Self.Net -- Monday 2pm Tutorial (Tama's Group)

The End of the Course as we know it...

2004-11-12T14:46:00.000+08:00

Okay, the major essays are all marked and can be collected from me in room G.07. I'll be in my office most of next week (Nov 15th - 19th), so please do come and pick your essays up.

Also, can I take this opportunity to thank you all: firstly, for your reflective posts which will be very useful in evaluating the course (and thanks for the kinds words about your tutor, too!); and, secondly, and most importantly, can I thank you all for your participation in the many facets of Self.Net. It has been a real pleasure running this course and being your tutor and participating in some fascinating conversations about all things digital which, I'm sure, will continue long after the course has faded in your memories!

I hope your increased critical awareness of digital culture serves you all well in the future, and with any luck I'll see a number of you in other courses, or doing Honours (since so many of you are writing at a level which would see you do very well in an honours program).

Byebye.

reflective post

2004-10-27T01:26:00.000+08:00

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This unit has been really different to what I expected it to be, which is great. I had thought that in a lot of ways it would expand upon the kinds of concepts and ideas that are mandatory in english/cultural studies units - only with a cool, techie-type bent to it. Obviously, no unit is an island unto itself and there are lots of ideas that follow on from other units but I think that self.net is unique nonetheless. It was refreshing to be involved in the types of ongoing popular debates and discourses surrounding the internet and technology – file sharing, pornography, culture jamming etc.

I think that the material - its familiarity to a lot of us, gives it a greater relevancy and immediacy, and a personal involvement which can’t be replicated in Victorian Ideologies or Reading Theory. It forced us, well - me at least - to engage with the technology in new ways and to acknowledge my own convoluted relationship to technology – raising important questions about life and reality and technology.

Reflective Post

2004-10-26T15:37:00.000+08:00

The use of weblogs was highly relevant, useful and appropriate to the course. It helped to further familiarise me with different aspects of the internet I had not previously been aware of. I thought it was useful in the fact that it allowed us to interact with the other students and also we were able to look at other people’s work, which helped me get an idea of how everybody else interpreted the course and its work. I’m am not an overly competent internet user and only really knew the basics but this course helped me to feel more confident about the internet. I also found the course to be unique and offer something different from the other english courses I have taken.

I found a lot of the topics to be really interesting such as the video games and gender and race online, although I am sure I will not be able to remember all the acronyms! It also made me realise that there is a lot more to the internet than just researching or chatting and was a good subject for ethnography. The course made apparent the place of communicative technologies in today and past societies and also how it reflects or reproduces dominant societal attitudes.

As for being a cyborg, I had not previously considered myself as one. However, after reading Haraway’s definition of a cyborg I suppose according to her I would be. I also feel that human interaction with technology is completely normal and natural whether it is just by simply using a mobile or relying on a pacemaker, it does not make us any less human.

In general, I constantly changed my mind about how I felt about the course. Originally I was rather confused and thought I needed far more knowledge about the internet to cope, however as the course progressed it did not seem as confusing as I first assumed. The course became really interesting and informative, and although at times of assessment of stressed out, the course was generally a good experience.

Self.Net Reflective Post

2004-10-25T07:39:00.000+08:00

The use of Weblogs in this coarse was highly beneficial and practical way of understanding online communication. From some one who did not know what Weblogs were before this course, I feel that I have learnt a completely new mode of communication and gained practical skills in computer mediated communication. I found weblogs were a good way to express views and opinions towards topics and issues raised by other people. What I liked best about the use of weblogs in this course was that it enabled everyone to have a say. Sometimes in Tutorials or workshops, people may not have the opportunity to express complete, in depth ideas and arguments due to the time constraint of 45 min. Weblogs however, provide a chance for people to take their time to either raise issues or ideas, or respond to information in their own time. I learnt a lot about the unit and its core topics through reading the boggs of other people. This helped to construct my own ideas and understanding of the overall unit.

Do I believe myself to be a cyborg? Well since I was oblivious to what a cyborg actually was before this unit, through the lectures, workshops and readings (especially Haraway) I do see my self as a cyborg to an extent. Today, technological developments and engagement with new forms of communication especially that of the electronic web makes it hard not to believe that we are cyborgs as the boundary between human and machines slowly intertwine. The fact that I wear contact lenses and glasses, and feel naked without my mobile phone positions me to believe myself to be a cyborg.

Overall, the course was productive and I learnt a lot about digital technologies and how they are related to issues of identity and embodiment. I found the workshops the best aspect of this unit, as they were a practical way of understanding how identity and embodiment is related to computer-mediated communication. Thanks Tama :)

Reflective Post

2004-10-24T16:20:00.000+08:00

I think that the use of weblogs in this course is relevant. It has thought us how to learn from one another by commenting on each other's work constructively. It was useful to know how other's felt about what you have written in order for improvement.
I think i would never think of myself as a cyborg although Haraway would definately see me as one. I rely a lot on technology and wear contact lens etc however it does not encompass who I am instead all these just assists me in my daily affairs.
This course was a good experience for me because i have learnt to see many issues in different points of view. Although there are some that i do not agree with but it has helped me expand my width of knowledge. Previously i had no knowledge or awareness of cyberculture,Muds and all the online stuff that has been going on but this course has enlightened me and this will definately be useful to me in future.

