|
January 22, 2008
This quote on early career academic blogging amidst the rapid dissemination of digital technology in the first decade of the 21st century comes from some articles (not online) by Melissa Greg, and it is courtesy of Anne Galloway:
The participatory nature of writing, response and counter-argument on blogs allows for ongoing debate, critical refinement and thinking-in-process. In this sense, what is rarely acknowledged about blogging is how much it contributes to and mirrors traditional scholarly practice rather than threatening it. One of the main reasons graduate students have taken them up with such fervour is that blogs offer solidarity out of isolation, especially on long projects. They create the conditions for collegiality, brainstorming and frank, fast feedback while also generating and maintaining interest, enthusiasm and motivation. Even the best supervision in the most convivial university department cannot offer this kind of support on a regular basis. The persistence with which established academics condemn blogging as a distraction preventing graduate students from timely completion and participation in their desired career does a disservice to the many instances whereby blogs are utilized as a sophisticated research tool. It also wilfully ignores the wider economic and political circumstances making the potential for a tenured academic career increasingly unlikely for a new generation of graduates.
This is pretty much how I understand the situation. It blurs the blurs the easy distinction between ‘in’ and ‘outside’ the academy and the politics of this distinction. What is unclear from this summary is what the 'many instances whereby blogs are utilized as a sophisticated research tool actually means.
Does it refer to expressing discontent with their difficult situation in an increasingly corporate university system within a neo-liberal mode of governance? Does it refer to bringing their ideas and knowledge to bear on public issues? Does it refer to opening up the ideas circulating in the university system to the wider intellectual culture? The content of blogs being utilized as a sophisticated research tools by early career academics is unclear, given the recent shift from a mass-mediated public sphere to a networked public sphere and the formation of the digital humanities.
If, as Fredric Jameson claims, narrative is the fundamental cultural model for the 20th century, then networks and participatory culture define our current moment, and they bring with them a different set of themes, structures, practices and ideological constraints. Does this mean that critical scholarly argument is being let loose from the tight constraints of linearity, of the watchful eye of a single author intent on shaping meaning for their passive audience? If the data base (eg., Flickr, Wikipedia) is not coming to replace narrative (it is still there in films, novels computer games) then what is the relationship between the two?
|
Gary
you would have to add the derision of Facebook which overlooks the value of social networking that is based upon relationship-building skills.