HAM435: NETWORK LITERACIES

WEEK 2: Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word

By Walter J. Ong (1982)

This weeks reading by Walter J. Ong revolves around the concept of writing as a technology. Even though speech and writing are of the same language; Ong argues the artificiality of writing saying that its physical arrangement on paper is predetermined whereas oral speech is subconsciously formulated.

Oral speech he says is innate; developed through picking up on sounds and turning them into words and then sentences. Whereas writing is taught; beginning with the alphabet and sounding of letters, and then grammatically constructed into sentences.

Personally, I have never thought about writing as a form of technology before but upon reading Ong’s article I find myself in agreement with his theory. I like that he praises rather than criticises writing for its technological nature. He describes technology, quite beautifully, as “the reduction of dynamic sound to quiescent space, the separation of the word from the living present…”.

Ong also speaks of the consequences of the “interiorisation” of technology since its inception. The question then lies whether writing cease to be artificial once the rules of grammar have been committed to the subconscious.

As for orality, a person’s literary skills are constantly developing, especially as an outcome of social construction. A child still has to learn to speak a particular language, the same way they have to learn to write in a particular script. Oral skills must still be refined and cultivated to possess meaning. This for me, poses the argument as to whether orality would then be considered artificial. Ironically, in today’s world, artificiality is seemingly considered natural to human beings.

 

WEEK 3: The Electronic Labyrinth

By Christopher Keep, Tim McLaughlin and Robin Parmar

This week’s reading, ‘The Electronic Labyrinth,’ is constructed in the form of a hyperbook. It took me a few moments to realise that it wasn’t an error page but rather an explorative one. I started of by going through each of the main links on the index page. It was really hard trying not to miss any of the main links and therefore any vital information, whilst also trying not to go too far off the desired path by clicking into every external link. Although its layout was seemingly like that of a paper-book (I.e. introduction, context, timeline etc.), it wasn’t as easy to read it cover to cover like you would a paper-book. I think that this particular website would benefit from structuring its website so that it has a better order and flow to it readers.

　

WEEK 4: What is an Electronic Author?

By Richard Grusin

Grusin’s article, “What is an electronic author? Theory and Technological Fallacy,” explores the discussion around electronic writing and the impact that new technology has on the notion of authorship. He quotes, from Foucault’s essay, that “[we] can easily imagine a culture where discourse would circulate without any need for an author.”

It not so much the “death of the author,” says Grusin, but with online technologies becoming increasingly popular, more avenues are created for information to be circulated without one.

An example. in light on Grusin’s concern about the agency of electronic technologies affecting change in cultural practice, is Wikipedia. A collaborative site that provides a vast amount of information on almost anything and everything; it lacks academic credibility as it allows its contributing source(s) to be open to the general public. This means that the information on can tend to be more opinionated that factual and in turn leads to the “failure of electronic writing technologies”.

Regardless of the concerns surrounding technological creditability, there is no doubt that technology has become a part of our everyday lives in one way or another from the classroom to the workplace. It is nearly impossible to try to screen and filter all of the information on the net, however, maybe the focus could be to improve those used for academic or work practices.

 

Week 5: “A Retrospective Sort Of Arrangement”: Ulysses and the Poetics of Hypertextuality

By Darren Tofts

In this week’s reading, Tofts argues the hypertextual nature of James Joyce’s Ulysses. By applying the poetics of hypertextuality to written material, Joyce has magnified the de-linearised nature of hypertext.

Toft’s argument continues “[hypertexts] actively foreground disjunctive structure, thematic multi-layering and machinic tendency to generate prodigious systems of meaning that are in excess of the sum of it parts” (not limited to electronic form).

The description “[the] collation and assemblage of the book as a book, in which the reader can turn to and fro,” can be applied to Week 3’s reading, The Electronic Labyrinth. However, unlike Week 3’s hypertext which was unstructured and hard to read, Ulysses’ nature as a physically bound book was more constant, allowing its reader to read cover to cover, as well as allowing them to sift back to previous pages.

Tofts retrospective analysis proves that hypertextuality is not restricted to the online medium alone, but extends to written texts as well.

　

Week 6: Rhetoric Thoughts

By Lisa Gye

This week’s reading by Lisa Gye was really engaging. The layout of the reading itself was quite different and unique with its scripted columns and entertaining graphics. I found this made for an easier read.