Reflection

2004-10-22T10:42:00.000+08:00

This course was quite a good one, the contemporary issues we studied, namely the internet, were quite interesting and useful in my other subjects. I really enjoyed the culture jamming lectures, they tied in really well with my American visual culture unit. I had studied the notion of ‘cyborgs’ before, and was already familiar with Haraway’s work so the perception of myself as a cyborg has not changed. Learning about MUDs, MOOs and blogs has, if anything, made me feel more isolated from technology, as it was all new to me. Instead of feeling reliant on technology, I feel like I’m being consumed by it. However, that’s probably only in relation to this course, as everyone seems so tech-savvy, whereas I’m probably pretty up-with-it comparative to other students. The best thing about this course, is the critical skills I needed to acquire in order to do the webliography. Previously, I felt as if the internet was a somewhat illegitimate source of research for essays, whereas now I use it a lot more and know how to filter through all the crap. Shame we had to post our webliographies though, mine was terrible. Happy with the course, I know the reader will come in handy over the next year in other studies.

Reflective post

2004-10-21T09:23:00.000+08:00

Use of weblogs
I thought the use of weblogs on this course was great - mainly because I think blogs are cool! I had never heard of a blog before this course so it has introduced me to a great resource and inspired me to get my own blog. It was really good to be able to actually practice something that we theorise about. I thought it was an effective tool for the tutorials, although it didnt really meet its full potential as far as interaction and online discussion goes. I guess that is our fault for only really doing the mandatory posts. But I think it would be interesting if everyone used it as a blog (ie. finding interesting links to share with other students) rather than just a place to post our work.

Cyborg
I guess I hadn't really thought about it before the start of this course but yes, I believe that I am a cyborg. The way I live is mediated by and inseparable from technology. I am totally comfortable with being a cyborg. I think we are living in exciting times!

General thoughts
hmmm... I really liked the course. I thought it linked in well with my other courses, particularly Communication Studies. I really enjoyed the multimedia aspects. Maybe this could be expanded to the essay too. It seems a bit of a shame to be handing in essays on paper when there is so much room for experimentation.

Thanks Tama!

Reflective post on SELF. NET

2004-10-20T13:23:00.000+08:00

I thought the Workshops and use of Blogger suited this unit and the themes and issues we were discussing. They allowed us to interact with some of the issues dicussed that might have been more difficult to get to grips with if we had not had the opportunity to explore them more hands on or interactively in the workshop and through the use of the tute blog.
I think the online workshops were great to, as they gave us individually a chance to explore and play around with the digital culture we were discussing.
Obviously having an element of online work might have presented problems for some students if they were not familiar or used to working from the internet to such an extent, but the little teaching workshops at the beginning of the semester I think were a great way to get everyone up to speed. I also think it is important to try something new and innovative, and Self.Net allowed the perfect opportunity. It is good to take people out of the traditional comfort zone of University style teaching, but also, on saying that, it is important to work out what new methods add to the learning experience and what subtracts from it.
It is important to have the tutorials were people can discuss face to face and present ideas, and also to have this blog through which people can further bring up points and create a sense of community within the unit if they wish.
I think the problem raised about the nature of the essays that seem to not particularily fit with the ideas being emphasized in the course could easily be overcome. I think it is important to still have the traditional essay style way of addressing issues etc as it might become too confronting to bring in other methods of assessment altogether. However, in terms of participation marks and using blogger and the workshops, there could be room for more interactive work through the net etc. Eg, the use of posting up the webliographies and commenting on others over the blog was a good way to bring old style methods of assessment and new ones together.
Cyborg? haha well judging from the conversation in the last tutorial I would probably have to say I was one. Considering I wear contact lenses for a lot of the time and would be blind without them I cant escape technology. Also yes, the mobile phone features largely in my life, as well as internet connections blah blah blah etc. Simply my mobile phone seems to have become an essential method of organisng day to day activities with friends eg meeting for lunch etc, and my use of my laptop and internet allows me to email people and talk to people in other parts of the world, eg friends who have gone overseas. So, as well as my body being constituted of technology such as contact lenses, my social interactions and indeed things considered essential for human happiness such as community and friendship seems to be increasingly mediated by technology. I guess at the beginning of the course I accepted myslef as a cyborg depending on the definition one might wish to follow, which is what I still do. I wouldnt go as far as to say I fit the qualifications of 7 of 9 or whatever her name is in Star Trek, but if technology keeps progressing the way it does and we continue to consume it and incorporate it into our everday lives such as we have done with mobile phones etc, it seems that we could well end up in a similar state.
The question I always ponder about is whether all this technology, vaccines etc and daily drugs that people take to increase vitamins levels and all other things, has made the human essentially kind of soft. I mean, if we were to place ourselves back in time and try to survive would we die out, cos I hardly think we could be considered the 'fittest' anymore cos we rely so much on technology. People who would of died out from weakness, and even things like eyesight problems would surely of been bred out before, but becasue of technology we can still live on and pass on our weakness to the next generation (yes I know this is an incredibly pessimistic view but I might as well raise it). I always think about the "war of the worlds" and how the aliens were simply defeated by the common cold...one day will we be like the aliens?
Anyway, THanks TAMA I thoroughly enjoyed the course...:) you can give yourself a chocolate bar

