesto’ is something of a mission statement signed by famous designers, art directors first conceived in 1964 and updated version re-released in 1999, which recognizes the power of graphic design and argues for a politically responsible use of certain graphic design talents not just for selling things. Culture Jamming, indeed, is a resistance movement (to the perceived hegemony of popular culture) or subversion of dominant visual media (which already exist) through parody. Matthew Soar mentions about “Ad-busting” in his article which is considered to emerge from culture jamming to look at in terms of the ethical practice of graphic designers in 21st century and rather than just having advertising as a means of selling something to people. Since advertising is recognized as a really powerful tool to convey messages and influence people making decision, and thus it is thought in the ‘First Thing First‘, graphic designers may also use that tool to affect some sort of political change.

However, some of the designers like Glaser and Helfand do feel that ‘the degree that (the manifesto) has any impact on culture at large is not so certain’ and ‘designer per se are usually in a very weak position in regard to what they do’ since they ‘don’t make the determinations’ and ‘decides what is to be sold or the strategy’ and it’s hard to define about 'the potential harm or good’ they can effect through their work practice.

So here raise an important question: Isn’t it the case that culture jamming like Adbusting is reactive rather than proactive? That means iwhen they don’t initiate things but rather wait for something to happen and react to it, which is something already are exist. Does it matter that they don’t have the power to be proactive or to make a statement on their own?

Reference:
Soar, Matthew. “The First things First Manifesto and the politics of culture jamming: towards a cultural economy of graphic design and advertising.”Cultural Studies 16.4 (2002): 570-92

Leaver, Tama. “Self. Gov II: Resistance is Fertile.” Self.Net Lecture 9. University of Western Australia. Apr. 20, 2006

Playing Politics Workshop Response

2006-11-30T01:46:00.000+08:00

After examining the two simulation game ‘September 12th’ and ‘New York Defender’, it is crystal clear that the games are designed to convey political parodies on the U.S. tactics on war against terrorists after the 911 event by means of playing. In the 'September 12th', for example, once you start air strike, you cause collateral damage not only killing the terrorists but also the innocent civilian and destroying their homes, resulting in violence against violence generating endless wars. You will see more and more civilian in the game becomes terrorists after each air strike, and the situation goes uncontrollable. I think the simulation games are effective in some ways to communicate with people about political issues via the Internet. Just like those traditional printed political satire cartoons we always see on newspapers and magazines everyday, the simulation games are alternative expressions of such satire, an ‘onlined’ version with interactive interface and thus seem more entertaining.

However, simulation games as a media to convey political message does not always yield the same effect on players. Since such media effects depend on the people’s predispositions on political issues, as Doris Graber refers, it is always “perceiver determined”, depending on the degree of their political interest and awareness. Therefore, if people have either highest or lowest prior interest or awareness in politics in general, I don’t think they will affect by the political cues hidden in the games, and the simulation games is less likely to arouse them to further look into what the games are trying to “say”. As for me, I’m kind of a moderate type so I have enough interest to play the games and weak enough belief to be affected by the political message the games conveyed, thus will more likely to find out more about the games and its political statements.

On top of that, from the aspect of game-playing, the simulation games are not designed to let players win. They are not as playable as any other video game; they are indeed ‘dead games’[1] (Lee). Unlike the popular fun-quest games, are “entertaining games with non-entertainment goals" (Lee). Thereby, fun-questing players are unlikely to be driven to find out the political statement behind the simulation games since they find them boring. They are less fun to the players (as reflected noted in the comments of 'New York Defender’) as there are not so much ‘pleasure’ (since it’s doomed to lose), no (bodily) rewards, and no sequences.

____________________________________________________________________

[1] Shuen-shing Lee,""I Lose, Therefore I Think": A Search for Contemplation Amid Wars of Push-Button Glare." Game Studies 3.2 (2003). http://gamestudies.org/0302/lee/

Meun-Driven Identity Workshop

2006-11-03T20:56:00.000+08:00

Response on Q1&2

By examining the signing up procedures for the Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and Second Life free account service, it proves that Lisa Nakamura’s argument on internet, in fact, is a space where identities are enacted, and it is the subversion of the utopian belief that ‘cyberspace is a potential for erasing social inequalities’ true.

There are similar basic personal particulars like name/username, and password to fill in for if you want to sign up for accounts in Hotmail, Yahoo!Mail and Second Life. When choosing a username, only aphetic letter (English) is allowed to fill in, and no non-English are permitted. It is assumed that the user are all English speaking and they understand the language. However, there are also fields such as gender, race and class which are categorized into different options and are required to fill in order to complete the signing up procedure. Once again, it proves that the design of the internet interface and its content is highly categorized and revealing certain ‘categorized’ identities are criteria to join those services. The following are some of my observation in respect to the Nakamura’s argument:

With regard to the gender category, only two options are available – either male or female. It presumes that there are only two genders among the users. It singles out the possibilities of the user as a transsexual and it seems that identities are defined only by two kinds of genders and gender only (as somehow you can’t leave the gender box blank because it is stated that “Fields marked with an asterisk * are required”.) Moreover, the problem of racism and ethno-centrism is also hidden in these websites in several ways, for example, when registering a Hotmail account, the first question asked is about the country or region of the user, from which our identities is highly reduced at the first place to ‘country-based’; and “United State” is always set as the first option rather than a blank drop menu to choose from. If ever the menu is designed for the sake of ‘user-friendliness’, it’s underlying nothing but the US citizens are the expected most common users and likewise, more important than any other countries’ citizens. As for Yahoo!Mail in the ‘Preferred Content’, it puts “Yahoo!US” at the default option.

Identities in terms of gender, age, race, body shape/height and living habits, religion and ethnic background are also asked to be revealed as the ‘basics’ in Lavalife. Again, the field of country always put “U.S.A.” and “Canada” (which are white people dominant countries) onthe top followed by Australia, disregarding the alphabetical order of the country names. Besides, most of the photos shown in the website are photos of young white people, and Asian are not as popular. It is assumed that white people are the targeted users. What’s more is when you register as female, male users’ online profiles and photos will be delivered at sight. Therefore, heterosexuality is presumed among users. I hardly see signs of other sexualities like homosexuals, gay or lesbian. Furthermore, users have to identify their ethnic background in order to register. Again, the white option comes first, followed by black and Asian. All these identities are ‘menu-driven’ and there are stereotyping of identities, in particular, in terms of race and sexuality, of which are polarized into white people and their countries, heterosexual, young, as dominant on one polar (which always come first in the field of options upon choosing) and the other side as ‘colour’ people and their countries, homosexuals and old as marginal identities. There, users can select to meet certain ‘categorized identities’ while neglecting certain ‘categorized group’ of people who may also have the same quality, which indeed is a process of marginalization. Through this, identities are constructed and driven by the menu whist social inequalities still exist in cyberspace.

Belated Hallo

2006-11-02T17:09:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone. This is Wendy from Hong Kong. I've joined this tutorial blog not so long ago but forgot to post an introduction. Sorry about that. I have posted something up here before, but I don't know if you will be still using and checking out this blog, if so, please take a look at my post and hope there will still be some interactions.

Cheers

Gattaca Blogged Response

2006-11-02T16:58:00.000+08:00

Workshop III -- Gattaca Blogged Response

Does genetic screening and manipulation as presented in Gattaca evoke a new eugenics? Does this scenario seem credible given current scientific trends? How are class, race and gender explored in Gattaca?

Eugenics have been existing long ago in human history advocating the improvement of human hereditary traits to create healthier and more intelligent humans to save society’s resources and lessen human suffering by means of different kinds of human intervention, such as ‘selective bleeding’ in early age, ‘birth control’ led by the state as ‘eugenics-based program’ in recent decades like in Singapore where female university graduates, who are considered as “the intelligent”, were offered grants towards hospitalization during labour, housing and children’s education, while “the less educated non-graduated” females/ parents were encouraged to sterilize after their first child for their “inferior” or “less intelligent” genes. Eugenics is always tainted with racism and classism since it is perceived as a cultural choice of what should be determined as “desirable” human traits and “beneficial” to the society in terms of race and social class.

There is also a coercive genetic screening in China for couples who wish to marry and have a child to prevent certain genetic diseases carriers pass the diseases on their children. Such eugenics has evolved along with the advanced technology of vitro fertilization, and then genetic engineering, resulting in liberal eugenics which supposed to be less associated with racism and classism, but more focus on using reproductive and genetics technology to reduce the role of chance in reproduction, for example, eliminaing the chance of getting congenital disorder, to improve human beings.

Gattaca evokes a new eugenics shares some similarities with Liberal eugenics of reducing the chance of undesirable genes heredity, but more than that, with not only physical characteristics such as skin, hair and eye colour and congenital diseases, it takes the extreme that even personality and behaviour can be determined through genetic manipulation. The society in Gattaca is generally dominant by a genetic determinist ideology in which genetic essentialism is accepted as the true state of the world. Such new eugenics in the movie has barely negative eugenics like coercive sterilization or abortion disencourges reproduction of “bad” genes but only positive eugenics of which preliminary genetic screening allows human’s offspring conceived in a way that they are designated “fit” to the society. But by the same token, such genetic determinism shapes belief that a person’s innate genetic makeup exclusively determines his/her personality, behaviour and physical appearance, in turn one’s destiny. It is used as a mechanism to screen out inferior genetic profile or the designated genetic “unfit” individuals to the society, for example, Vincent as the “in-valid”. Thereby, in Gattaca, a new class structure has arisen based not on social status or skin color but on one’s genetic profile. In the movie, Vincent is a while male born in a middle-class family (since his family can afford to pay for the genetic enhancement technologies) but suffers from genetic discrimination because he’s a genetically unenhanced, a “god’s child”. Then again, how a society and who decides a person’s genetic profile an inferior or ‘unfit’?

It seems that in Gattaca, issues of social class, race and gender are wiped out, and the DNA is the only factor that remains and determines your class in society. It does not matter what your gender and skin color is, as long as you have the right genes, the superior genes, you can do what ever you choose to. For instance, all the employees working in Gattaca wearing matching black suits making men and women alike. The costuming in Gattaca make the gender boundary blurrier, and suggests homogeneity and uniformity, probably implying a homogenous society and loss of diversity resulted from the new eugenics of genetic essentialism. The DNA profile becomes an identity card, and its ultimate factor in determining one’s access to the world, and how the world might accept you or deny you. For example, a job interview of Vincent is only a blood test to determine whether he fits the job; he could only work as a janitor at Gattaca before he obtains his “borrow ladder” status; and after he’s genetically enhanced, he works as a navigator to arrange offworld expeditions. However, I think discrimination against the genetically unenahnced in Gattaca is akin to racism or classism in contemporary society.

With current technology, I don't believe the genetic selection technology is advanced enough to extract all the genetic defectiveness in a non-born child. Although “Gene therapy” nowadays can be used to treat people who already have a genetic disorder or to correct genes in sperm, eggs, or embryonic cells, still it has few more decades to go before our knowledge of human genetics is mature enough to combine with the gene therapy to produce a “genetic designer baby”. I see glimpses of possibility, and perhaps, in the future, technology could advance to a point where genetic manipulation on human is possible and will be widely accepted. And questions like would people take this choice or will they shy away from it as it is a counter-religious action where in our society, birth is ingrain into life as it is suppose to be a natural process with minimal science intervention as possible, and consequences of unrestricted human-gene therapy in a society as illustrated in Gattaca still remain unanswered.

Wendy's Critical Annotated Webliography

2006-10-27T09:27:00.001+08:00

Wendy's Critical Annotated Webliography

2006-10-27T09:27:00.000+08:00

"Cyberpunk is a genre of science fiction that literally imagined our future. Identify the central themes of cyberpunk fiction."

I began to search for sources online with keywords “cyberpunk fiction central theme” returned with a lot of sources; unfortunately I found the results were too broad; forums were also found, however they bear relatively low credibility.

“What is Cyberpunk?”[1] manifests some of the important central themes which constitute a cyberpunk text such as “negative impact of technology on humanity”, “fusion of man and machine”, “corporate control over society”, “story focuses on the underground” and “ubiquitous access to information”. It gave me a simple account on the central themes of cyber punk text and it’s a good starting point to locate more sources by using these keywords.

To understand cyberpunk more, I took a brief look at Veronica Hollinger[2]’s article and realized that the movement holds a common ground with the idea “posthumanism” and “postmodernism”. I also noticed that the movie Blade Runner adapted from Philip K. Dick’s classic science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? was always used as a typical example of the film sub-genre cyberpunk, and it happened to be a movie I watched and like a lot, thereby, I refined my search alternating “cyberpunk”, “posthumanism”, “postmodernism” or “blade runner” and yielded more satisfactory results.
Tama Leaver[3] ’s article brings together the common central themes of the two quintessential cyberpunk texts Neuromancer and Blade Runner. He points out that both texts depicting “‘human’ has transformed into ‘post-human’ and ecological systems have been supplanted by technological constructs”. The themes of “loss” and “escape” dominate and overlapping one another in both texts. The escape he refers to take the form of physical-wise and mental-wise – an escape from the “limitations of an ‘ecocidal’ environment” and a “cyborg escape” from the (impaired) human boby into the cyberspace respectively; while the lost is connoted in a symbolic level which he draws reference of the ‘absence/ lack of nature’ in the texts, that is, the ‘loss of nature’ to “humanity’s ‘ecocide’, the destruction of the last remnant of Eden, the Earth, has thus caused a sense of spiritual loss” – both represents the idea of body-invasion and mind-invasion brought up in Hollinger’s article, which goes along with the same concept of “posthuminism”. Here, I come to the realization that both cyberpunk texts explore the “inhumanity” in “humans”, and the “humanity” in “non-humans” as the increased interface of human and machine decenters the human body and the self, the boundary of the oppositions human/machine becomes blur and even broken down. The underlying issue is not whether we can give a machine the qualities of the human like what in science fiction, but whether the human has lost humanity; whether is has become, in fact, a cyborg. On top of that, according to Tama, ‘cyberpunk’ is the combination of cybernetic and punk where since ‘cyber’ refers to the setting of “a post-apocalyptic, ecocidal world where of techno-fetishism and post-humanism”; and ‘punk’ depicts “the central characters are usually anti-heroes struggling against extremely powerful multinational corporations or military organizations”. Thereby, it sheds light to another theme of cyberpunk also touches the ‘late-capitalist ideology’ underlying the human applications of advanced science and technology, the reshaping of and modeling upon the “self” that have produced the various robots, androids, cyborgs, and “artificial enhanced” beings, in a complex process of commercialization, technologisation and globalization. His article provides a very insightful textual analysis on both text with ample examples and delves into different themes of cyberpunk helps developing the premise of my discussion.

Hollinger mentions in her article that Csicsery contends that cyberpunk is “a paradox of realism” and has a “legitimate international artistic style” which “captured by film Blade Runner and philosopher Baudrillard”. (40) This jotted my memory of the film that the female protagonist replicant Rachael’s human qualities are the result of implanted memories (“memory”) and what she sees from the photographs that provide an historical past of her childhood. The photograph she sees with her eyes and her “memory” as a form of vision representing “hyperreal”; it’s the fulfillment of Baudrillard’s discourse on “I think, therefore I am”, and likewise in the film, the replicant Pris says, “I think, Sebastian, therefore I am.” Consequently, I added more keywords in my searching like “Haraway cyborg”[4] and “Baudrillard” together with “cyberpunk film” hoping to explore more about the concepts of “cybrog” and “realism” interrelating to cyberpunk.