The debated topic covers Australian films and the Australian film industry. It is a topic that I have contemplated and had many a discussion about before.

I found myself in agreement with a lot the arguments Gye was making. One particular argument that I felt strongly about was “What’ the point of a national cinema if the nation actually isn’t interested in it…Australian films are failing to connect with audiences”. This is obvious when we watch TV on a daily basis. Almost every ad break there is a fancy trailer for a US/Hollywood film. When it comes to marketing Australian films, the trailers are scarce and at times I never even hear about them. “When was the last time you saw an Australian film marketed on Australian television for any length of time,“ says Lisa. Personally, I also feel that the trailers I do see for Australian films at time, I feel are a little mundane and disengaging.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. It was enlightening and engaging; and current to us.

　

Week 7: Colour as a visual signifier in screen typography: ‘less means more’

By Jan Baetens

This week’s article, by Jan Baetens, looks at the use of colours in on-screen/electronic writing.

Baetens explains that erroneous use or shade of colour can impact the meaning or context of the content. She argues that any form of electronic writing should focus on text over imagery, illustration or colour effect as it takes away from the effect of the presented text.

I found her argument a bit frustrating as even though there are some instances in which excessive use of colour makes on-screen reading a bit difficult, it is not the case in all on-screen reading. Also, a lot of authors use colour for effect or reflective purposes and when used effectively can add depth or substance to their text. So to generalise her argument to all forms of electronic writing makes it insubstantial and somewhat offensive. Overall, Baetens lack of open-mindedness did more to perplex than convince me of anything.

 

Week 8: Dada Redux: Elements of Dadaist Practice in Contemporary Electronic Literature

By Scott Rettberg

When I first started reading this article, I stopped and googled ‘What is the Dada movement in art?‘. The answer I got was as follows: Dada or ‘Dadaism’ is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland in the early 20th century. It is not seen as art but rather ‘anti-art’; i.e. a revolt against dominant contemporary ideology that expresses dissatisfaction.

This week’s reading by Scott Rettberg explores the notion of electronic writing/literature in light of this movement or Dadaism. I would possibly translate this to seeing ‘electronic literature’ as a type of ‘anti-literature’: an expression of dissatisfaction with existing, traditional literature (books). He explains the distribution of electronic literature through mailing lists as a show of this dissatisfaction against old-fashion literature which would usually be mailed via post.

I agree with Rettberg’s argument that many people see digital art for its novelty alone and that they fail to see the cultural context within with this type of art is produced. On a whole, I found Rettberg’s concepts really enlightening. They stimulated me to think objectively about things other than just electronic literature and art.

　

Week 9: Halflives: An Exposition on the creation of one hypertext

By Lisa Gye

‘Halflives’ was a website created by Lisa Gye. It gives us a historical insight into a generation of her family. It is comprised of a lot of images, text and hypertext/links. I found the site a bit overwhelming and slightly eerie at first because they were so much going on and no logical flow to it.

However, Lisa does say that “there is no order to the materials contained within it and their collection was brought through a process of ‘conduction’ rather than ‘deduction’ – that is the links are intuitively driven rather than being the end result of a process of reasoning”.

Overall, it was a fairly interesting site and a handy exercise is self-exploration through hypertexts, within the context of mythology and social history.

　

Week 10: Memory Machines

By Jose Van Dijck

In this weeks reading, Jose Van Dijck argues the concept of ‘mediated memories’: memories mediated through culture and technology. She gives the example of a shoebox in which she stores personal items of value to her; i.e. photos, letters, diaries, audio/video cassettes etc.

Van Dijck argues that these personal items play a significant role in the construction of collective identity as they allow us to hold onto and/or reproduce memories we perceive as valuable. She describes us all as being “active media recipients and producers”. One example of the modern day shoebox is ‘Facebook’. A social network within which we store digital photos. However, memories such as those of photos on Facebook are open to each individuals interpretation of the happenings at that particular event. Dijck poses the concern of a “post-modern technological culture” in which memory is only ever a re-creation, and “memory and media are intertwined beyond distinction”.

Dijck concludes with, “Our private shoeboxes are interesting in their own right, as stilled cultural acts and artefacts, teaching us more about the way we deploy media technologies to situate ourselves in contemporary and past cultures, and how we store and reshape our images of self, family and community in the course of living”. I found this essay deeply engaging.