Reflection

2004-10-19T18:02:00.000+08:00

Weblogs?
Being relatively new to this type of programming and having never used the blogger software I found this aspect of the course useful for its practical component. Would have been great if we could have had a few more classes in the computer labs just to learn the special little tricks that usually take a long and frustrating time to uncover. The flexibility offered by posting up responses when we want (with in a relative time frame) and where we want too is a great component of this course.
Cyborg?
I'd have to say no but my definition of cyborg would probably exclude most people. I would tend to define a cyborg as a human/machine hybrid but allow that entity to then decide whether they were a cyborg or not, for example I wouldn't classify someone with a pace maker as a cyborg unless they specifically wanted to be. I find the cyborg identity and cyborg politics very useful, especially in providing a model for identity construction which allows for those who would otherwise fall between catergories. Infact cyborgs seem to do away with catergories altogether, this is a model of identity I base my own identity around. I do think that we, in the Western world at least are becoming very reliant on digital technologies, a relationship that others conclude marks us as cyborgs.
I found the course very interesting, it was good to be looking at contemprorary issues and technologies. The practical components ie. blogging and the workshops were also very useful. This course has also introduced me to a new range of theory's and theorists and has reworked some of the older ideas in new and interesting ways. The contemporary nature of this course also made the discussions especially over legal issues of digital technology such as downloading, access to porn, much more 'realistic' and real world, interesting as the course consisted of a lot of out of body rhetoric found when talking about the internet and digital technologies.

Post-final tutorial relection

2004-10-19T09:52:00.000+08:00

I liked the idea of using weblogs for academic learning. The medium was very relevant to the course and provided an excellent working example of the act and culture of blogging, which was probably quite beneficial to anyone who hadn’t come across it before. Its main success would be the immediacy of communication between the group members themselves and their tutors outside the scheduled tutorials and workshops. I found that reading other group member’s posts with their respective ideas on the same topic to be insightful, giving a broader view of how to interpret the same material.

Admittedly, before taking Self.Net, I would have said that I wasn’t a cyborg because my conception of it was based on sci-fi depictions and not a theoretical approach. Now, after exploring cyborg theory, particularly that of Haraway, I would definitely acknowledge thinking of myself as a cyborg, functioning in conjunction with intrinsic, environmental and sociological technology.

I really liked the topics looked at in the course because I’ve been interested in different aspects of internet culture (especially sub-cultural media) for a while and it was great to explore those with depth and place them in a historical context.

Playing Politics Workshop Response

2004-10-15T16:49:00.000+08:00

Both “September 12th” and “New York Defender” are particularly “effective” in communicating political issues due to their interactive approach. Interactive games seem far more engaging than print and are fun, thus appealing to a wider audience.
“September 12th” opens with the impressionable image of a crying civilian holding a dead baby. It is described as a “simple model you can use to explore some aspects of the war on terror” and the instructions inform the player that it “is not a game,” has no ending and there are no winners or losers; you can simply choose to shoot, or not. This immediately prompts the player to think about war in Iraq. “September 12th” sets the scene successfully through the style of the buildings and clothing etc, so the user is immediately aware that s/he is in the Middle East. It is a typical battle between the “goodies” and the “baddies,” but unlike most computer games, in “September 12th” the player takes on the role of the “baddy,” murdering innocent civilians. The evilness of your actions is made more apparent by the fact that you see them run to the victims and kneel down crying and you also hear them cry. The use of children and babies also highlights this idea of evil. This evokes a sense of guilt and sorrow in the player. However, the dead civilians turn into terrorists, so the more you kill, the more terrorists appear. This encourages the player to question both the consequences and the effectiveness of the war on terror in reality.
“New York Defender,” the player takes on the role of the US military, who is trying to protect the World Trade Center from terrorist attacks. Contrary to “September 12th,” although the player is still aiming to kill people, “New York Defender” is not structured in a way that would make the player feel guilty. However, the more planes you shoot down, the more planes arrive, which again questions the effectiveness of the war on terror in reality.

If I were to create a political simulation game, I would combine the approaches of both “September 12th” and “New York Defender.” I would set the scene so that America is one half of the screen – showing the New York CBD and yellow cabs or something similar – and Iraq the other, portraying a similar environment to that in “September 12th.” The game would be a war between the two countries and the player would take on the role of the American military, trying to shoot down terrorist planes heading for the World Trade Centre and bomb the terrorists in Iraq. It would be a far more complex game than either “September 12th” or “New York Defender” and I would use the sense of loss and anger evoked from terrorist attacks to encourage the player to make further attacks on Iraq. The player would also have the option to join forces with the UK and Australia and set up an operation to evacuate civilians from Iraq and wipe out all the terrorists.

Playing with Politics Workshop Response

2004-10-15T16:07:00.000+08:00

SEPTEMBER 12 and NEW YORK DEFENDER
The first game I played was September 12, which was effective in representing the
worthlessness of terrorism. I liked the way the instructions made clear “this is not a game but a simulation”. This positioned me to think more about the issues of terrorism from a realistic point of view as opposed to fantasy or game play. The crying sound effects were terrible, it made me want to stop shooting but what was really weird was that after the civilians stopped crying over the dead, they themselves turn into terrorists. No matter how hard I tried, I could not kill the terrorists without killing civilians as well. I was so upset when I accidentally killed the dog instead of the terrorist. This led to the assumption that violence just generates more violence. You therefore eventually stop shooting when you realize you are not getting any positive results from the shooting. The message was not immediately obvious in September 12, you had to play the for a few minutes before you realized you were not getting anywhere and that the more you kept shooting the more terrorists formed.