It was partly through surfing one of the results “Realizing Theory: Cyberpunk Film, Haraway, and Baudrillard” that led me to Dhamee’s article “Cyborgs and Feminists”[5]. The highlight of this article in particular is that it draws the parallel among Donna Haraway’s cyborg, Feminism and cyberpunk. Exemplifying Gibson's novels, it points out Heim’s argument that the increased interface of human and machine “carries both liberating and sinister implications” and “the sinister side of cyborg culture involves a mutation if not a loss of humanity” which however, echoes with the “cyborg escape” that Tama argues, and also with Haraway’s concept of “the cyborg can be empowering, particularly for women” since such (body and mental) “modification can lead to increased strength and control over nature” (the innate gender). The representations of femininity, the cyborg image, within cyberpunk texts act as a tool of combats the oppressive male/female dichotomy. This article presents an interesting perspective of how feminism produced an influential body in cyberpunk text and thus the concept of ‘posthumanism’.

“Cyberpunk and Feminism”[6] gave me a clearer vision that cyberpunk feminism emphasizes more on the “the extreme individualism of its characters, both men and women”; while the mainstream feminism focuses on the differences between man and woman. It points out that that “individualism is sometimes rebellious and anarchic, sometimes egocentric and superomistic”. Molly from Neuromancer is a typical example to such feminism since she’s depicted as “strong and ruthless, violent and independent”, which usurps the traditional ideological gender role dichotomies.

Baudrillard’s concept of “hyperreality” seems to be my next focus in the search of the discussion of cyberpunk’s central theme. Paul "nEo"[7] Martin examines the postmodernism in another cyberpunk text The Matrix. He deploys Jean Baudrillard's idea of “postmodern simulacrum” to investigate the concept of reality in cyperpunk -- “the virtual replacing the real” and “the real is said to be nothing more than simulation” in most cyberpunk texts. He quotes what Appignanesi states “the people of today are living what has already been lived and reproduced with no reality anymore but that of the cannibalized image” and this coincides with the concept of ‘being and simulation’ and ‘hyperreality’ in postmodernism, where in the cyperpunk text, the people in “the matrix” lives in a world look more real than the real, “a simulation of cannibalized image”. His point of view cohere with what Hollinger states cyberpunk “recognizes the paradigm-shattering role of technology in post-industrial society” resulting in a decentralized, media-dominated society in which ideas are copies of each other without real origin, leading to fragmentation of subjectivity and identity.
The concept of ‘dystopia’ in the article “Cyberpunk – Future shock: Night City 2020”[8] coheres with previous Leaver’s discussion about the lack of ‘natural’ and an ‘ecocidal’ world in the cyberpunk texts representing a “dystopian urban decay”. It states that cyberpunk fiction focus on potential hazards of scientific progress. The possibly “dehumanising effects of the future technology gives rise to postmodern anomie in “cyberpunk dystopia”, which depicting a destructed late-capitalist, post-industrial, media situated Western society which are usually diminish people, “battered and worn-out”, like large cities with complex architecture or vast wastelands devastated by war and pollution. The article denotes the strong political qualities cyberpunk dystopias carries, however, is on the contrary of Hollinger’s conclusion that “cyberpunk forecloses any possibility of political engagement whithin the framework of postmodern”. It provides very real life example of the possibility of such cyberpunk dystopia. This will be useful for my discussion of the representation in the cyberpunk texts.

The above online sources provides give me a comprehensive account of what cyberpunk is and its central theme to build up my premise of discussion in the aid of some cyberpunk texts’ example.

References

[1] SFAM’s ‘What is Cyberpunk?’ (May 2006)
http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/what-is-cyberpunk/
(accessed 22/10/2006)

[2] Hollinger, Veronica. Cybernetic Deconstructions: Cyberpunk and Post-modernism. Mosaic. 23,2, spring 1990: p29-44

[3] Tama Leaver’s “Post-Humanism and Ecocide in William Gibson's Neuromancer and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner". 12019: Off-World (1997)
http://www.devo.com/bladerunner/index.html
(accessed 22/10/2006)
[4] Kunzro, Hari. “You are Cyborg” Wired 5.02 (Feb 1997)
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffharaway.html8
(accessed 22/10/2006)

[5] Dhamee, Yousuf . “Cyborgs and Feminists”. Cyberspace and Critical Theory. (Apr, 2005)
http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/cpace/cyborg/ydcyborg.html
(accessed 22/10/2006)

[6] “Cyberpunk – Future shock: Night City 2020”
http://hem.passagen.se/replikant/cyberpunk.htm
(accessed 22/10/2006)

[7] Paul "nEo" Martin, “Postmodern Motifs and Ambience in Cyberpunk Films” The Cyber Punk’s Project (Oct 2006)
http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/cyberpunk_films_postmodern_motifs_and_ambience.html
(accessed 22/10/2006)

[8] “Cyberpunk – Future shock: Night City 2020”
http://hem.passagen.se/replikant/cyberpunk.htm
(accessed 22/10/2006)

Victoria's final post- combination of both tutorial evaluation and reflection

2006-10-22T14:06:00.000+08:00

TUTORIAL EVALUATION:

Ok, so i directed the discussion for the Chris Hables Gray article 'Posthuman Possibilities". Reading the other posts, i think most of us found that this article really brought home the whole idea of the cyborg, and what relevance it has for us in an increasingly technologised environment. So, in that regard I think my summary of the article fitted in really well to the overall tutorial discussion. Though the discussion went off on tangents now and again, i think that everything said did have a direct relevance to what we have learnt in this unit, with questions of identity, gender and digital media being the focal points. It was a tiny tutorial (only five of us!), so i really appreciate everyone adding something to the discussion.

REFLECTIVE POST:

This unit really opened my eyes to a whole digital culture that I initially had very little desire to participate in. Now i realise that this intitial reluctance stemmed from the fact that I didn't really understand the potential in digital communications for me. Therefore it didn't really seem that interesting. But alas, my view has most definitley changed! Now I really do have the enthusiasm to discover more, as I really do see myself as a cyborg. I think the concept is empowering and creative. Yipee!
The use of weblogs for learning purposes? Mmm, as I was doing five units this semester, i didn't really have the time to engage with the weblog as much as i would have liked too. However, on the same token it did provide a quick way to achieve some of the assessments for this unit without having to be physically present, which was a definite bonus. Would I start my own blog? No way! It just seems like too much work, and I just don't have enough to broadcast in order to make it interesting for potential readers (which, lets face it, would only be my close friends and maybe my mum!). But being part of a group blog took the pressure off for sure.

Cheers everyone from this tutorial, you are all rad!

So how about that course, huh?

2006-10-21T11:27:00.000+08:00

Well, why not do this backwards? I actually quite liked the unit as a whole. It (particularly the workshops) provided me with a great deal of amusement if nothing else. It's nice to have a unit where I can let my inner geek run free. Unfortunately, I think the unit might have suffered a bit because the inner geek of many arts students is buried further than the unit could reach. I think that the unit could have gone a lot further, and been substantially more interesting for a handful of us, if there was an assumption of a greater level of background knowledge of the technology and ideas floating around. That said, the people taking the unit are mostly Arts students :P

I'm quite happy to concede that I'm a cyborg as defined inside the course. But I'm not sure if that judgment really has any practical relevance at all. Maybe I've been doing English and cultural theory for too long.

Weblogs. Weblogs were an interesting one. I think the idea of incorporating them into the course was a great one. I know they have serious potential for helping to exchange ideas, comedy, build community, etc. But I think that they weren't used as fully as they could have been. I felt a bit sorry for Lara actually, because she was interacting with us solely through the blog, and gave incredibly detailed and thoughtful analyses of each week's worth of readings and a few other things as we went along, but I don't think any one else on the blog really made an effort to engage with her, or with each other, even when we asked specific questions in our posts. I think this might also have been a property of Blogger though, because it's not really conducive to carrying on conversation-style discussion without threaded commenting and notification of comments. Basically I think setting up a LiveJournal (or one of the other LJ based journals) community would have been a better way to go.

Anyway, thanks for the unit people

Tom

Reflections on self.net

2006-10-20T22:32:00.000+08:00

I found Self.net an interesting experience due to the use of weblogs and computer based learnng skills. The weblog was informative- I thought the contributors made very well constructed and interesting commentaies on the weekly readings and beyond. From this I would have to agree that weblogs are a useful educational tool- however sometimes it is difficult to find time during the study hours to peruse the weblog.
Being a university weblog would also make it useful because it is regulated by teaching staff and is clearly not inundated with irrelevant comments.
I found Gray's article Posthuman Possibilities the most informative in regards to the cyborg theory. A t the beginning of the course I found the proposition somewhat obscure- people as beings of technoscience? However, if something as irreverent as piercings is considered as a form of transformation then without a doubt we are all morphing into a posthuman like creature.
I found the workshops quite varied and interesting as we analysed a spectrum of different cultural mediums and subjects. The tutorials were an adequate time period to discuss and interpret the interesting readings.
I found the webliography a little confusing but it was a learning experience.
Thanks Alison
Ellie

Reflections on Self.net

2006-10-19T12:33:00.000+08:00

One of the things that I was the most apprehensive about when I first considered doing this unit is how much of it was going to be online. Prior to doing this unit I had read other people’s blogs and seen others, however, I had never written one. I tend to be a little techno-phobic so I guess doing this unit was a way of really overcoming that.
Posting on Blogger was a lot easier that I anticipated and it was really enjoyable reading other people’s posts. It opened up a lot of ideas for me that I hadn’t even considered. I would definitely encourage the coordinators of the unit to keep this as a major part of this unit.
I suppose the only thing that was a little disappointing for me was that the whole semester I’ve had a clash with another unit so I’ve had to alternate weeks for attendance. But in regards to combatting this problem, at least for me, I think that the online workshops were great.
So do I think I’m a cyborg? In a way yes, I suppose it depends on what definition of cyborg that you go by. I think I’m a cyborg because I sometimes use computers (this blog being a good example) in order to express myself. I think that the computer becomes an extension of my mind for a while in the same way that my voice box is a part of me when I speak.

Reflections on...

2006-10-18T12:01:00.000+08:00

Weblogs…hmm…well they were certainly a new experience for me, and at this late stage in the game I can definitely say that using them has been great. One of the obvious advantages is not having to physically hand your assignments in. It was certainly preferable to be able to sit at home in your pajamas and post your assignments! But other than encouraging my laziness, the weblogs were a really great way for our tutorial group to experience the rather prolific musings of our mystery member Laura. I have lost hours of my life jumping from one of your suggested web-links to another!

At the beginning of the course I had never seen or used a weblog, and had only recently heard about them. This very limited knowledge didn’t prove to be a hindrance as the ‘How to…’ workshop was easy, and less intimidating than I imagined. After participating in our tutorial’s weblog I am excited about the medium, and have been out trawling some of the infinite incarnations in existence.

The varied technological experience of our tutorial group was a good thing. While some were obviously more knowledgeable than others, the course gave us enough information so that we could all get in and have a go. While initially the idea of having one of my assignments posted for all the world to see induced a little performance anxiety, the critiques were helpful (and kind). Interactive feedback from other students, and the chance to view differing interpretations of the same assignment topics, gave me a chance to consider how I might have approached the question differently, if asked to do it all again.

Self as cyborg? Well, for me the idea of cyborgisation was an empowering one. Greater equality through technology might just be possible. And even if this belief is a little naive, engaging in the debate requires us to consider the current power relations, and the changes that would be needed to engineer a more inclusive society.

Cheers,

Sinead.

Interactive Audiences?

2006-10-17T16:23:00.000+08:00

Henry Jenkins, in his article ‘Interactive Audiences?’ chronicles the changing times in which media consumers have gone from being seen as passive, inarticulate and even brainwashed, to become the active participants in a technological network that organises and communicates knowledge.

‘Improved media technologies’ have not liberated audiences from powerful media conglomerates, and large media industries are not likely to give up their massive market share just because of changing media formats. Instead, new technologies have equalised the power balance. More traditional media such as newspapers and television relied heavily on the plausibility of an ‘expert’. With the advent of the web, there is a little expert in everyone. The new media consumer can:-

• Archive and recirculate media content at will.
• Produce and circulate media of their own creation. And,
• Demand more interactive modes of viewing.

So while traditional media is likely to remain as a powerful source of entertainment and knowledge in the future, the idea of the audience listlessly absorbing this information is changed forever.

The web has facilitated the construction of ‘self-organised groups’ such as online fan communities. While fan communities pre-date the internet, digital communication has provided speed and instant accessibility. No longer content with the postal service, fans can discuss and influence plot-lines, distribute programmes of limited circulation or campaign to save their favourite shows from being axed.

The advent of technology has seen fandom become more than just a ‘weekend-only world’, with fans being able to interact with other, like minded individuals without geographical constraints. For most, the expansion of fan communities has been beneficial, with the expanding membership encouraging diversity of opinion. While others prefer to interact in smaller, more specialised groups who have opinions that more closely mirror their own.

Members of these on-line communities have different ideals regarding the standards and goals of the group, which may result in internal tensions. All fans are not created equal, and their commitment to the cause can be a source of dissent within the community.

Traditional media should not ignore the clout of these fan-based communities, those that do, act at their own peril. Overwhelmingly, the ‘production of texts’ has become an interactive event; with television producers courting their fan communities to increase marketing potential. ‘Permission-based marketing’, ‘relationship marketing’ or ‘viral marketing’ all rely on the interaction of consumers with a product to increase sales. While others producers still view the changes with uncertainty, and panic at the thought of losing control over their intellectual property.

A failure to accredit fan groups with interactive power doesn’t mean that these producers are freed from their influence; even when attempting to silence fans with legal measures, the fans publish the legal letters in a measure to expose these less than friendly measures to other dedicated viewers.

Cute little Norns??

2006-10-12T16:57:00.000+08:00

Here's the Creatures or Norns which Sarah Kember talks about in our second reading for this weeks tutorial. It seemed hard to make the link between these cute little characters to the kind of phenomenal scientific feats that Cyberlife is described as undertaking for the UK Ministry of Defence.

Playing Politics workshop response

2006-10-12T16:17:00.000+08:00

Both September 12 and Donkey John employ traditional game strategies to make a political statement and I thought they both worked well in complementing other forms of media in their criticisms of Western politicical influences in Iraq and East Timor. The crying of the woman every time you shot a civilian in September 12th was almost heart wrenching and the fact that you couldn't actually hit a "terrorist", only civilians, is resonant in some ways of the pointlessness and ineffectiveness of war. With Donkey John, John Howard becomes the barrel-throwing, tyrannical villian an obvious allusion to Australia's greed and lack of care when dealing with the East Timorese and their precious resources. While I'm not a game player I thought that the messages of these games might make political messages more accessible to some people who are. ie. not everyone appreciates detailed news stories or journal articles on important issues but here the messages were clear and thought-provoking. Various elements of both games such as costuming, character depictions and point scoring (in $ in Donkey John) made the political message clear or at least if someone playing hadn't picked up on the message then these elements would intice them to question the "hidden" meaning or agenda.

If I were to make a game I might explore the issue of Aborginal land rights or culture alluding to the lack of respect some Australians continue to show. Aboriginal art could be used in a fantastic visual way if this were appropriate. Perhaps some kind of electronic monopoly game where characters can buy up land and encumber ethical dilemmas??

Playing Politics Workshop Reponse

2006-10-12T13:33:00.000+08:00

I found the simulated game Donkey John very simplistic and did not interpret the political message until after I had read the instructions provided. The basic premise appears to be that Donkey John is an evil baron who is “laying claim to East Timor’s oil resources”. I think that if I had not been aware of the political nature of the games (a couple are based on 9/11) I would not have sought out an underlying political theme. The fact that the hero is named Xanana Gusmario – which I am sure is an allusion to the Super Mario Bros. games of the 1990’s- implies a certain level of cynicism and parody on behalf of the people who made the game. Because of this element of ridicule I would imagine that Donkey John would be effective in communicating the political opinions in regards to the East Timor oil crisis ie. annoying and overbearing.
New York Defender features the 9/11 attacks on the New York skyline by hijacked planes. The player may click the mouse to blast the planes which move rapidly towards the twin towers. I think it is a morbid little game from a political viewpoint because in this particular instance the people on the planes were innocent victims. I don’t feel particularly comfortable shooting at them in that context. Most of these games, as with any political commentary, are motivated by a frustrated public- and I imagine that this was the purpose of New York Defender, which allows the player to defend an American city under attack. However, I personally found it quite crass. The quality of the animation was much better than the first game though.
If I were to create a political game it would be of a smug faced cat who chases and consumes skittering mice and burps mushroom clouds after each bite. It is a commentary on the bullying tactics of war towards some countries by others.
Ellie

Workshop post: September 12, Kabul Kaboom

2006-10-11T14:54:00.000+08:00

1. Do you think the political simulation games you examined would have been "effective" in communicating with people via the Internet?
No. I don't think that the games are particularly good ways of engaging people. Mainly because they don't seem to have the charaters that promote emotional involvement with the games, so they don't really cause you to want to keep playing. I don't see that you can say that the games are 'effective' unless you actually do get some level of personal involvement.

2. Was the political message underpinning the political simulation games you examined immediately obvious? If not, were you driven or interested to find out what the game was trying to "say" (apart from the fact that you have to as part of the workshop)?
The point was made pretty obvious by the descriptions on the opening screens. If the descriptions hadn't been there, I don't think I would have bothered finding out the point of the games. Then again, without the opening screens, in order to make a point, the developers might have been forced to make the games more interesting.

3. If you had to write a political simulation game similar in size and structure to those you examined, (a) what would be the point you were trying to make and (b) how would the game be structured and operate in order to make that point? (Just give a very brief outline)
a) I'd rather not actually. I think games that have no purpose other than to be political aren't really that good. And that simulations of political situations are better done as actual politics, and not issues of public concern. But still. I'd probably actually trying to make a point about the pointlessness of attempting to draw binary distinctions between two groups. Actually, maybe set it up as a series of paired images, of which one is chosen, followed by a ridiculous characterisation of opinions as a result.
b) I'd actually just steal the outlines of an already existent game. Largely because I'm not that competent at designing my own. Maybe something like Planarity. And then just modify the goal of the game to be something incredibly frustrating and pointless.

Erika's "Playing Politics Workshop Response"

2006-10-11T12:42:00.000+08:00

1. Do you think the political simulation games you examined would have been "effective" in communicating with people via the Internet?
For this workshop, I had a look at the September 12 and Donkey John games. The games were rather different in terms of how they’re played but they are both trying to convey a particular opinion to the player. I believe that the games are effective in that they put across an issue in a way that is at the very least entertaining.

2. Was the political message underpinning the political simulation games you examined immediately obvious? If not, were you driven or interested to find out what the game was trying to "say" (apart from the fact that you have to as part of the workshop)?
In regards to September 12, I did have to read the intructions in order to find out what the message intended was as it wasn’t immediately obvious. Once I found out the point the makers of the game were trying to put across, the game took on a whole other meaning.
For Donkey John I think the message and how it was delivered was a little easy to understand at first glance. Although with this game it was also very helpful to read the instructions.

3. If you had to write a political simulation game similar in size and structure to those you examined, (a) what would be the point you were trying to make and (b) how would the game be structured and operate in order to make that point? (Just give a very brief outline).
That’s a tough question to answer on the spot. The first idea that’s come to mind is one of those shooting duck games where the ducks come across the screen randomly and the object of the game is to shoot down as many as you can. I guess an obvious point that one can make is the way in which civilians in Iraq are being killed and, in the western media at least, we can’t really identify with the victims as they are kind of a faceless one of many. Perhaps a trick with the game is that you’re only meant to kill a certain type of duck, I guess it’s in the same vein as the September 12 game.

I just saw these, and I thought they were relevant and amusing...

2006-10-11T12:04:00.000+08:00

http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=849
http://www.qwantz.com/index.pl?comic=859
http://www.dieselsweeties.com/archive.php?s=1592

Welcome Verdy and Wendy...

2006-10-08T18:24:00.000+08:00

Verdy and Wendy from Hong Kong University Space will be joining this tutorial blog sometime this week, so welcome. Your term has just started while ours is sliding to an end quite soon, but I hope we'll have some interaction in this crossover period anyway.
We've just done a week of readings on online communities, so I'm sure your presence on this tutorial blog will enhance our experience of online learning community.
all the best,
alison

The Virtual Community

2006-10-06T10:58:00.000+08:00

The focus of the article is that Rheingold is a member of WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) a virtual community, and has been since 1985.
He spends a considerable amount of personal time (2hrs day) interacting online with fellow WELLites, participating in a ‘virtual village’. In his article he includes references to his daughter- how this activity may look/ what messages is it sending her?
“The virtual village of a few hundred people I stumbled upon in 1985 grew to eight thousand by 1993”- he believes that he has contributed to the creation of a subculture.
“Norms were established, challenged, changed, reestablished, rechallenged, in a kind of speeded- up social evolution”- relates back to the lecture on virtual ethics.
“By now I’ve attended real- life WELL marriages, WELL births, and even a WELL funeral”- does this make his past- time more acceptable because he has offline contact with the people. Including this information is also indicative of the structure of the community and ethics that may be involved- family orientated, and a strong community awareness amongst the participants.
Rheingold mentions the peculiar feeling of walking into a party of WELLites and not recognizing any of their faces- despite having considerable interaction with and access to the personal details of many of the people in the room. From this type of interaction (via web), I would imagine a new form of identity would be established in relation to the other members of the virtual community. “Virtual communities are likely to change our experience of the real world, as individuals and communities”. Rheingold believes that virtual communities are not that far removed from normal social interaction- except that the participants leave their bodies behind.

blogging survey

2006-10-05T16:45:00.000+08:00

If anyone missed the workshop on Wednesday, it would be greatly appreciated if you would go to webct and fill in the blogging survey. Tama and I are really interested in your responses to the blogging aspect of the unit, and will be using the surveys to review the unit.
When you've filled it in, you could send it by email to me (bartlett@arts.uwa.edu.au) or the to English office (eccs@arts.uwa.edu.au) if you want it to remain anonymous.
many thanks,
alison

Posthuman possibilities- Where would you like to go tomorrow? Week 12 tutorial.

2006-10-02T21:07:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone, this is the article I am looking at for Week 12, its a couple of weeks early to give you all ample time to have a look as things are starting to get pretty busy for all of us!

Posthuman Possibilities by Chris Hables Gray

Gray’s article argues that the technological future we are set to inhabit is guided by the choices we make, however the ability to ‘choose’ is always mediated by social/cultural/political factors that enable some whilst prohibiting others. In this sense, different agenda’s and identities will always be destined to conflict. There is no utopian solution that would suit everyone within a cyborgian epistemology.

SUBJECTIVITIES OF POSTHUMANITY
Our subjectivity can be constructed in large part by the choices we make about our own cyborgiziation, from body piercing, to implants, and machinic technologies that assist the disabled. The keenness for computer technologies is culturally specific. The American/western love of technology centers around the notion that bodies and persons are things that can be made. Today the discipline of technoscience both metaphorically and physically transforms the body. The proliferation of posthuman creatures in pop culture (ie.vampires0 is evidence of a fascination with the border between human and other. A number of political theorists have mobilized the idea of the cyborg to argue that living in more than one world confers leverage and therefore power, whilst others say that the cyborg opens a space in the political sphere for deconstructing master narratives and giving voice to those marginalised. Cyborg existence is problematised by the potential of it to be extremely alienating, especially once technology further progresses and modification become more extreme. So whilst humans aspire to be cyborgs, the consequences of this aspiration is equally feared. And this fear, Gray suggests, results in a denial of our cyborgian situation, the repressed returning in the cyborg, as imperfection, self-contradiction and unresolvable paradox.
Despite whatever aspirations to be ‘virtual’, the physical body cannot be ignored. It inhabits space, whether it be outer, micro, cyber or symbolic. Technoscience is deconstructing the parameters of the impossible, and thus comes to heads with what these spaces entail. It challenges ingrained dualisms and transgresses borders, But most importantly, Gray argues that we must carefully choose what direction these technologies follow, as it is to late to attempt to stop them. Technologies are always political, therefore a democratic technological order is needed primarily based on participatory citizenship.
The body works three-fold, the individual lived body, the social/symbolic body, and the body politic, and what postmodernism offers is the power to transform these paradigms. Cyborg politics are about power, and this power must remain in the domain of the ‘constructive’, that is it must arise from having information and controlling our technologies. The proliferation of cyborg sexualties is one example of how technoscience can have vast impacts on human gender discourse. As Gray says, “Love and lust will survive in at least some posthumans.” The freedom to choose our form has to run parallel with a politic that keeps up the pace. “It is thrive or die”.
.

Diary of a Webdiarist: Ethics Goes Online - Margo Kingston

2006-09-19T19:43:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone, this is pretty much exactly what I'm going to say on Thursday afternoon about the Margo Kingston article so have a look at it and hopefully you'll have some more thoughts to add about the article in the tute.

This article, written by Margo Kingston, speaks about the ethics of online journalism and also on chatforums. In the article Kingston compares the way in which she approaches the print and online mediums. As a member of the Sydney Morning Herald staff, she was appointed to create and run an online webdiary affiliated with the newspaper. Initially a little reluctant about making her thoughts open for criticism and discussion by the public, Kingston soon realised the power that she and this public forum actually had. She makes the point that, “When you let readers join the show and help direct it, accountability is no longer a sham but a reality. Online ethical codes drafted for hardcopy journalism must adapt and stretch to fit a medium less planned,more open, faster, and much more in-the-moment" (p 160).

Another interesting quote to look at is on p 162, “What I love about this page is that intelligent people from many starting points are interested in other thoughts. It's exhilirating. It cleans out cobwebs and lifts feelings of disempowerment or hopelessness. It's also a pretty big challenge to the mainstream, in that it's privileging ideas over who has them, and intellectual debate over rhetoric and conflict-thrill”. I think this sounds a lot like what people may say about other people's bloggs, particullarly political ones. It's very easy to be a bit cynical or wary of what we hear from the media, so like Kingston said, to read the ideas and opinions of intelligent people, without (hopefully) an agenda can be very appealling. But how can we be sure that Kingston and the other contributors to the webdiary don't have an agenda? Well, we can't. This is something that Kingston also touches on in the article; I'll discuss this further in a little while.

It's mentioned in the article that a lot of what ethical codes are about has to do with trust. This has been set up by Kingston on the webdiary by the inclusion of the Media Alliance Code and the Sydney Morning Herald's code of ethics on the Webdiary's homepage. All this Kingston expains, she hopes “will cement confidence in [her] good faith, and the sense that ethical matters need not be matters for confrontation, but for conversaton and resolution” (p 164).

Continuing her discussion on ethics, Kingston then goes on to talk about the use of nom de plumes, offensive material, conflicts of interest and plagarism. As I just said, sometimes we cannot be sure if somebody has an agenda behind what they say or write in the media. This online medium is no exception. The use of a nom de plum for example can raise certain concerns as to the rationale behind the use of one. As Kingston points out in the article, “a journalist's web site cannot ethically publish serious allegations or personal attacks under cover of anonymity” (p 167). This does effectivelly remove potentially offensive and damaging material, however, it does not necessarily weed out those who are using this forum for personal or professional gain. One way that Kingston has thought of getting around this is with the request for readers to explain why they are using a nom de plumes.

She also raises the issue of contraints that people might have placed upon them by their work places in terms of freedom of speech, the solution being nom de plumes, however if unconstrained, she encourages readers/writers to freely disclose any affiliations they may have that may give a different spin on what it is that they are writing. It has to be kept in mind, however, that this is not compulsory and readers have no real way of knowing the intent of a contributor when they write something on Webdiary.

At the very end of the article, Kingston mentions an incident involving Webdiary and former NSW Premier Bob Carr. He accused Kingston in a press conference of having blamed the Bali dead for their own deaths in a column in Webdiary. Kingston was quick to defend herself on the Webdiary by publishing Carr's remarks and the column in question. This resulted in a public online forum discussing the incident, which then resulted in the public actually defending a journalist (Kington). Like Kingston says, this is progress. It illustrates both the power that the public can have in these mediums and also the way in which the medium might potentially change public opinion.

15 men on a dead man's chest...

2006-09-19T09:02:00.000+08:00

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil have done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

Hope everyone has a good International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Why you think the net was born? Porn, porn, porn

2006-09-09T10:13:00.000+08:00

This is the summary of the article that's titled something like "The ethics of internet porn." The presentation is going to be in two weeks, but I'm getting in early because: I have work to do; it gives you time to think about it so there can be discussion in the tute; I still have no internet at home (I know it's 10 on a Saturday. I'm at uni. So I'm an addict. I also haven't slept in the past 24 hours, and have been here since Friday); I have a lot of non-Arts work to get done in the intervening space; this is probably going to be a large part of my essay; I wrote this a while ago; etc. Pick your favourite reason. Any questions, queries, or concerns can be posted here, but I'm not actually sure how many people check this regularly, so it might be good to ask me in the tute, and I can make responses either on- or off-line (or both).

Shortest summary: amateur porn is empowering, support more amateur porn. This public service announcement proudly funded by the Australian government.

Short summary: Porn is immoral. However, immoral and unethical aren't the same thing. Amateur porn can cater to a market of interests that may not be catered for by a commercial market for lack of demand/saleability. Amateur porn also blurs the distinction between producers and consumers of porn. Despite the fact that porn is evil incarnate, the general empowerment of consumers and minority groups that amateur porn can give means that amateur porn is ethical.