In New York Defender: This game used a foreign language for its instructions and prompts, therefore at first you didn’t know what to expect. But the message and the aim of the game were immediately obvious as soon as you started playing. It got to the point that you would try anything to try and save the twin towers but eventually you fail and they collapse which was disappointing and which led to the feeling of loss. As Clive Thompson (2002) points out, “Gaming within the context of 9-11 and the shadow of terrorism, one easily sympathizes with the defender's inability to protect the twin towers, or symbolically our society, which projects a tragic sense of powerlessness and hopelessness in confronting terrorism”. Therefore it was effective I communicating the main issue and message through this feeling of loss.
Both games were not fun to play, therefore mainly due to the player failing to succeed in the tasks. This positions them to think more about the issues behind the game and apply them to reality.

If I were to create a game similar to size and structure to these two, I would definitely use the issue of anti terrorism and the point that violence does not solve problems. I really liked the way both games were created so you lost and failed to succeed. This sense of loss positions the player to think ‘what’s the point of this (Terrorism) if you can’t win’. I would also use sound effects of people crying and suffering to get my message across of the pain that terrorism causes to innocent people. Personally, I found this one of the most effective ways of communicating these political issues. As for structure and layout I would try and make it as realistic as possible which would engage the player into the game in a realistic way that would enable a clearer insight into these issues of terrorism and the negative effect it has. Overall I think using simulation gaming to deliver serious political issues is very cleaver and successful. It targets those who don’t usually have an interest in political issues, to interact and recognise them in a way that they feel comfortable.

Playing Politics Workshop Response

2004-10-15T13:54:00.000+08:00

September 12th and Kabul Kaboom

1.I found the use of the game structure as a means of critiquing the current political climate very effective. I think that they would work well in communicating to generations that have been brought up playing computer games. However, I wonder whether many people would know of their existence or where to find them. In this way I feel that their capacity is limited to certain groups who have a particular interest in this field.

2.The clever use of graphics and text in both games made the political intent of each quite clear. Sept 12th immediately challenges the definitive outcome of certain computer games through asserting ‘This is not a game. You can not win and you can’t lose.’ Whilst the messages of each game seemed quite clear I was still interested in finding out more about them. Through doing this I became aware of some of the intricacies, or not so intricate elements, used that I was unaware of. I actually had not realised in Sept 12th that the dead civilians turned into terrorists. Through reading about Kabul Kaboom I was able to ascertain the double significance of the hamburgers and the context of the mother image.

3.a.) I would construct a game that comments on treatment of Australian female politicians by the media. Reflecting upon the way that media unfairly places greater pressure on female politicians through scrutinising appearance, sexuality and their lives outside of politics.
b.) There would be a group of female politicians to choose from – Sheryl Kernot, Carmen Lawrence, Browyn Bishop, Natasha Stott-Despoja. In the same vain as Kabul Kaboom each politician would dodge bad press particular to that person whilst trying to receive public support in the form of voting ballots. None of the characters would receive enough support in comparison to the bad press and would be imprisoned by a particular media construction. The politician would then be dumped into a rubbish bin to signify her rejection by the general populace and push into obscurity.

Playing Politics Workshop Response

2004-10-14T17:21:00.000+08:00

I think the games would have been ‘effective’ in communicating with people via the internet in the sense that they are constructed in a way that invites engagement with the political issues they raise. Without high scores, levels of achievement or an ability to ‘win’ the game both September 12^th and New York Defender subvert players understanding of game play, and ‘precludes the development of a useful technique for progression’(Lee). The games design draws players into ‘a cognitive interaction’ with ‘the games puzzling design’(Lee), leading the player to consider the purpose and message of the game.

By using images seared into the public consciousness by mass media coverage of the September 11^th attacks, New York Defender powerfully invokes the public debate that has been generated since concerning terrorism - the players inability to stop the towers falling gives a clear message about the incapacity of governments to create security through fighting terrorists.

Similarly, September 12^th has an obvious message, however, I think the more you ‘play’ with the simulation the more you can draw from it. The first point you see is that violence creates more violence, however, it also seems to simulate and comment on the mechanics of terrorism – the futility of declaring war on something that cannot be isolated or definitely located, it points to the humanity of terrorists by highlighting the processes of anger and grief that lead to terrorism.

Although it possibly lacks the emotive force and global relevance of violence and terrorism, I think a point that could possibly be effectively explored through a video game would be: that the lack of broad community support and commitment to independent, affordable higher education is enabling the Liberal government to steadily erode the public university system.

I think a simplistic way of presenting this struggle would be a tug-o-war. A ‘rabble’ of students and academics on one side versus the federal minister for education, the prime minister and an anonymous collection of menacing men in suits representing "the private sector". I like the idea of setting the battle in a recognizable university campus environment, with students wondering around in the background. The player would try and help the students by clicking on them giving them ‘energy boosts’. The struggle would steadily favour the government - accelerating as students drop from the back of the rope and don corporate apparel and mobile phones. As students drop off and the government gains the advantage the university setting would slowly transform into a shopping mall or commercial centre of some sort. If I was going to be completely ham-fisted about it I would also use ‘health-o-meters’ measuring things like – youthful optimism, faith in the democratic process, desire to learn etc.