Longer summary and critique: The opening of the article is an assumption that porn is completely immoral. Which is actually ridiculous, because the reasons that are given are essentially just an unquestioning assumption of some of the ideals of the Christian right and the feminist left (porn exploits women, porn makes sex something that isn't special, etc.). And it isn't actually a stretch to object to each of the reasons that are raised. That aside, the remainder of the article is an exploration of the ethics of porn production. The essence of this exploration is that porn doesn't necessarily cater to those with specialist sexual interests. Amateur porn tends to be produced by those who can't find professional porn, or aren't satisfied by the available range of professional porn. This also includes who derive their sexual exitation from the manufacture of porn. This ability to satisfy those that are left no other recourse is what, according to the author, makes amateur porn ethical. (In hindsight, I may have skipped a bit of summary in here, but the article also makes the valid point of saying that morals and ethics aren't the same thing. I think they're a lot more closely linked than the Foucaultian view apparently proposes, but I also don't entirely agree with the Foucaultian view as presented in the article. I think the issue is actually a lot older, and more detailed than Foucault)

This view actually presents a couple of interesting contrasts to other articles in similar fields. Nagel's article on perversion moves perversion (which is part of some of the reasons given for the immorality of porn) out of the realm of morality entirely. For Baudrillard, on the other hand, porn represents one of the definitional retreats from the genuine. Inasmuch as that's unethical (and I'd say Baudrillard definitely thinks that it is), then porn is highly unethical. Which is interesting also, because that comes pretty close to the communist definition of immorality that the article uses.

Workshop queries

2006-09-08T17:22:00.000+08:00

2. The obvious ones are male/female, age, race (what's interesting is that it's not called race, but is actually ethnic background. While 'white' doesn't seem to give you the same kind of differentiation as, say, 'Irish' or 'Italian,' cultural groups which do have significant differences in attitudes/beliefs/traditions/etc.), religion, smoking and drinking (again, interesting, because it doesn't have eating habits as a separate category. While 'vegetarian' doesn't have the same connotations as 'alcoholic' or 'smoker,' it's still interesting that it's not a descriptive category), location, interests (I'd guess that they're chosen from a pre-determined list of things that you can be interested in. I don't see people listing interests like 'music - post-rock.' It assumes that there are only so many things are interests). In terms of presumptions that the site displays, it's actually hard to say. The site, while it's free to join, is commercial. The more people visiting it, the more money the site makes from advertising. Thus, if it's assumed that the site is designed to maximise visitors, the categories that are provided are the ones that people regard as valid selections in mate choice. Of course, there is only one gender-queer option (also, there are little jokes included in the gay male options that can be construed as homophobic quite readily). And the relatively limited selection of options means that people with highly specific interest groups aren't being catered for. And the relative brevity of the available descriptions promotes a view of sexuality that is both commercialised and focussed on instant gratification.

3. I've dealt with this slightly above. Essentially, available identities are trammeled into a set of well-defined boundaries, and identities outside those are not signalled as being of sexual interest. However, I also think this is a property of those who most use the site. Other sites exist which cater to minority interests to a much greater degree (say, for instance, Gaydar). I think the variety of available ethnic backgrounds could be larger, but apart from that, any changes that could be made won't actually do anything if the people who are using the site aren't using those categories.

thoughts on menu driven identities...

2006-09-08T16:58:00.000+08:00

The amount of information that is gathered by the massive on-line organisations such as Microsoft, Yahoo and the Second-Life game-world is awe-inspiring, and certainly prompted an Orwellian wake-up call. The idea that we, as individuals can be catagorised and defined by a series of drop-down boxes is in direct opposition to the utopian ideal in which cyber-space will promote the acceptance of fluid, non-traditional identities.

The amount of personal information that we readily give away about ourselves, with little or no thought, is a by-product the conditioning that has occurred through the countless forms that we are required to fill out both on and off-line. The categories of Name, Date of Birth and Gender were required by all three sites, with gender proving to be the most problematic of the three proposed categories. Apparently the very real existence of trans-gender individuals has no place within the sanitised realm of these multi-nationals? This is an example of just how normalised the binary sex system has become within our every-day lives. The common practice of assigning a male or female identity to those babies who are born with ambiguous genitalia is in part justified by this obsession to segregate humans into the two sex model.

The question of identity becomes especially pertinent when looking at the Second Life site, as the premise of the game is your ability to become another. Perhaps the popularity of this site has something to do with fulfilling the desire to be in someone else’s skin, complete with a new and changeable ‘avatar’. But of course, even this game is not free from the influence of the marketing department, and the pressing need to know your demographics. You are still required to complete information on your ‘real self’, and even have the option of receiving information from Linden Lab’s ‘trusted partners’ if you feel that your ‘real’ identity could be in need of a little consumer enhancement.

The initial ‘identities’ that were presented when first logging onto Lava Life profiles felt contrived, tokenistic rather than representational Three couples were pictured, who presented a range of ethnic diversity that may have included Italian, Hispanic, Afro- American and Anglo-Saxon. To re-enforce Kali Tal’s idea of the pre-eminence of the ‘unbearable whiteness of being’, the images presented were not emblematic of the world’s populace; of the six people featured, two of them were Anglo-Saxon.

The initial images bring to mind ideas of race, and diversity. Those utilising the site are asked to complete personal details which include questions on height, body type, skin colour, zodiac signs, use of alcohol and nicotine, interests, location and linguistic abilities. And while the presence of a question relating to religion and ethnic background was initially shocking, it became less so when considered in the context of relationships and sexual attraction. In the world of the physical, desirability is based so much on what we can see. And a preference, or not, for a particular coloured skin is perhaps only the same as a penchant for either blondes or brunettes?

In the search for love or lust, the participants of the site are trying to stand out from the crowd in the hope of eliciting a response from a potential partner. The personal details that form the profiles act as a mini introduction (albeit a superficial one) in the quest of getting to know a stranger, and as in reality, most first time introductions focus on the superficial or the banal (small talk anyone?). These questions seem to provide useful guidelines for those participating in the site, as when given the chance to express themselves in the profiles in their own words, many people did not stray too far from the previously ascribed topics.

Eliza's Menu Driven response

2006-09-08T16:51:00.000+08:00

Question: How much of the identity that we can see online for users of Lavalife is restricted by the overall design of the website? What changes would you suggest in order to improve the sorts of identity :avalife users can construct?

After two of the first three 25 to 34 year old males seeking casual dating 'told' me they'd like to talk about anything but the meaning of life, thought an ideal date would be drinks on a patio and that their friends would describe them as 'a sucker for a cute smile,' I thought something strange was up.

I soon realised that even the answers were generated by tick box fields. I think this would really limit how genuine many of Lavalife's profilers come accross. After reading almost the same responses for two out of the first three profiles I opened, what at first seemed like unique answers now looked cheesy.

I agree with Erica that many of the posters would probably prefer more scope to describe themeselves - something Lavalife definately needs to address.

Question: Are there any sites that seemed inherently racist?

I found the concept of the Second Life website fascinating. I think many of the surnames you could choose were deliberatly raced so that you ccould experience life as someone from a racial minority. This turns the idea of a racist menu upside down avtually promoting racial harmony. A gold star for Second Life!

Workshop LavaLife

2006-09-08T12:12:00.000+08:00

2) What sort of ‘identities’ are visible in the profile on Lavalife? How are they displayed?
The identities visible on LavaLife are constructed through a series of typical questions- name, age, city in where you live- most were from the Eastern states. Star signs are included- perhaps as a frivolous sign of ‘dating’. There was no exclusion on the basis of sexual preference- a few of the Gay/Bisexual participants created an identity that complied with common ideals of their sexual orientation- hairstyles, personal commentary etc. This is probably to make clear to potential partners the type of lifestyle they wish to engage with.
I thought the inclusion of whether one wants to have children an interesting concept. Coupled with the community in Intimate Encounters I wondered if the website was not becoming a little basic. It is probably a good idea to have the three categories of Casual dating, A relationship and An Intimate encounter because of the different types of people/situations that would seek out this dating service. The more provocative photos (low cut tops, sultry expressions) should be aware of the image they are projecting to the people that are reading these profiles but if they are comfortable with the display then I suppose it is acceptable. The identities that are visible on LavaLife vary from the ‘little bit shy’ to the ‘outgoing guy’, details of drinking, smoking habits and the condition of your body. Religion and Ethnic background are quite important to some people so it is probably information that needs to be included.
Some of the photos were a little bit self- destructive in my opinion- the subjects appeared uncomfortable and awkward. I thought it best to appear fairly approachable and open to people if you were trying to attract.

3) How much of the ‘identity’ that we can see online for the users on LavaLife is restricted by the overall design of the website?
Space is an issue for the identity that one can construct from their online profile, however if the website is attempting a ‘meet and greet’ then perhaps it is best to connect offline with the individual in order to get to know them better. Due to the relatively small spaces allotted to the participants, a certain level of obviousness in relation to personality type, sexual preferences etc. is projected to avoid misconceptions and false starts. I don’t know if the website requires any changes- the participants would probably search elsewhere if they were not comfortable with the format. That is one of the benefits of the internet.

It’s a helavalife! Workshop IV ‘Menu-Driven Identities’ Amy’s Response to Q 2&3

2006-09-07T17:46:00.000+08:00

The identities visible in lavalife struck me as particularly western and potentially discriminatory. My first thought was that if a "foreigner" were living in Australia and wanted to meet people, they might feel excluded from taking part. For example my experience of living in Japan was that people wanted to know what animal year I was born in, but it’s not possible to include this in your profile on lavalife. Also, the concept of star signs is particularly western and one which my Japanese friends weren’t interested in. However, it’s given a fair amount of credence on lavalife ie. it comes fourth in line, behind gender, age & location. I’m sure in other cultures there are also personal details like this that aren’t given any significance on lavalife. I wonder if anyone has any examples? It also assumes that those profiled care about/ believe in star signs when they may not. Also what about people who are transgender? I bet there’s not a lot more choice than checking male/ female categories. Would they be forced to check an “other” category or is there even this option? For people who travel a lot, or spend time living in different cities/ countries, location might be a difficulty too.

My suggestion is that profiles should not be menu-driven. Profilers should have the option to include/exclude as much information as they like. In this way it would be more obvious to participants from the style/ language of their profile what others are interested in ie. rel’ship/ friendship/ bit of fun/ laughs. Btw, do any of you know people who have been profiled on rsvp or lavalife as a joke by friends? I do. Final thought: perhaps a word limit could restrict over zealous participants?

Erika's Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

2006-09-07T17:26:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone, I thought I'd have a look at questions 1 and 2.

Question 1: Which categories are available for users to choose from when signing up for Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or in order to use the Second Life gameworld? What presumptions do these categories make about users, and what does the absence of certain categories of identity say?
I have a hotmail account so when I saw what we had to do for the workshop I didn't really understand what was so interesting about the sign up process for hotmail. However I can see that even with what looks like very basic information, there is a lot that you might be able to find out about a person based on this alone. For Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail for example, you would be able to pick up on whether the person is male or female. Even looking at a person's name would tell you something about them. My surname, for example, is Lopez, so if someone were to look at my profile, straight away they would be able to make certain assumptions as to my background and/or race.
In terms of presumptions, I think it's interesting to consider the gender boxes. Both Hotmail and Yahoo Mail make you choose either male or female, and in fact for Yahoo its a required field to fill in. However, what about transexuals or hermaphrodites, I mean, I know it might be considered extreme to consider these as options for the gender menu, but what box are they meant to pick? And what does it matter what gender you are when setting up an email address anyway?! Second Life Registration have perhaps thought of this with the question about gender being conspicuously absent from their registration process.
Something else that I picked up on when registering for Yahoo Mail is the option of adding your occupation to your profile. It's interesting that this is considered an important aspect of a person's identity. What's to stop people from lying when they fill in these boxes anyway?

Question 2: What sort of 'identities' are visible in the profiles on Lavalife? How are they displayed? What presumptions does this display make about both the people reading these profiles and those users who made them?
Well firstly, the way in which Lavalife presents the potential suitors is with a picture and some brief information about the person. Amongst the ten or so things that are covered in the info are details including race and religion. I think the presumptions that are made about the people reading the profiles is the fact that people are interested in these things as a way of figuring out if they are compatible with somebody or not. The users, I think, are also probably concerned with this being the information that is put out there. From what I can see, some of the categories can be left blank or not answered depending on the wishes of the user. The only assumption that can be made from this is that maybe they don't see categories such as religion to be very important in defining their personality or who they are.

amy's thoughts on Tak-yee article

2006-09-06T20:53:00.000+08:00

Here are a few thoughts for Week 7 tutorial on Ami Tak-yee's article[1]

Rather than utopian reading of the potential for cyberspace communications to avoid racial or sexual discrimination Tak-yee’s ICERED example shows that race and gender discrimination is just as prevalent in online forums.

Her’s is an interesting discussion, particularly of sexuality, in which she shows that despite idealistic notions of cyberdemocracy which characterized early discussions of cyberspace communication [2], to a large extent, the reality has actually been quite different. Moreover, she argues that gender and racial stereotypes were perpetuated on the ICERED community website.

To answer the first tutorial question- How do participants seek to exclude/ include others?

Firstly it must be said that the very logistics of ICERED excluded/included others. Why?

1. Participation was limited to “high income professionals and university alumni of top universities around the world” pp 2-3

2. Language - communication was only in English which immediately excluded those from participating who didn’t speak English or who were not fluent English speakers.

Participants also capitalized on this exclusion/ inclusion through the type of things they discussed and the manner of their discussions which were often exaggerated, abusive, derogatory and not backed up by real statistics or proof of their claims.

Examples

In her first example “Your English sucks!” Tak-yee shows why participants whose English was not as good as others might have been reluctant to post, while those with good English (in the participants view) were relegated to what Tak-yee might refer to as “superstar” status.

Eg. Ahem Post : “There must be only a handful of IceRedders who seem to have the ability to express themselves in English coherently…” p 3

In Tak-yee’s second example “The unbearable “white-ness” of ICERED, she refers to a thread which is blatantly provocative and which would undeniably ostracise Chinese people and westerners alike.

Eg. Ratman Post: “I read a report stating that 86% of Chinese people have only 70% peripheral vision compared with Westerners”. P 6

Eg. White Trash Post:: “ive come to the conclusion that icered is full of pathetic white racists who think theyre funny but aren’t”. p 8

Tak-yee’s third example talks about sexism on ICERED.

Eg. Ratman Post: “Chinese women have…the lowest I.Q of any other Asian country..” p 9

Tak-yee argues that this post turned out to be based on fabrication. However at the same time she argues, “Hong Kong women are reputed to be money-minded and this “reputation” has in time grown and spread via the media among all social strata. It can therefore be surmised that ICERED played a role among the middle/ upper-middle classes,…in perpetuating or disseminating this representation of the Hong Kong women”. Pp 10-11.

Tak-yee also provides an interesting discussion of sexuality suggesting that the whole general atmosphere of ICERED was homophobic.

Eg. JP Post: “why do icred allow these homosexual to discuss their unnatural and immoral activity on the messageboard?” p 13

On the other hand Tak-yee goes on to suggest that through the ICERED forum “gay people have managed to enjoy a certain amount of textual/ sexual freedom in a society where any open discussion of homosexuality is still frowned on by the conservatives”. Please post a comment if you have any thoughts on this.

Another interesting point in Tak-Yee’s article was made about the potential for cyberspace communication to influence the “real world”.

Eg. The “Party Animal of Hong Kong” who in deference to the image of her that had been portrayed on ICERED imitated this in reality. p 18

- How can we intervene?

Perhaps as Nakamura [3] argues by avoiding creation of "menu-driven identities" and sending emails which engage others in explorations of culture and race?

[1] Tak-yee, Amy Lai. 'Hong Kong cyberculture: a case study' In: E-Journal on Hong Kong cultural and social studies [2004] http://www.hku.hk/hkcsp/ccex/ehkcss01/, accessed 4/9/2006.
[2] Maurice Berger's article has interesting material on 'Race in Cyberspace', In Wired Magazine Issue 3.12, [Dec 1995] accessed 5/9/2006 http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.12/berger.if.html
[3] Nakamura, Lisa. 'Menu-driven identities: making race happen online' In: Cybertypes : race, ethnicity, and identity on the Internet [2002]

Eliza's Webliography

2006-09-05T18:14:00.000+08:00

Question: Critically assess the ways in which gender identity is embedded (or not) in the cultural construction of information and communication technologies.

A webliography is harder to compile than one might first imagine. Following the advice in the ‘notes and tips for getting started’ section of the assessment handout, I diligently logged in to Google Scholar. After using the search string ‘gender identity + information and communication technologies’ I was faced with 43 100 possibilities. Almost all of the first ten ‘articles’ listed were actually abstracts of articles requiring some kind of paid subscription before one could access the full document. This proved increasingly frustrating for two reasons. The first because I was not willing to pay US $15 per article for one days access to a single article;[1] the second because many of the abstracts appeared to contain thought provoking arguments seemingly relevant to the question at hand. So instead I reverted back to a regular Google search. Much to my relief there was in fact enough stimulating material available on free access Internet sites. I am thus confident that the six sites eventually annotated in this webliography raise vastly different arguments related to the overarching question of whether gender identity is embedded (or not) in the cultural construction of information and communication technologies.

In 2005 David Huffaker and Sandra Calvert conducted a social experiment investigating the online interaction of male and female adolescents. One of the aims of their experiment, titled “Gender, Identity and Language use in Teenage Blogs,”[2] was to investigate whether in keeping with traditional gender roles, males would use more active language than females and similarly that females would use more passive language than males. They found that males did in fact use more active language; however females did not use more passive language. I believe these to be valuable findings.

Written in 1993, before the explosion of Windows 95© and the mainstream internet, Elizabeth Lane Lawley’s, “Computers and the Communication of Gender,”[3] seems almost prophetic. A huge supporter of Donna Haraway, she believes that the ‘boundary blurring’ concept underpinning Haraway’s ‘Cyborg Manifesto’ will come to fruition as away of providing “us with a conceptual framework for shedding the essentialist linking of biological body and gendered expectations.” I think this quote captures the essence of Lane Lawley’s work better than any long-winded explanation I could attempt to provide. Overall Lane Lawley presents a balanced argument.

Transforming Information and Communication Technologies for Gender Equality[4] is a series of monographs written by different ICT researchers and professionals and edited by Gillian Marcelle. The introduction highlights that while the contributors present diverse arguments, they have all written on the premise that there is a need to engender human development and its subsequent representation in ICT. The monographs argue that if gender is a social construction it should be possible for gender based marginalisation to be completely eradicated. Hence they hope a time will come when solid female gender identities will be able to use ICT on an equal footing with their male contemporaries.

Jane Margolis’ 2001 adaptation[5] of the introduction of her (at the time) forthcoming book Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing is one ‘abstract,’ that slipped through my initial full text only screening process. I believe its argument is fleshed out enough to be read as a stand-alone text. Between 1995 and 1999 Margolis and her collaborator Dr Allan Fisher conducted research at the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science in Pittsburgh into the daily experiences of women studying Computer Science. Here Margolis found dwindling female enrolment numbers reflective of the problematic cultural construction that “boys make things and girls use things that boys make.” She concluded that without more women entering the male dominated Computer Science industry information and communication technology interfaces and functions would continue to alienate female users. The only reservation I have about her findings is that they seem largely assumption based. However this can be probably be attributed to the text’s abstract structure.

The Association for Progressive Communication Technologies Women’s Networking Support Program’s article “Gender and Information and Communication Technologies” [6] instantly appeared extremely biased. As a self-proclaimed women’s lobby group the material needs to be analysed carefully. An example being the comment that “currently, there are few women in positions of leadership making the decisions about what electronic materials will be constructed and what they will contain.” This statement isn’t backed up by statistics, and for a ‘woman of the west’ who lives in a country where we have a female Communications Minister, I’m not willing to accept it at face value. However, overall the article is definitely an interesting read.

Esther Kuntjara’s 2002 article, “Gender Issues in Information Technology Communication,” concisely outlines the two possible roads gender identity and ICT may take. The first being that the internet will develop into a tool used to bypass gender inequality because it gives women a ‘voice.’ The other possibility being that although women are given this voice they may be ‘shut down’ by men in the same manner that women’s voices are silenced in modern patriarchal societies. Two ideas I feel are critical to this debate.

I agree with Huffaker and Calvert’s conclusion that online communication is reflective of changing real world attitudes towards gender identity - western teenage girls are more empowered than their previous generation counterparts. Lawley is also correct when she highlights that internet exchanges are often anonymous and can operate without an understanding of one’s true ‘biological’ identity. Whilst extremely optimistic I’d like to see the ideas of Marcelle and her co-writers fulfilled. The only way an online and subsequent real world society where men and women operate as equal agents will be achieved is if we heed Margolis advice about Computer Science education. Unless more women enter the profession and design interfaces that enable greater grass roots participation for other women the fact that gender identity is in fact embedded in the cultural construction of ICT will prove the greatest obstacle in achieving true gender equality.

Bibliography

Association for Progressive Communication Technologies Women’s Networking Support Program. “Gender and Information and Communication Technologies” (2005) http://www.apcwomen.org/work/research/analytical-framework.html (accessed 27 August 2006)

Huffaker, David and Calvert, Sandra. “Gender, Identity and Language use in Teenage Blogs,” in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 1. (2005) http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html (accessed 27 August 2006)

Lane Lawley, Elizabeth. “Computers and the Communication of Gender,”[1] (April 1993) http://www.itcs.com/elawley/gender.html (accessed 27 August 2006)

Marcelle, Gillian. Transforming Information and Communication Technologies for Gender Equality (May 2000) http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/beijing12/mono9-ICT.pdf#search=%22gender%20identity%20-%20information%20and%20communication%20technology%22 (accessed 27 August 2006)

Margolis, Jane. (An adaptation of the introduction to) “Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing,” The Digital Divide, Vol 1, No. 2 (Spring 2001) http://www.tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/margolis.html (accessed 27 August 2006).
[1] See any articles listed by Sage Publications, or for a specific example: http://sth.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/1/30 (accessed 27 August 2006)
[2] David Huffaker and Sandra Calvert, “Gender, Identity and Language use in Teenage Blogs,” in Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 1. (2005) http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol10/issue2/huffaker.html (accessed 27 August 2006)
[3] Elizabeth Lane Lawley , “Computers and the Communication of Gender,”[3] (April 1993) http://www.itcs.com/elawley/gender.html (accessed 27 August 2006)
[4] Gillian Marcelle, Transforming Information and Communication Technologies for Gender Equality (May 2000) http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/beijing12/mono9-ICT.pdf#search=%22gender%20identity%20-%20information%20and%20communication%20technology%22 (accessed 27 August 2006)

[5] Jane Margolis, (an adaptation of the introduction to) “Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing,” The Digital Divide, Vol 1, No. 2 (Spring 2001) http://www.tcla.gseis.ucla.edu/divide/politics/margolis.html (accessed 27 August 2006).
[6]Association for Progressive Communication Technologies Women’s Networking Support Program “Gender and Information and Communication Technologies” (2005)
http://www.apcwomen.org/work/research/analytical-framework.html (accessed 27 August 2006)

Workshop 4 on WebCT this week only

2006-09-05T15:33:00.000+08:00

Some fantastic webliographies posted - well done!
Just to let you know that this week's Workshop IV is online on WebCT and will only be available for this week. It's on time release and disappears at the end of the week, so do get on and do it while you can.
Alison

Victoria's webliography- sorry for delay, had a technological malfunction!

2006-09-03T13:25:00.000+08:00

Guiding Question: 1. Critically assess Donna Haraway’s assertion that ‘By the late twentieth century, our time, a mythic time, we are all chimeras, theorized and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism. In short, we are cyborgs.’

My starting point involved the consideration of two major premises in locating online sources for my guiding question. Firstly, based largely on Haraway’s own reflective views on the reception of The Cyborg Manifesto[1], I thought it important not to focus solely on scholarly internet discourse surrounding the piece as this would be liable to dismiss the catalytic impact on popular culture and feminism the manifesto affected. For this reason, I was inclined to search for online art and science-fiction magazines and fan sites that are accessible to all internet users, unlike many online journals which are not. In doing so I sought to examine the success of the imbrication of a cyborgian ontology into popular culture, not just within a highly theorised academic paradigm. After all, by stating “we are all chimeras…we are cyborgs”[2], Haraway directly implicates all bodies within this technological referential.
Secondly, in assessing the previously mentioned claim made by Haraway, and in again using her own recollection of the ambivalent and controversial reception of the manifesto[3], I sought to find and examine contemporary theoretical critical reception to the piece. As technology has advanced significantly since the manifesto’s date of publication, what aspects still resonate with the twenty-first century, and more succinctly, can any still be viewed as “tremendously anti-feminist, as a kind of blissed-out, techno-sublime euphoria”[4]. For this reason I was inclined to search both Google scholar and reputable databases for a more thorough theoretical underpinning.

A general Google search for ‘Haraway cyborg manifesto’ resulted in thousands of sites that could be presumed to be helpful and applicable. However, Cyborgs proved to be a fantastic place to begin, as it provided numerous links to relevant websites espousing technological developments (including robotics), cyborg theory, art projects (Stelarc, bio-art and body-art), animations and film. The art links in particular were extremely revealing as I feel art is the best way to evaluate individual, social and cultural perspectives in a contemporary context. Obviously, these artists concur that they do consider themselves cyborgs. Unfortunately some of the links on the site were obsolete, which could be suggestive of the possibility that some people have lost their commitment or involvement with these ideas and concepts, and perhaps this extends to popular culture also.

“Technologies of Identity” by Yvonne Volkart, found on the OBN (Old Boys Network) cyber-feminism website, is an intriguing polemic about the interface of art, technology and feminist identity politics, and how this consequently shapes and constructs both bodies and identities. Despite making no direct reference to Haraway, the essay obviously espouses her ethos, as Volkart states that politicised aesthetic strategies “addresses and “produces” multiply coded, hybridized and differential political subjects and agents”[5]. Volkart examines the work of three cyber feminist artists who, in using video and new media, seek to negotiate and deconstruct the parameters of embodiment in the “age of post humanism”[6]. Published in 2000, this article is contemporary and theoretical, accessible and relevant. Additionally, these factors further convince me of the influence and applicability of Haraway’s assertion.

Online journal Riding the Meridian was the locale for “Women and Technology, Beyond the Binary”, a discussion hosted by Jennifer Ley with N. Katherine Hayles, Marjorie Perloff, Diane Greco, Linda Carroli and Shelley Jackson, all of which are leading theorists, writes and academics. This interview has proved to be the most useful so far as it focuses on the role of women in constructing and inventing new technological paradigms that do not rely of reductive binaries and regressive idealisms. This reflects Haraway’s conjecture that the cyborg body…does not seek unitary identity and so generate antagonistic dualisms without end”[7]. From the etymology of the word ‘technology’, to the discussion of a “digital glass ceiling” (which I found the most intriguing as this implies gender as still relevant in cyber-space, even if only in a digitally embodied context), the interview espouses in depth the spaces created by women in the cyber/technological arena, in particular what Hayles asserts as “discussions about how subjectivity becomes constructed, fluid and transformable in electronic environments”[8].

ALTX ONLINE NETWORK, WHERE THE Digerati meet the Literati[9] is the location of a review by N. Katherine Hayles (her comments in the previous source were so beneficial that I googled her name to explore her ideas more thoroughly) entitled “Engineering Cyborg Ideology”. The article is a critique of the ideas proffered by Diane Greco in her hypertext Cyborg: Engineering the Body Electric, a text which heavily relies on Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto. Hayles’ conjecture is that Greco’s speculations “ought to be profound but are simply unsettling, because they are so little grounded in the terra firma of historical specificity and technological practice”[10]. Hayles is a convincing critic and poses the very question I have been grappling with, that is what exactly is a cyborg, and who is included? Furthermore, my own reasoning leads me to think that if a certain criteria must be filled in order to be considered a cyborg, doesn’t this just create an inclusion/exclusion binary, the very opposite of what the cyborg analogy postulates? If so, isn’t this anti-feminist? As Hayles states, this seems to be “theorizing in a void”[11], as the abstraction of the concept ‘cyborg’ is open to become the signifier of absolutely anything that those theorizing it want it to be, therefore they are in many ways fashioning a cyborg ideology.

Susan Hawthorne's article[12], accessed at 'course materials online' complements the critique in the previous source as she questions the uptake of the connection of cyborgian identity to women only. She see’s the historically grounded cultural/social perception’s of women as ‘incomplete’ as responsible for this, and states that perhaps this differentiality has been taken up within a hegemonic white male paradigm to demarcate difference to their advantage.[13] Hence cyborg theorists often ignore the necessity of contextual specificity, ignoring “that machines and cyborgs are precisely originated by human minds and their genealogy can be traced through scientific literature.”[14] As Haraway makes explicit reference to the potentiality of all individuals being cyborgs, it does suffice to critique, as Hawthorne does, the reification of cyborg identity which “appears to forget the real body inside or outside the cyborg”[15]. However Hawthorne fails to sufficiently answer why the technologically altered/assisted body (ie. Cyborg) can not be conceptualised as an equally ‘real’ body that is not (or, an ‘organic body). Is this not the very distinction Haraway is attempting to collapse?

For my final source I wanted to find an actual human manifestation of a cyborgian ontology for some clarification. The Journal of Evolution and Technology is where I found an article by Dr. Andy Miah entitled “Be Very Afraid: Cyborg Athletes, Transhuman Ideals and Posthumanity”. He argues that transhumanism is not a futuristic aspiration, but rather a contemporary actuality. As the sporting arena is premised on idealistic notions of humanness and physical ‘naturalness’, it is interesting to see the actual mechanics of posthumanism already in place. In fact, it is this arena that Miah argues that “sport offers a unique environment where transhumanism can gain social credibility and where its ideals become manifest and normalised”[16]. This article raises interesting debate over the positive and negative connotations aroused by such a social/cultural progression.

Donna Haraway’s theorizing of an ontology that is hybridised posits a complex and ambiguous challenge to a legacy of dualistic patriarchal discourse and pedagogy which is maintained and sustained by the dichotomisation, and hence ‘othering’ of a number of social groups, especially women. However, after considering my sources, I am inclined to argue that on a practical level, a cyborgian ontology is a techno-utopian fantasy. In many ways it is implemented to construct an ideological vision of unity, when in fact by both suppressing the roots of its conception and privileging the technologically modified body, creates an essentialism that directly contradicts Haraway’s cyborgian vision[17]. Consequently, as Hawthorne articulates precisely, “if we are all cyborgs, where do we locate the structures of oppression?[18] The reluctance of so many individuals to identify with the ‘cyborg’ signals to me that just because we use technology doesn’t mean we are technologized on any corporeal level. With this said, I do believe the resonance and plausibility of Haraway’s manifesto, as asserted in the guiding question, is most useful when considered metaphorically. Whilst the abstraction of the concept makes it difficult to engage with on many theoretical levels, this can be seen as a way to create a new form of signification within language that hasn’t already been conceptualised, to help negotiate the parameters of technologized embodiment. Herein lays the potential of the cyborg narrative to be emancipatory.