Online Response to Donkey Kong and New York Defender

2004-10-14T11:45:00.000+08:00

1. Do you think the political simulation games you examined would have been "effective" in communicating with people via the Internet?

To be effective in communicating, people have to know about the existence of these games. I think that as online games, as a political tool is something that is relatively new, there should be more done to publicise them, to make the general public aware that political participation can be fun. This is great way of targeting the generation who grew up with Nintento games and allowing them to become politically aware in an environment with which they are familiar. I don’t think people need to be made any more aware of the events of September 11th, and as

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)?

I found the political message immediately obvious in “Donkey John”, as I had no idea how to play the game without reading the instructions. I imagine that had a Nintendo familiar person (who didn’t need to read the instructions) come across this game, it could be played without the political message coming across. The political message (if any) of New York Defender was less clear. I wondered if maybe it was trying to show that defending the two towers was really quite easy when you get the hang of it (as I soon found) or if it was just an attempt to allow western players to get their own back (even if it is only virtually) on the terrorists. It didn’t occur to me (until I read the additional material) that this was to show that attempts to defend against terror are futile. I assumed that if I kept playing the game, I could eventually win.

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 like to make a point about the increase in university fees, and how unfair it is on students unable to support themselves while studying.
b) I’d make a Nintendo style game, where a student avatar must negotiate a course studded with assignments and exams to avoid while collecting money from an evil employer (who is difficult to get to on the course). If not enough money is collected when the avatar hits a point at which he/she must pay for books or rent, the player looses. I’d make the game hard enough to be challenging, but also possible to succeed in, the aim to get to the end of the course with a completed degree.

Politics of Playing - Workshop Response

2004-10-13T18:36:00.000+08:00

The games I played were “September 12” and “Donkey John”.

I feel that the games would be able to reach a wide audience via the Internet. ‘September 12’ has a good interface with commendable graphics. ‘Donkey John’ is a parody of the popular Nintendo game “Donkey Kong”, and that aspect could attract people familiar with the original game. The gameplay is simple and the interface done up well enough to get people to give it a try. I think the use of games manages to reach groups that may not find reports or news articles interesting enough to spend five minutes on, but might spend a couple of minutes on an online game. However, the clarity of the message might not be as easy to grasp straight into the game.

For ‘September 12’, I entered the game firing away. I was not expecting a missile to be launched (was expecting some sort of sniper fire), and the sight of a dead terrorist surrounded by innocent victims drove the point home. I did not observe the civilian-terrorist transition during the game, so the entire message did not hit me till I read the press release. However, the instructions provided together with my game experience got me thinking and even without the workshop, I would have attempted to find out more about the “story” behind the game.

For ‘Donkey John’, not much is told at the start, except for basic instructions. I did not realise the full message except that there was oil involved. The little Australia outline should have tipped me off, but I was too busy dodging oil barrels). The message was not immediately obvious to me, but the more attentive might figure out who Donkey John is modelled after. I was quite curious to find out more about the background to the game and why my guy had to dodge barrels thrown by a mutated figure. The designer quite cleverly added the link in the edited button on the Game & Watch picture/interface.

My idea for a game would be to highlight the issue of Bush’s search for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq. I would design a game where your character would storm locations with troops in search of WMD. At each location you must break through a barrier where Iraqi soldiers are stationed, thus both Iraqi and US soldiers and innocent civilians suffer casualties. At each location, no WMD are found and you go home to find oil prices are so high you cannot afford to use your car. The final page shows a tabulation of WMD found (zero) and human casualties.

Playing Politics Workshop Response

2004-10-13T11:08:00.000+08:00

In response to 'September 12th' and 'New York Defender'.

Question One
There are two aspects to the effectiveness of these online games when communicating over the Internet. One is a question of who would play the games. I did a quick search on google of "september 11 game politics" to see how readily they would come up in a search. 'Newsgaming' came up within the first few listings. But I think most people would probably find the game by word of mouth. So blogs are probably a key place for disseminating this kind of political critique online. I would normally ask if the games may end up being played by those who are already liberal-minded. But Tama assures me that in the US there are just as many conservative bloggers. So Id say they probably got quite a few hits from people on all sides of politics (and worldwide).
Secondly, I believe that the formats of these political messages make them very effecttive. The newsgaming press release states that political games are "a 21st century equivalent to traditional printed political cartoons: short, controversial satirical pieces that convey biased ideological messages". However, I think that the potential of video games moves beyond the political cartoon because of the interactive element. When playing 'September 12th' I had to get over the intital horror of the role I was expected to take in order to get the message. Viewing the video game as a model or simulation, I detached myself from the horror in order to experiment - to find out what would happen if I aimed at a 'terrorist' or a civilian or a building or even a dog. The game did not allow me to coldly experiment without being reminded of the horror of my actions, as the civilians scream and cry. Only by repeatedly overcoming this sick feeling in my stomach did I discover that my violent actions were generating more terrorists. In the capacity of reader, viewer or audience it is easy to detach yourself. Afterall, this is happening somewhere far away. But when you become implicated in the politics of the situation it is quite disturbing - very effective. This is also true of 'New York Defender'. The guilty and inevitable sense of loss that this game provokes is very effective in making the player think. Even if the player only thinks "why did I lose?" or "its not fair, you can't win", the game has effectively passed on its message.

Question Two
I thought the messages were conveyed pretty effectively, especially the longer you played. But they created such an impression that Im sure I would have looked for more context, or even just more games of a similar nature. Ill definitely tell my friends about them! I think that, even if people dont actively seek for more information or context, they will approach related issues in their everyday life from a different angle. I know that they will have a lasting impression on me that will persist when I come to think about related issues.

Question Three
This is hard! I think I would probably do something about the extremely dissapointing result of the federal election. I think its important to focus on local events sometimes because its too easy to critique things going on in other countries. There would probably be an element of Howard-bashing... But seriously, I think I would try to incorporate some culture jamming - use their own politics and campaigns against them. As for the interactive element... maybe the player would be Howard and their goal would be to use as many low tactics as possible to destroy principles and key institutions such as health and education. Maybe, the more principles you destroy, the more decayed society becomes... I dont know, not feeling very creative today!

Political simulation games

2004-10-12T18:10:00.000+08:00

I attempted to play Sept 12th and Kabul Kaboom.

1) Yes, I thought both games were effective; they are both visually appealing (although the themes aren't), Kabul Kaboom has a 'retro' appeal with its early 80's design features. Both games are also short and sharp or to the point, neither would take up a lot of space if you wanted to download the game and send it to friends. Each games instructions give away enough hints to any possible players to flag to them the satirical nature of the game. These two games especially will have a 'quirky' appeal as they are the first mainstream, easily accessible political simulated games.

2) The underlying political message for me was that bought up in Shuen-Shing Lee's article which looks at how both Kabul Kaboom and Sept 12th challenge the "binary win-lose logic of games", I would extend this idea to show the absurdity of the win-lose binary in the two tragedies of human suffering caused by humans portrayed in the games, nobody really wins and everybody loses. One would only have to ask the family of an American soldier killed in Iraq, or the family of a dead Iraqi.
I must admit I have extremely limited technical capability when it comes to game playing not to mention a very limited attention span. However I could still appreciate the satirical and tragic message that both games impart. Although I was limited by my skills (or lack of) I found browsing and reading the games host websites fulfilled my epistemological quest as to what should have occurred had my skill level allowed.

3a) My political simulation game would attempt to portray how much the media influence the public by what they include and what they exclude. I would ignore subtleties of media influence to try and get my message across to a broader audience.
b) I would design a 'game' where the player by performing basic photoshop style functions on a political leader of their choice putting that person in various amusing places and positions. I would have to be aware of the people in questions feelings and possible access to good lawyers. I would also have plausible copies of the front pages of various national and state newspapers, the idea being that the player makes the front page of the newspaper by manipulating an image and adding a caption or a short article. Hopefully the ease with which this is achievable will open the players eyes to the ease with which our 'news' is manipulated as well as allowing to have fun and be creative.

Politics of Playing- Political Simulation Games

2004-10-12T17:19:00.000+08:00

1) When looking at September 12, New York Defender and Kabul Kaboom, the idea of communicating a political message through interactive games would seem to be an ‘effective’ way of drawing people into relating to the message being conveyed. Interactivity is far more appealing than long pages of political protest, and would appeal to a wider audience. That said however, ‘games’ do appeal and invite a certain user or audience. And for the game to be completely successful in imparting an effective response in the user, he/she must be familiar with the use of standard computer games or have grown up with an understanding of their enjoyment and value. To reach a wider audience maybe an interactive flash movie would have been more appropriate as more mature audiences eg, say 40 and above, or those not interested in games, would have found more enjoyment. That said, these political simulation games, unlike any short flash film, offer a larger amount of user empathy and connection, and draws the player into the plight, connecting them on a more emotional level in such a short time. Eg, in New York Defender, the player is implicitly connected to say the plight of providing defense for American civilians, (eg taking on the role of say the military, CIA etc) in having to quickly detect the threat of incoming airplanes, and responding fast enough to shoot them. This however is a hopeless plight as the game suggests as, as fast as the player shoots, the number of planes will increase. The affect of having a game player feel a sense of inadequacy as defending his/her goal, has a much stronger affect in a shorted time on a personal level, than simply watching a flash movie. And in September 12 and Kabul Kaboom, the user can identify with more abstract political ideas and can be placed in positions more foreign and difficult to connect respectively.
2) I think the political message in all three of the games mentioned was immediately easy to recognise as soon as you play the game or finish playing the game. I think the notion of ‘I lose, therefore I think’, is incredibly strong, as in a game where you cant possibly win you tend to think, why the hell did anyone make a game like this? Because, naturally people associate games with entertainment, and connect them with the idea that they are meant to generate a sense of achievement, part of playing and enjoying it is being able to say, “Hey finally I killed Andariel with ice bolts after dieing 50 times!!”. Or alternatively, thinking about even the basic level of gameplay, say “Snake” on any mobile phone, people always want to get the high score, or ask what your highest score is. However, people would be far less amused saying to each other, “Hey did you play that game where you can’t win? How badly did you lose?”. Basically, in all three of these political games there is a low if not non existent level of enjoyment with the gameplay. You play September 12 and enjoy watching the cute little people walking around their city, and then as soon as you shoot the terrorist you think, “bollocks, hang on, more of them have been created then I killed!!” plus it is impossible to kill the terrorist even when you think they have walked to the edge and there aren’t any “nice” people around them. Almost instantaneously with your first interaction with the game, you feel a sense of failure and futile effort in trying to actually attempt what the game has told you to do. The goal seems non existent and reward even less so. Any user or player of computer games would immediately recognise and question the idea of this game, and even anyone not familiar with game play would pick up the political message.
3) I have absolutely no idea of a political game, I don’t have that much imagination lol. However, from looking at examples of political simulation games I would say the most effective way of creating one would be: a) have your idea create an interesting environment in which to play, eg, like in September 12 it was very cute, similar to Theme Hospital, because you would want to generate the idea that this game is for fun, and entertainment (even though it isn’t!!). b) I would be inclined not to mention in the instructions that there is no way to win the game, just to make the sense of defeat and futileness kick a bit harder because people would think they could win, after all, people think they can win a war. c) game play should be testing some kind of skill of the user, eg speed, accuracy, however no matter how fast how quick etc, the inbuilt nature of the game should increase exponentially to make achievement impossible. d) user should either fail simply by not completing the desired interaction that should cause a win state, or should have their interaction lead to increase negative effect instead of positive, e) finally, if the game either times out, or the player loses, a negative message should be written or some remark that reflects the political statement being made, instead of a traditional “Bad luck try again, or Congratulations”. Then at the end of the game, you could have a message saying it is impossible to win in a game such as “insert political action here=eg War, Terrorism etc”