[1] a) Donna Haraway, “A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, technology, and Socialist feminism in the 1980s”, in The Haraway Reader, (New York and London: Routledge, 2003), p.7-45.
b) In Randi Markussen, Finn Olesen and Nina Lykke, “Interview with Donna Haraway.” In Chasing Technoscience. Eds. Don Ihde and Evan Selinger, (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2003), p.50, Haraway expresses that in hindsight, an assumptive communication with the intended audience of her piece on her behalf resulted in reading practices that were “highly privileged and often private…It was a paper that was built on privilege, and the reading practices that it asks from people are hard.” However, the overwhelmingly positive reception by young feminists who were operating out of a different experiential context to Haraway resulted in a reworking of the Manifesto within a techno-friendly feminist discourse, and hence became influential outside of this also.
[2] Haraway, p.8.
[3] Markussen et al., p.50.
[4] Ibid, p.50.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Haraway, p.38.
[8] ibid
[9] ibid
[10] Susan Hawthorne, “Cyborgs, Virtual Bodies and Organic Bodies: Theoretical Feminist Responses,” In Cyberfeminism: Connectivity and Creativity. Eds. Susan Hawthorne & Renate Klein, (Melbourne: Spinifex, 199)
[11] Ibid, p.9.
[12] Ibid, p.9.
[13] Ibid, p.5.
[14] ibid
[15] Haraway argues on p.16 of the manifesto: “Cyborg feminists have to argue that “we” do not want any more natural matrix of unity and that no construction is whole”.
[16] P.8.

Erika's Webliography

2006-09-02T11:56:00.000+08:00

Throughout history, human beings have constantly pondered upon what it is exactly that makes them human. This is something that is still discussed today in many different fields of study. In researching this topic, this is something that quickly becomes apparent when choosing the resources to use in writing a response to the above question. So in order to answer the question in a manner to include the many different arguments that exist relating to the issue, varying things can be included. Amongst these different arguments, those which I have chosen to focus on for the sake of this essay are the issues surrounding human cloning, cyborgs, the visible human project and what it means to be human.

Catherine Waldby and Zoe Sofoulis’ article[2] on Frankenstein and Cyberculture is useful in that it speaks about Frankenstein in way to make sense of human beings and our interest in the creation of other creatures. One interesting thought that arises in their article that would be good to expand upon is the idea that, “the possibility that humans might be cloned has proved too confronting an idea of the human still invested in notions of unique identity and exceptional status”. From this quote, issues such as cloning ethics and human individuality can be explored with the help of other resources.

Roger Highfield’s article[3] is one such resource. This online article is a news story about a scientific find which goes towards explaining the genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees. In highlighting the definite human individuality that exists in comparison to our primate cousin, the article could be used as an example of the scientific explanations available to help in aiding a discourse on what it is to be human. One drawback on this new item, however, is how it is focused mostly on science. As such it could only be used briefly in an essay although it does provide important background information.

Kaare Bursell’s essay[4] on human beings, like Roger Highfield’s news article is very useful in that it explores what the essence of human beings might be made up of. It differs from Highfield’s view in that it actively opposes a purely scientific view of the human body. In fact Bursell actually states that, “it is not possible to understand the human being by means of the scientific methodology employed today”. This makes such an essay useful in generating a critical analysis on the issue of human beings. It allows for the discussion to explore differing angles towards the argument.

Orlin Damyanov’s essay[5] is very useful in its discussion on the ideas surrounding Frankenstein. Damyanov’s essay discusses the “relation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to technology and some of the crucial issues concerning technology in relation to human life, and exploration of the dangerous implications of human acts of creation”. This essay leads to interesting questions that can be explored in relation to what it means to be human and whether we humans can manipulate the creation process. These ideas would be good to explore in an essay about the ways in which the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.

The article on World Information.org[6] speaks about science fiction and the implications that technology may have on what it means to be human. The article states that, “the only non-human world which remains beyond the animal and divine worlds is the world of technology.” This is a very interesting to quote to comment on as it implies that technology, when directly associated with human beings begins to develop into something else. The idea of the cyborg is directly related to this. This article would be a good resource to use in this essay as it raises a number of interesting issues that can be explored more in depth.

Morris Sullivan’s article[7] on human cloning and its implications is good to look at for this argument because it presents challenging ideas about what it means to be human. The article makes the point that, “One of the main arguments against cloning is its perceived threat to the natural course of human evolution - and to the sanctity of ‘individuality’”. This is an idea that I had not considered prior to having read this article, does being human mean being an individual? For this reason the article would be useful, however, care would have to be taken in using such a resource because it comes from an opinion based news site.

The final article that would be interesting to examine in a discussion on being human is Robert Wachbroit’s[8]. This article along with the article discussed above together provide important background information when considering the implications that human cloning may have on the definition of human being. As the article is written mostly from a scientific point of view and features many ethical issues, care would need to be taken when discussing this controversial subject based upon this item.

When discussing exactly what it means to be human, it is important to include as many view points as possible in order to make sense of such an impossible task. From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, there are many examples which can aid us in trying to decipher what the essence of human is. By exploring issues such as human cloning, cyborgs and what it means to be human, it becomes possible to get an idea as to why the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.

[1] Catherine Waldby, “The Visible Human Project” Course Materials Online (2000) http://hive.library.uwa.edu.au/cgi-bin/hive/hive.cgi/06131.pdf?HIVE_REF=hii%3A19639&HIVE_RET=ORG&HIVE_REQ=2114&HIVE_PROD=0/06131.pdf (accessed 27 August 2006).

[2] Catherine Waldby and Zoe Sofoulis, “The instruments of life : Frankenstein and cyberculture; Cyberquake : Haraway's manifesto” Course Materials Online (2002) http://hive.library.uwa.edu.au/cgi-bin/hive/hive.cgi/04197.pdf?HIVE_REF=hii%3A17209&HIVE_RET=ORG&HIVE_REQ=2114&HIVE_PROD=0/04197.pdf [accessed 27 August 2006].

[3] Roger Highfield, “Chimpanzee genes show what it means to be human” Telegraph (September 2005) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/09/01/wchimp01.xml [accessed 27 August 2006].

[4] Kaare Bursell, “The Human Being” The Alchemycal Pages (2003) http://www.alchemycalpages.com/human.html [accessed 27 August 2006].

[5] Orlin Damyanov, “Technology and its dangerous effects on nature and human life as perceived in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and William Gibson's Neuromancer” Technology in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1996) http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5972/gibson.html [accessed 27 August 2006].

[6] World Information, “Satyrs, Frankenstein, Machine Men, Cyborgs” http://world-information.org/wio/infostructure/100437611777/100438658891 [accessed 27 August 2006].
[7] Morris Sullivan, “Modern Prometheus or Frankenstein’s Monster” IMPACT Press (1998) http://www.impactpress.com/articles/febmar98/clone.htm [accessed 27 August 2006].

[8] Robert Wachbroit, “Genetic Encores:The Ethics of Human Cloning” Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy (1999) http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm [accessed 27 August 2006].

girls and boys

2006-08-31T21:58:00.000+08:00

Question Three: Critically assess the ways in which gender identity is embedded (or not) in the cultural construction of information and communication technologies.

Gender identity is present in all forms of communication and technological sources. In
constructing this webliography I have attempted to focus on fairly varied sources- from
psychoanalysis of gender and what contribution this may have to the individual’s
identity, to computer games and online zines. The information was moderately
accessible, with the University of Western Australia’s Library providing a stable
academic basis for the essay topic in question.

An analysis of gender identity is often an effective way of establishing some context in
relation to the essay question. Jed Bland [1] has created an online source in the form of a
specialized website dedicated to gender definitions and analysis. The website features the
concepts of gender by well- known Psychoanalysis’s such as Sigmund Freud and Carl
Jung. I found the section relating to the idea of Ego and Id to be quite useful, being a
theory which focuses on the issues of biological drives and socialization. How each might
affect gender identity is an issue that requires some mention. Overall Bland’s website is a
good starting point for gender analysis, providing the basic definitions of the terms in
question, conversely one might require a more in- depth source of gender theory, the text
being a fairly limited source of information. However, to his credit, Bland has used
language that is accessible and has constructed a user- friendly website.

Kerry Braye’s [2] essay focuses on women in the media from a feminist/critical
perspective. I found her comments on the language of Semiotics useful, especially the
notion of images and words as being interpreted differently from culture to culture. I
found the essay to be a bit dated but certain issues do continue to have some relevance such as
women being “portrayed far more commonly in decorative roles” in all forms of media.

Online magazines are a good source of analysis in relation to gender identity. Like the
hard print version, the Cleo Magazine [3] website is focused on creating an antagonistic
relationship centered on a fairly intense search for ‘the body beautiful’ and maintaining a
state of good mental health. The website features images of attractive, fit young women
in aerobic attire which brings to the fore the notion of an evolving concept of femininity
in relation to that of yesteryear. Marketing is certainly a central focus of the website,
product placement is rife. As a magazine for women, men are featured as attractive
(images of male models) but troublesome- web-users may post questions on a ‘Love &
Sex’ blog. As an online source in relation to gender identity, I believe it to be useful as a
source when used in conjunction with more academic journalism.

Lisa- Jane McGerty’s article [4] claims that cyberspace is not a place of transcendence; the
web-user is a gendered one and will most probably interact in accordance with certain
social, political and cultural spheres. The article was quite useful as an introductory spiel
in relation to an awareness of an imbalance in regards to male/female usage of the
internet. Are women not spending enough time online due to the preoccupation with the
‘real’ (as opposed to the virtual) community? I suppose that the crux of the essay would
be McGerty’s statement that “the intrusion of these technologies into the home is having
an impact on constructions of gender while simultaneously constructions of gender are
doubtless impacting on internet use in those domestic spaces and elsewhere”. Thus, the
article may provide a basis for an argument supporting the presence of gender identity in
cyberspace.

The gendered nature of cyberspace has created a (sometimes dangerous) trend of the
pseudonym- a false identity allowing the user to interact as if they were an individual of a
differing sex, race or socio-economic status. I found this to be an important occurrence
that deserves some mention and has found some discussion in Sherry Turkle’s [5] article-
which was quite interesting and philosophical. I found her concept of gender as
something that cannot truly be simulated as “some knowledge is inherently experiential
dependent on sensations”- was also useful, for those who do not have a female body are
unable to fully encapsulate the gendered experience. Turkle also writes of virtual
communities and the fact that children will no longer have to attend school- or perhaps
not to the extent that is currently required. A valid commentary to make as one wonder’s
how this might affect the rest of the family and society at large- especially as gender roles
are becoming more fluid in relation to the domestic sphere.

Video- gaming is an extremely lucrative market and is especially popular in youth
culture. Mia Consalvo’s article [6] on The Sims, a “game of electronic dollhouse” is an easily
accessible and entertaining article concerning gender stereotyping and the expression of
sexuality in gaming culture. In her analysis she has encompassed a number of theories
including Ludology and the requisite feminist/ cultural theories of gender representation.
Consalvo’s description of the Sim’s interaction is perhaps a little too detailed for the
purpose of the essay question but remains a good source of sex/gender roles in the
gaming arena.

As a result of the Internet research undertaken I believe that the essay will begin with an
analysis of gender and identity according to Jung and Freud before segueing into the
more mainstream online zines (Cleo being a prime example) in regards to the methods
employed to relate to the target audience of younger, heterosexual women. The gender
roles orchestrated in computer games such as The Sims would also serve as a focal point,
especially as the game itself maintains equal popularity with both sexes. Finally, I would
also like to make mention of Sherry Turkle’s argument that gender identity is not a
concept that can be reconstituted through mere thought processes and imagination- the
sensory experience of embodiment is beyond the artificial simulation of information and
communication technologies.

[1] Bland, J. “About Gender: Gender Roles, Gender Variance, Gender Identity”, , (2001), accessed 28 August 2006.

[2] Braye, K. “A Feminist Perspective on Women and the Media”, http://www.keltawebconcepts.com.au/ewommedl.htm, (2003), accessed 26 August 2006.

[3] , (2006), accessed 26 August 2006.

[6]Consalvo, M. “It’s a Queer World After All: Studying The Sims and Sexuality”, , (2006), accessed 29 August 2006.

[4] McGerty, L. “Nobody lives only in cyberspace”, , (2003), accessed 27 August 2006.

[5] Turkle, S. “Virtuality and its Discontents: Searching for Community in Cyberspace”, , (2003), accessed 26 August 2006.

self as cyborg

2006-08-30T16:09:00.000+08:00

Critically assess Donna Haraway's assertion that 'By the late twentieth century, our time, a mythic time, we are all chimeras, theorised and fabricated hybrids of machine and organism. In short, we are cyborgs'.

All websites have been located using the search engines Google and Google Scholar. While inital searches were performed using phrases such as 'Donna Haraway AND hybrid' or 'Donna Haraway AND cyborg', the parameters of my search extended as I researched a growing number of articles, and then 'googled' any related names. I also utilised the webliographies of well researched articles that I found, so as to try and ensure a high standard of reputable material.

Hari Kunzru’s article[1] on Donna Haraway provided a useful overview of her major ideas in relation to technology and the self, resulting in the perception of the body as a high performance machine. Haraway’s contempt for the political implications of the ‘natural’ are well documented, and she argues against the idea that technology is neutral or objective. The possibilities for freedom in a ‘re-constructed’ world is not as fantastic as I initially supposed. The amalgamation of the self and technology has already occurred, from pharmaceutical drugs, to high performance footwear, we are altered. And the time for arguing the moral implications of technology has passed; all that is left is to ensure that the new world of technoscience is as inclusive as possible. Kunzru’s article manages to humanize Haraway’s cyborg, and Haraway herself. The ideas contained within A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, And Socialist Feminism in the 1980’s (Manifesto) have evolved with time and consideration, and are revisited in a less confronting form.

Gary A. Olsen’s article[2] focuses on the linguistic implications of the written word, as originally theorized by Haraway in Manifesto. Writing is imbibed with an authority that is problematic, as it invests the author with a level of expertise that may not be justified. The idea of literacy as an exercise in domination or freedom is a reinterpretation of the proposal that knowledge is power. The difficulty in separating the written word from the time in which it is produced takes on heightened meaning when considering Manifesto twenty-two years after its original publication. Parallels can be drawn between the difficulty in distinguishing written discourse from the time in which it is produced, and the complexity of separating our sense of self from technology. These hybrids are not easily disseminated, and provide an interesting circular argument on boundaries. Olsen’s article is excellent, as the interview gives us access to Haraway’s thoughts, without the filtering that can occur when another writer re-constructs what has been said.

Alex Galloway’s article[3] on Cyberfeminism, and the impact of Sadie Plant and the VNS Matrix was helpful in tracing the origins of the movement, including the historical relevance to more traditional feminist theorists, and the influence of Haraway. Plant’s emphasis on the feminine in the technological development of the computer can be seen as answering Haraway’s call not to rewrite history from the feminine perspective, but rather to allow more diverse stories to be told through technology. Plant theorises that technology has altered gender relations between women and men irrevocably, as it has enabled reproduction without male participation, an idea which is both radical and liberating. The information that relates to the VNS Matrix, while not essential, does highlight the cult of the body that has emerged on the World Wide Web, from pornography to phantoms, the virtual world has provided an outlet into which our bodily fantasy’s can be explored. This article is theoretically useful as it chronicles more modern interpretations of Haraway’s theories in Manifesto.

Jennifer Brayton’s article[4] is a clearly written exploration of women’s relationship with the internet, although the argument does suffer from oversimplification, as Brayton formulates her case around labels attesting to the barriers and pleasures of internet use. The ability to communicate beyond geographical limitations is a major benefit which is positively compounded when combined with the relative safety that online chat rooms provide. The idea of the internet as a ‘forum for democracy’ is utopian, but balance is restored as Brayton explores the lower participation rates of women. This is partly attributed to the high financial costs, and as women still earn significantly less that their male counterparts, this seems plausible. Access issues are also considered, as is the amount of time that women can devote to time online due to other life responsibilities, such as child-rearing. The amount of male directed sites has resulted in the stereotype that computer use is gendered. The most important point gained from this article is the consideration of what we give up to participate with technology, especially time and money.

Baukje Prins article[5] explores the concept of vision in Haraway’s work; not only for the dominant societal groups, but under the influence of technology, vision for all. Bodies are the object of scientific discourse, and Haraway warns that the hybrid body is being constructed not with the intention of representation, but instead with political motivations. Vision is described as the ability to see and be seen, challenging traditional discourse which has viewed the female as the archetypal prop of the mirror. Harraway points out that over-classification is fraught with danger, as it doesn’t allow for a blurring of boundaries, which is why she initially appropriated the cyborg as a character which allows the details of unclassifiable lives to be told. While the article is lengthy, the content is excellent, although I have ignored the discussions on Haraway’s more recent works.

Theodora Eliza Vacarescu’s article[6] examines the similarities between Mary Shelly’s monster and Haraway’s cyborg, and concludes that Mary Shelly’s monster was the early prototype for the cyborg. Vacarescu’s article is really questioning what it is to be human. She is using the construct of the monster as an emblem for the other. She argues that in both cases, the monster is a combination of technology and science. If the monster is not natural, then it cannot be classified as human. While the article at first appears to be flippant, the creation of the monstrous is a source of liberation from normalisation, especially as both the monster and the cyborg are created, so does not necessitate the need for heterosexual coupling.

The precept of the body as a hybrid is upon us. The idea of self as cyborg has been normalised to an even greater extent than I initially imagined. While Haraway’s rhetoric is largely philosophical, the everyday implications in which the human and technology have amalgamated enables us to move beyond the gendered representations of identity, into a more inclusive world. Patriarchal scientific writings have proliferated discourse in which Male and Reason have been inextricably interconnected. Methods of over-classification must be scrutinised, as they have been used to facilitate the eradication of diversity. The virtual world of the internet is a place that existence, beyond the limitations of the body, is possible. And while the World Wide Web is not free from discrimination, the technology does provide the possibility of a space that is more focused on interaction rather than representation.

[1] Hari Kunzru. ‘You Are Cyborg’, Wired Magazine, 5.02, (February 1997)
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffharaway.html (Accessed: 20th August, 2006)

[2] Gary A. Olsen. ‘ Writing, Literacy and Technology: Toward a Cyborg Writing’, Jac, 16.1, (1996)
http://jac.gsu.edu/jac/16.1/Articles/1.htm (Accessed: 20th August, 2006)

[3] Alex Galloway. ‘Electronic Gender: Art at the Interstice. A Report on Cyberfeminism: Sadie Plant Relative to VNS Matrix’, Switch,
http://switch.sjsu.edu/web/v4n1/alex.html (Accessed: 22 August, 2006)

[4] Jennifer Brayton. ‘Women’s Love/Hate Relationship with the Internet’ (1999)
http://www.unb.ca/web/PAR-L/win/essay.htm (Accessed: 26 August, 2006)

[5] Baukje Prins. ‘The Ethics of Hybrid Subjects: Feminist Constructivism According to Donna Haraway’, Science, Technology and Human Values, Vol. 20, No. 3, ( 1995)
http://www.jstor.org/view/01622439/ap020065/02a00050/0 (Accessed: 26 August, 2006)

[6] Theodora Eliza Vacarescu. ‘From Frankenstein’s Monster to Haraway’s Cyborg: Gender in Monstrosity, Cyborgosity and (Post) Humanity’, Genderomania
http://www.genderomania.ro/book_gender_post/part4/Theo_Vacarescu.pdf#search=%22donna%20haraway%20AND%20cyborg%22 (Accessed: 26 August, 2006)

Monsters inc. - amy's webliography

2006-08-30T12:08:00.000+08:00

“From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.” Discuss critically.

Catherine Waldby’s article[1] makes vital reading for exploring this topic and it is in her utopian rather than an apocalyptic vein, that I have approached this question. This is contrary to many popular interpretations of Frankenstein and other “mythic creation stories”[2]. Throughout her discussion, Waldby clearly juxtaposes Frankenstein alongside other important works of fiction and non-fiction concerned with the body and technology and in doing so her essay made an important starting point for my research. However, because this is a webliography I will premise my discussion with a brief look at her text before widening my discussion to texts which are available electronically.

Waldby’s article brings together the central themes of the often cited text Frankenstein with contemporary ethical and intellectual debate surrounding the issues of humans and technology. She draws on Donna Haraway’s[3] image of the cyborg and Margaret Shildrick’s[4] image of the monster suggesting that as the categories of human, animal and machine blur through technological innovation this is a “a valued moment of transformation”. Seen in this context, she argues, the moral dilemma in the Frankenstein story, the monster turning on his master, is redefined. It is no longer an issue about the monster retuning to an organic state or nature versus technology but about the monster or alternatively the cyborg’s place in the world. Waldby’s article instigated my search within online journals and search engines for different combinations of the terms, human, machine, categories, the body, cyborg, Frankenstein, Posthuman, monster, Visible Human Project and for references to Donna Haraway.

It was partly through reading Katherine Hayles [5] presentation, which I discovered online while searching for articles about the distinction between the categories of human and machine, that I came to the thesis that while texts such as Frankenstein and The Visible Human Project have been portrayed as explorations of humanity and the limitations of the body, what is more prevalent is that our subjectivity or conventional perceptions and ideas about the body are at stake. In Hayles presentation she discusses the demise of liberal subjectivity in terms of the uneasy relationship between liberal humanism, self-regulating machinery, possessive individualism and the cyborg. In her discussion Hayles explores the contradictions in Norbert Weiner’s, “the father of cybernetics”, work, the contradiction being between the potential of cybernetics to transcend the barriers between human and machine and the notion of the self-regulating, autonomous liberal human. Her discussion is easy to follow and thorough in her analysis of the advent of technology and the subsequent dilemmas this has posed to our concept of humanity. I would use the article to establish the premise of my argument that texts such as Frankenstein and The Visible Human Project propose more than moral or scientific arguments about humanity.

After familiarizing myself with different ideas about liberal humanism it seemed necessary to pursue the posthuman discourse. In Hari Kunzru’s article[6] this trajectory is mirrored in his discussion of the cyborg from its early history to its contemporary form. He argues that despite its apparently uncomplicated and largely scientific origins, the cyborg body – “an irresolvable paradox” over the boundaries and limitations of the body- has become highly politicized. A crucial point in his argument is that this political contention is not unprecedented. Kunzru draws a link between contemporary debate surrounding the cyborg with scientific dissection during the Renaissance when “pictorial allegories … used to justify the practice of anatomy,…presented an identical problem of bodily integrity”. This links well with arguments also made by Thacker. What his article highlighted for me in particular was the important contribution Donna Haraway’s cyborg has made to the new and enlightened understanding of the relationship between the body and technology. The cyborg he argues “forces us to situate thought in the body, and in turn to situate bodies in networks which contain elements of biology, politics, desire and technology…allowing us to think what would otherwise be unthinkable”. Having come a long way from its original conception as an engineering or scientific feat which would allow the body to “transcend physical limitations”, Kunru argues that Haraway’s cyborg “operates by transgressing the regimes of signification which deny links between bodies, power and technoscience”.

The Visible Human Project seemed the obvious next focus for my research. Eugene Thacker [7] approaches The Visible Human Project from a medical and scientific perspective which made it very accessible. Thacker links The Visible Human Project to Western science’s historical approach to the study and organization of the human body highlighting the similarities between historical and contemporary debate about the production of anatomical references. At the same time, the article also provides an insightful analysis of the ethical and philosophical debate surrounding the Project in terms of the arguments posed in Georges Bataille’s text, 'The Impossible'. Perhaps its one downfall is the lack of social context given about The Visible Human Project which Waldby[8] offers. Thacker uses Bataille’s concept of the body’s ‘extreme limit of the possible’, in his analysis suggesting the challenge this poses to historical anatomical and medical practices “truths” about the body. In doing so he proposes the potential for a new framework for understanding the body.

In her essay about Seiko Mikami's interactive installation "World, Membrane and the Dismembered Body", Sabu Kohso [9] provides an insightful analysis of the body and how it responds to changed sensory experiences. I liked this article for its practical dimension, a real example of technology and the body at play. According to Kohso, in this installation the body’s visual and acoustic perceptions are thrown into disarray in an anechoic (echoless) chamber. The notion of Donna Haraway’s cyborg which blurred the boundaries of nature and technology and human and machine, is integral to Mikami’s installation and presented clearly in Kohso’s discussion where she argues “neither the body nor the device nor the environment—is the main objective to be experienced...Rather, it produces and reveals the mechanisms of representation itself—how the representing subject and the perceiving subject are part of the techno-cultural productive machine”.

Verena Kuni’s article[10] examines old and new “mythologies” about the “artificial human” in terms of contemporary art and our current game culture. Her article draws on Haraway’s 'Cyborg Manifesto' to explore the contemporary manifestations of the cyborg. By contrasting recent examples of images in contemporary art which draw on posthuman or cyborg themes, such as Tina Porta’s Future Body and Stelarc’s Ping Body with images typical of the 1990s such as Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, Orlan’s Gendernauts and the Japanese “virtual pop starlet” Kyoko Date, she shows how these earlier images tended to be projections of conventional perceptions of the human body into virtual space. She argues that with the advent of new technologies as well as developments in the “means of communication through media” the works of artists such as Porta and Stelarc for example have challenged the boundaries of self-creation and created a whole new range of possibilities for “monsters” in “virtual space”. What was particularly interesting about this article was the way it seemed that only recent technologies have enabled theoretical notions of the cyborg or cybernetics as transgressing gender and other subjective boundaries to proliferate.

The broad range of theoretical and interactive articles chosen here was deliberate. The explorations of Waldby, Hayles and Kunru provide a framework to explore the contemporary images presented in Kohso and Kuni’s discussions. Using these texts I would argue that the notion of subjectivity and the body is integral to Frankenstein and The Visible Human Project. At the same time the use of digital technologies is a necessary part of any discussion of this kind.

[1] Catherine Waldby, Zoe Sofoulis, 'The instruments of life : Frankenstein and cyberculture; Cyberquake : Haraway's manifesto', In: Prefiguring cyberculture : an intellectual history [2002].

[2] Ingrid Hoof’s 'Cyborg Manifesto 2.0' provides further discussion of “dystopian” and “utopian” discourses, http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/theory/hoofd/discussi/dystopia.html, accessed 23/8/2006.

[3] Donna Haraway, 'A Manifesto for cyborgs : science, technology and socialist feminism in the 1980s' In: The Haraway reader [2004].

[4] Margrit Shildrick, 'Posthumanism and the Monstrous Body', Body and Society, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1-15, March 1996.

[5] Katherine Hayles, Presentation for the Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, July 6-9 1997 'Prosthetic Rhetoric and the Posthuman Body' Liberal Subjectivity Imperiled: Norbert Wiener and Cybernetic Anxiety http://www.english.ucla.edu/faculty/hayles/Wiener.htm, accessed 20/8/2006.

[6] Hari Kunzru, 'futurism: cyborgs' http://www.harikunzru.com/hari/cyborg.htm [1997] accessed, 25/8/2006.

[7] Eugene Thacker, 'Lacerations : the visible human project, impossible anatomies, and the loss of corporeal comprehension' http://culturemachine.tees.ac.uk/Cmach/Backissues/j003/Articles/Thacker/Impossible.htm, accessed 20/8/2006.

[8] Catherine Waldby, 'The visible human project : an initial history' In: The visible human project : informatic bodies and posthuman medicine [2000]

[9] Sabu Kohso, 'On Seiko Mikami's "World, Membrane and the Dismembered Body"',
http://framework.v2.nl/archive/archive/node/text/default.xslt/nodenr-128166 [1998] accessed 23/8/2006.

[10] Verena Kuni, 'Mythical Bodies II Cyborg configurations as formations of (self-)creation in the imagination space of technological (re)production (II): The promises of monsters and posthuman anthropomorphisms'
http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/themes/cyborg_bodies/mythical_bodies_II/1/, accessed 23/8/2006

Visions of the future: Vision and spectacle in technological progress

2006-08-30T08:33:00.000+08:00

Technology has become ubiquitous within modern society. It, and its products, are everywhere. However, technology, though ubiquitous, is far from invisible. Technology is used in the production of spectacle, from art, to special effects, to sport. Technological products have begun to form the basis for trends in fashion and design. Yet at the same time, the technology that lies behind the production of visions and consumer goods remains largely invisible, and is becoming increasingly more so. In this essay, I shall attempt to show that, while technology is used to produce spectacle, the technology itself, and the power structures it represents and maintains, is increasingly sheeding its visibility and moving from the level of the macro- to the micro-scopic.

Fast Company. “Creating A Spectacle” Fast Company .com (June 2003) http://www.fastcompany.com/fast50_04/winners/aarts.html (Accessed: 19 August, 2006)
As one of the larger consumer electronics producers, Phillips has a guiding role in the future place of technology, particularly within the domestic sphere. As such, the Fast Company article provides an interesting and useful insight into the perception of technology by those who ostensibly have control over the production and design of it. Moreover, the article serves to confirm the thesis as presented in the introduction: that the products of technology are becoming increasingly, ubiquitously, visual, while at the same time, the technology itself is becoming increasingly less so.

Miah, Andy. “Be Very Afraid: Cyborg Athletes, Transhuman Ideals & Posthumanity.” Journal Of Evolution & Technology, Vol. 13 (October 2003) http://www.jetpress.org/volume13/miah.html (Accessed: 21 August, 2006)
Elite-level sport is a high-visibility arena. Miah’s article, then, with its assertion that “the degree of sophistication that sports equipment describes, alludes to technology that will become indistinguishable from the athlete’s body,” provides a more subtle basis for an argument for the naturalised invisibility of spectacular technology. Miah’s arguments allow a link between human identity and sport, between sport and technology, and thus (though Miah himself does not seem to pick up on it) between technology and both spectacle and naturalisation.