I do think however, that Political Simulation Games would achieve a stronger impact on viewers/users associated with traditional gameplay, and who are looking for the standard notions of achievement etc that a game normally embodies. For someone who has no expectation of being able to win, or seeing it as a test of skill, the effect would be far less, although it would still be present on some level. Obviously because the nature of these Political Simulation Games rely on the already existing expectations of gameplay in order to make their point.

Playing Politics Workshop Response

2004-10-12T13:07:00.000+08:00

The benefit of the internet in opposition to print or television is the necessary interactivity. This allows for the political message to be more explicit and individually directed. September 12 is particularly poignant in that it subverts the conventional trope of good versus evil in traditional gaming. Instead of adopting the role of the heroic protagonist, you are made the murderous American fighter. The crying from the civilians evokes feelings of guilt, however the game is such that there is no way of playing morally. The benefit of using the internet in communicating this political message is that, as a participant, you question the motivations and consequences of this war. As a citizen of a country involved in the “Coalition of the Willing”, there is a definite uneasiness and discomfort in firing missiles at innocent civilians. You don’t want to fire the missiles but there is no other way of playing the game. When the mourning civilians morph into militants, it really does question the real life consequence of the War in Iraq. This kind of political message would not be as effective if in print or television, as it is the interactivity that simulates the experience and conjurers stronger feelings of guilt, remorse and empathy. The Kabul Kaboom simulation is equally as distressing, as it too has the inevitability of tragedy and loss. The point of view is different in this game as you are now trying to save the innocent civilian from the enemy American bombs. The general print and television political message of the war in Afghanistan was that the Taliban was to blame for September 11; hence the bomb raids were justified, and that the US military were trying to limit civilian casualties, as well as assisting them by dropping food and supplies for them. Kabul Kaboom explodes this trope, graphically illustrating the inevitable doom this moral contradiction of dropping food and bombs brings. The empathy experienced while fighting the futile battle of trying to avoid the bombs is exclusive to the interactivity of the internet, and unmatchable through other media.

The political message underpinning September 12 was immediately obvious through the clear graphics and sound effects. However it was only on playing it for longer to see if there was any end point that I realised that the crying civilians became militants. This adds another layer of meaning to the political message of the simulation. It took many tries at Kabul Kaboom before I realised that the political message was bound up in the inevitability of failure.

My political simulation game would follow a “Simon Says” concept, where you would have to mimic exactly what you were seeing. There would be a legend on the side of the interface with things like, left arrow = throw bomb, space bar = don’t sign Kyoto Protocol, apple key = mispronounce word, shift key = steal oil from underdeveloped countries and so on. You would play John Howard and you would be copying a series of key commands by George W. Bush. They would get increasingly more complex, but you would receive rewards like free-trade agreements, and if you did really well you might even get a mention in Bush’s presidential speeches about the “Coalition of the Willing”.

My tute pres comment

2004-10-11T18:45:00.000+08:00

I am having problem with my computer and the comment link so I have to do my comments as new posts.

Firstly, I’ll just summarise a few aspects that I thought were positive about how the presentation went before I get more critical. In terms of actually presenting it, it was ok and I’m glad I didn’t get to nervous. I also liked the topic I got to present on and thought the article was really interesting.

I found that the idea of sexuality representation in games, although interesting, did not really seem relevant to the lecture or tutorial discussion, or less important than other issues since we didn’t discuss sexuality in much depth at all. Perhaps I should’ve have focused more on the relationship between the player and character, and ‘real life’ and ‘virtual life’, but the issue of gender and sexuality seemed more appealing.