Aghajanian, Arthur. “Seduction by Any Means Necessary (?)” The Journal Of New Media & Culture, Vol. 1 (July 2002) http://www.ibiblio.org/nmediac/summer2002/seduction.html (Accessed: 15 August, 2006)
Similar to sport, art can be highly visual in nature. The role that technology plays in both the production and performance of art can thus be used to provide insight into the nature of both. While Aghajanian’s article is focussed primarily on the art that is produced, it also serves as an outline of the manner in which technology, while remaining largely un-noticed, can produce spectacle. What is particularly interesting about Aghajanian’s article is that he appears to use Baudrillard’s ideas of seduction and the hyper-real in an apparently contradictory manner: according to Aghajanian, technology, which is almost always a creature of the hyper-real, can function by seduction, something the hyper-real cannot. This might allow Baudrillard’s ideas to be exploited in the essay more fully, in that technology’s spectacular products may be simulacra, but the quest for invisible technology represents a form of seduction.

Wikipedia Nanotechnology (August 2006) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology (Accessed: 27 August, 2006)
While Wikipedia is often maligned as a reference source, and while the article itself is flagged as being questionable in some of the assertions that it makes, it provides a reasonable introduction to the field of nanotechnology: the science of the invisible small. More than this, however, the article also provides a number of summaries of possible roles for technology arising from investigation of the (practically) invisible. The use of the article, then, is that it demonstrates that there are practical reasons and uses for objects invisible to the naked eye, that find immense use in visible technological phenomena.

Regis, Ed. “The Incredible Shrinking Man” Wired 12.10 (October 2004) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/drexler.html (Accessed: 27 August, 2006)
From a more reputable source than the Wikipedia article, but confirming many of the same themes, the article from Wired has a two-fold function. Firstly, it demonstrates some of the spectacular nature of the production and inspiration of technology: the argument between Drexler and Smalley was public, fiery, and controversial. Secondly, the article deals briefly with the ‘grey goo’ fear, which is of note for the essay as a whole, because it is a fear that operates on a colour-centred, macroscopic level, despite the fact that it is theoretically dealing with largely invisible processes.

Waldby, Catherine. Revenants: The Visible Human Project and the Digital Uncanny (August 1996) http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/Uncanny.html (Accessed: 22 August 2006)
A discussion inspired by Waldby’s work would perhaps not be complete without a reference to her work, however this article does not fit fantastically with the over-arcing theme of the essay. What Waldby’s work is useful for, in this context, is as a commentary on, and a further demonstration of the way in which technology becomes capable of generating spectacle, and in modifying the visuality of the previously invisible. The Visible Human Project is, perhaps, one of the most clear-cut demonstrations of the way in which technology can be used in the creation of visual data. Moreover, this earlier article is much less concerned with contingent, or accidental facts (such as the first body suitable for the Visible Human Project being male), as a grounds for judgements than some of her later work.

Technology, or the modern scientific paradigm from which it develops, is moving towards the invisible in a quest to minimise energy expenditure, increase efficiency, and maximise flexibility. The design of technological products is also moving towards an inobtrusiveness, and a desire to not intrude on, or offend, conventional sensibilities. But at the same time, technology is increasingly becoming spectacular, in the sense that, while the technology itself is invisible, the results of the utilisation of that technology are becoming incorporated into highly visible and spectacular arenas of society. In a sense, the invisibility of technology is making it increasingly seductive, while at the same time the products of technology are proliferating endlessly.

Melanie's Webliography

2006-08-29T20:28:00.000+08:00

“From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.” Discuss critically.

I began to search for sources using Google Scholar, as I believed this would provide more relevant and specific results than using Google. Alternating the keywords “Frankenstein” and “Visible Human Project” with the phrase “what it means to be human” returned many articles, and I was able to find one of my sources through this method, but unfortunately, many of the other articles needed payment or registration to access them. I decided to continue my search using Google with the same keywords, and although some results returned were irrelevant, I was able to find other valuable sources.

Laura Fantone’s piece entitled “Cute Robots/Ugly Human Parts (A post-human aesthetics of care)¹” in The Aesthetics of Care publication was useful in introducing me to some of the issues regarding the topic. She examines the cultural effects of technology on the human body, and although some issues explored were not relevant to my essay question, I found some sections quite useful as they provided definitions for life and being human. Fantone focuses on Donna Haraway’s idea that life is information, and introduces the idea of the disembodiment of life. I found the exploration of this concept interesting, as by separating life or existence from the body, the body no longer places a restriction on the definition of being human. Unfortunately the discussion on this issue was quite short, but it did give me an introduction to this notion.

Another interesting article is “Artificial Intelligence, Real Issue²” by Neil Osterweil. It is shorter and easier to read, and discusses artificial intelligence and simulated life, and whether or not they can be considered human if they possess the basic characteristics that define what it is to be human – sentience, autonomy and the ability to make decisions. If yes, then the need for a physical human body would not be a restriction. The individuals interviewed however, do not believe that simulated life forms can essentially be human; of particular interest is the last section of the article in which importance is placed on human interaction and appearance. The problem with this article is that it may not be as reputable, as it focuses heavily on opinions and interviews and does not contain references. Nonetheless, the arguments raised were useful and provide key points for further exploration, and the interviewees themselves seem credible as they are PhD holders and lecturers at various universities.

For discussion on the Visible Human Project, I found “The Visible Human Project: Data into Flesh, Flesh into Data³” by Catherine Waldby to be useful as it elaborates on the idea of life and its separation from the body. In the article, life is conceptualised as an “abstract, elusive force⁴” that can be parted from the body. She also presents an interesting argument I have not seen before: the codification of the human body in the project permits the digital manipulation of the body, and since life is “informational code⁵”, this codification essentially means that life can also be biomedically simulated and manipulated. The only negative with this article is that it does contain a few unfamiliar terms and is quite lengthy, so it did take a while to digest.

I found the essay “Technology in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and William Gibson’s Neuromancer⁶” by Orlin Damyanov to be useful in its exploration on the effects of technology and science on human life. It links together both Frankenstein and Neuromancer in proposing society’s interest in creating and manipulating nature and life. In doing so, the essay also raises an interesting point regarding the dangers of technology, as it allows for the extreme transformation of the body and the environment, to “such extent that life itself is being transformed⁷”. As science progresses, the abilities to transform and enhance the human body become limitless, redefining life as the boundaries of nature are broken.

“‘It's Alive’ Frankenstein’s Monster and Modern Science⁸” by Tina Pamintuan continues the discussion of technology and the human body. It recognises the relationship between individuality and being human, and with the advent of cloning and genetic engineering, this relationship may well be changed. The drawback to this article is that the discussion on this issue is quite short, and the piece focused mainly on Shelley’s background (interesting, but not particularly useful).

I found it worthwhile to examine the ethical debate over science and the continued pursuit to transform and manipulate the human body, in particular, cloning and genetic research. In his article, “Cloning Of Wonders Wild & New⁹”, Charles R. Meyer presents both sides of the ethics argument regarding cloning. This technology could have endless research and therapeutic applications, however critics highlight the possibilities of adverse outcomes and the corruption of what is considered ‘natural’ when ‘playing God’. As biotechnology progresses, so does the ability to push the borders of what is natural and ‘human’, but it should be considered whether these changes are beneficial or harmful.

After reading through these sources, it appears that there is no definitive answer for what constitutes “human”, which I feel must be addressed in order to answer the question. If life can indeed be disembodied, could the possession of human-like characteristics (such as self-awareness, creativity, decision-making and reproductive abilities) classify a being as human, or is the human body necessary in this definition? Technology also has an important role in shaping this comprehension of “being human”; with technology comes the ability to modify and enhance the body. If what it means to be human relies on having a human body, then the constant advances in manipulation of the body must mean constant change in the understanding of what it is to be human. The capability to change the body is fraught with ethical concerns however; the possibility of ‘playing God’ can lead to adverse consequences that must be weighed against the benefits, which I feel should also be discussed.

References

¹Laura Fantone, “Cute Robots/Ugly Human Parts (A post-human aesthetics of care)”, The Aesthetics of Care (August 2002), pp. 18-28. http://www.tca.uwa.edu.au/publication/THE_AESTHETICS_OF_CARE.pdf (accessed 25 August 2006).
²Neil Osterweil, “Artificial Intelligence, Real Issue”, WebMD (September 2001).
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/11/1668_51243?z=1728_00000_1000_pl_02 (accessed 25 August 2006).
³Catherine Waldby, “The Visible Human Project: Data into Flesh, Flesh into Data”, (May 1996).
http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/wildbiol1.html (accessed 26 August 2006).
⁴ Waldby.
⁵ Waldby.
⁶ Orlin Damyanov, “Technology and its dangerous effects on nature and human life as perceived in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and William Gibson's Neuromancer”, (1996). http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5972/gibson.html (accessed 26 August 2006).
⁷ Damyanov.
⁸ Tina Pamintuan, “‘It's Alive’ Frankenstein’s Monster and Modern Science”, Humanities 23.5 (September 2002).
http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2002-09/itsalive.html (accessed 26 August 2006).
⁹ Charles R. Meyer, “Cloning Of Wonders Wild & New”, Minnesota Medical Association 82 (March 1999).
http://www.mmaonline.net/publications/MnMed1999/March/Meyer.cfm (accessed 27 August 2006).

Webliographitus

2006-08-17T16:40:00.000+08:00

Hi all,
Just wanted to clarify the requirements for your first assignment, the webliography.
Because this is a webliography, all components of the bibliography must be available online. This means that they should have a url that you can directly link to when you put your webliography on this weblog. This means that conventional academic journal articles that you access through JSTOR or Supersearch can generally NOT be used, because the user has to go through a process of authentification through the library. Don’t dismay, however, as there are many online academic journals, and e-books as well. The Faculty of Arts even has 2! Limina, and Outskirts (in which Tama published his paper on the Borg in Star Trek).
The point is for you to be research savvy online, and also to make that research accessible to everyone else reading the blog.
So, think about the forum in which you’re writing (a publicly available blog, and as an item for assessment), as well as the unit outcomes being assessed, namely:
Develop and expand critical research skills through a deepened understanding and familiarity with both online sources and conventional print sources Express research findings and ideas logically, coherently and convincingly in both oral and written forms, the latter in both print and digital formats Develop a critical, annotated Webliography. And don’t forget that you get to comment on 2 people’s Webliogs, and yours may well be commented on too – so make it engaging!
All the best!
Alison

Query, query, non-compulsory query

2006-08-17T12:19:00.000+08:00

I know it's included as a part of the final compulsory post, and we've supposedly covered it in the first tute, but there's a question that's bugging me at the moment: am I a cyborg? The problem I have is that, while it seems pretty straightforward a question, I'm not sure it makes all that much sense.

If we stick with Haraway's conception of the cyborg as some kind of liminal, boundary-transcending, chimeric, hybrid thing, then the cyborg doesn't actually have any identity. What I mean by this is that, if asked what a cyborg is, it's actually impossible to give any kind of definitional answer. It is possible to provide an almost infinitely long list of what a cyborg isn't, but that doesn't really tell you very much at all. The cyborg doesn't seem to fit well with a concept of self-identity, or a 'you.' Thus a question like "are you a cyborg?" seems to have a distinctly contradictory nature.

It could work on a different level as well. Even if you don't take the boundary transgression stuff to heart, and just work with a machine-human hybrid, then I'm curious about digital identity. In theory, the internet can allow you to re-create yourself in any identity that you want. But if you do that, then are you a cyborg? And if you do it more than once, or with different people, which of the 'you' that you present is a cyborg? Again, if a cyborg can consist of a multiplicity of identities, does a question like "are you a cyborg?" make sense? (Also, rephrasing it as "are we cyborg?" sounds pretty cool :P)

Any thoughts?

Anyway, it's early (I'm posting this well after I wrote it), and cold, and I am full of coffee, and have a custard donut and a stack of CDs to do something with. See people this afternoon.

Howdy

2006-08-17T11:44:00.000+08:00

Hi all :)! My first post is a little late as I couldn't go to the workshop.

My favourite websites for time-wasting would be jayisgames.com (flash games, hooray!) and craftster.org (for all things crafty).

I'm also a livejournal user but the new one I started is a bit dead at the moment, since I haven't posted too much on it :D.

Wired Self III Lecture Links

2006-08-16T12:41:00.000+08:00

Hello Self.Netizens. As I promised, I've put up a blog post with all the links I mentioned in today's lecture here: The Wired Self III: The Wired Everyday - Weblogs. There may be other posts of use/interest (or perhaps procrastination value) in my blog as well, so feel free to explore.

Happy blogging!

2001: A Blog Odessey

2006-08-15T14:13:00.000+08:00

Hello there,

Well this is all rather new and exciting for the less computer literate amoung us (that is, me)!
My favourite blog of the moment is acejayace.blogger.com it is a little quirky to say the least, but always entertaining.

hello class

2006-08-15T13:47:00.000+08:00

hello everyone
my favourite website is hotmail because I can send and receive pictures and messages from all over the world.

im on blogspot. yay

2006-08-15T13:16:00.000+08:00

hi self.net class of 06 and everyone else,
check out Newgrounds if you havent yet, its got lots of interesting things.
my fav flash productions are Salad Fingers and The Yu-Yu
i also like wiki-ing, try it here
Have a nice day everyone! xo

intrepid bloggers unite

2006-08-14T15:33:00.000+08:00

Hello folks in Thursday tutorial at 3pm. Nice to be in blog-town with you all. My favourite website is my friend Panda's blog as she is far more interesting than i am and has, on more than one occasion, posted photos/humorous anecdotes about me and my circle of friends, which makes for entertaining, if not slightly indulgent (or parochial), reading. her's was also the first blog i had ever seen/heard of, previous to which i had been living in a blogless vacuum.

Farming is a far cry from blogging

2006-08-14T15:30:00.000+08:00

Hi all!

I've been meaning to get on the blogging "bandwagon" for ages so i'm glad i've been forced to. One of my fave websites is futurefarmers.com. If you're anything like me ie. loves to procrastinate- you could be mesmerised for hours.

love Amy

My favourite website

2006-08-14T15:21:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone!

My favourite website is really boring. It's Hotmail and it's my favourite because it's where I can catch with friends who don't live in Australia.

Erika

all I heard was Elephant Tiglon Hippogriff Unicorn Ants

2006-08-14T13:26:00.000+08:00

Well, I suppose the honour of first post by a student goes to me. And of course I'm incredibly honoured that UWA timetabling left me free at 1 on a Monday. Anyone who wants to can check out my personal blog here. There's another reason for linking here, of course, and that's a discussion I tried to start here about what constitutes hard and soft sci-fi. Which may or may not be interesting to you.

Anyway, back to the actual point, I have a lot of favourite websites, but today I think I'll give comical links to XKCD and Dinosaur Comics

welcome

2006-08-10T21:10:00.000+08:00

This is the weblog for the Thursday 3pm tutorial for the UWA 2006 unit Self.net: identity in the digital age. If you're not doing the weblog workshop in the Mac Studio ensure you pick up a copy of the Blogging Guide anyway as it has listed all the required posts you need to make during this semester. It's available on WebCT or in the English corridor of the Arts building.
happy posting,
Alison