I also found the article really difficult to summarise in 100-300 words since she raised many issues that I thought were worth consideration. In relation to how the summary fitted into the tutorial discussion, I don’t really think it did since my focus on sexuality wasn’t a major discussion point although it did lead to comments on Tomb Raider.

The points I made after reading my summary out also didn’t have the affect I intended as I hoped rather than just simply pointing them out, that they would generate more discussion.

As We Become Machines

2004-10-11T13:57:00.000+08:00

Martti Lahti ‘As We Become Machines: corporealized pleasures in video games’

Martti Lahti’s article argues that video games link players to entertainment technology in what is a ‘new cyborgian relationship’ which attempts to erase the boundary between the virtual and the real. She sees video games as a unique ‘paradigmatic site for producing, imaging and testing different kinds of relations between the body and technology in contemporary culture.’ She contends that far from being ‘meatless’ is ‘games actually anchor our experience and subjectivity firmly in the body or in an ambiguous boundary between the body and technology.’(p.158)

Lahti’s argument is comprised of two distinct assertions. The first centres on the aspiration of gaming technology to ‘erase the boundary separating the player from the game world’(p.159). The sense of physical immersion created by advances such as 3D graphics, rumble packs, pedals and wheels and the use of techniques such as first person point of view - fuses the players perspective with that of the games character, and creates the impression of a ‘limitless space opening behind the screen.’(p.161) ‘The monitor guides us into (a perceptual and corporeal) interaction with the computer and, as a technologized form of vision, it becomes a component and extension of the body; it replaces our body, or rather it extends its capacities, and becomes both a representation and a source of bodily experience, thus creating a hybrid condition resonant with the cyborg.’ p.164

At the same time that games encourage a merger of perspectives and subjectivities with the onscreen world, Lahti argues that video games simultaneously invite players to take pleasure in the visual representation of avatars onscreen. This pleasure comes from both the spectacularization of the representation of self onscreen – the ability to control and construct the body we desire– and the ability to ‘try on’ different bodies – to ‘trespass or toy with racial and sexual boundaries.’ ‘Games however, impose clear restrictions on our potential desire to toy with different bodies.’
‘we are lured into a supermarket of bodies and body-parts from which the player’s representative, her virtual self can be created and customized. Unhinged from contexts of social inequalities, the body is here aestheticized as variety itself, turning it into a mutable fashion statement, an adaptable task-orientated instrument, or a toy with which we can play.’ p.166 a ‘ready-to-be-invaded vessel of the other’ which carries with it none of the real life social inequities.

Tutorial presentation

2004-10-10T19:21:00.000+08:00

Mia Consalvo’s article “Hot Dates and Fairy Tale Romances: Studying sexuality in Video games,” looks at how video games can encourage or challenge hegemonic ideas regarding gender and sexuality. She specifically critiques and contrasts Final Fantasy IX (FF9) and The Sims and also argues that different theoretical approaches can lead to different interpretations of video games.

In relation to FF9, Consalvo discusses how heterosexual romance themes such as fairy-tale endings and love conquers all, works to normalise heterosexual relationships. “Heterosexuality is shown as natural and preferable with marriage being the logical conclusion to the romance,” (p. 176). Consalvo claims that the assumed male player is also positioned to identify with the male, heterosexual main character. This is problematic as it overlooks the possibility that the player could be female or homosexual. Consalvo critiques the theory of ‘the erotic triangle’, which proposes that any non-sexual, affectionate feelings present between the male player and male main character are controlled by diverting these (unacceptable) feelings towards a female character. This reasserts societal attitudes which view homosexuality as taboo to ensure that heterosexuality remains normal and privileged.

Cosalvo then goes on to look at how The Sims promotes and challenges sexuality and gender ideals through limitations on the extent to which the player can actually construct the characters. Whilst Consalvo argues that The Sims does allow a certain level of sexuality exploration, this is restricted. For example, gay characters are not permitted to marry which reflects dominant societal values towards gay marriages. There are also limited body types and gender is expected to strictly adhere to biological sex. Consalvo applies the idea of the ‘gay window’ to The Sims, which can be defined as something that is “…designed somewhat ambiguously to appeal to both straight and gay [audiences].” (p. 187)

Consalvo maintains that videogames work to encourage acceptable attitudes toward sexuality and her ideas make us consider the socialising relationship between digital technologies and society. The different theories she considers also show that these games are open to many interpretations.

Look Everyone A MUD!!!

2004-10-10T14:37:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone, since we were talking about MUD's last week and didnt think there are many left, here is one that you might like to look at.
I used to play on it when I was in school cos I am/was a great fan of Terry Pratchett's novels.
I have no idea how it is still going now, having only found it again the other day...anyway, take a look :)
Enjoy..
Discworld MUD

CyberLife's Creatures- Playing Games Simulating Worlds

2004-10-10T13:56:00.000+08:00

Games are constructed with real life imitation. Technology, as it has become more advanced has led to more advanced versions of artificial life and its simulations of the real world in computer games.

Sarah Kember explores the nature of computer games, most specifically Cyberlife’s "Creatures", as well as "SimLife" and "SimCity" etc and notes their relation with reality, science and culture.

Her article explores the ways in which these simple computer games have been developed and been used by consumers, as well as a reflection on the nature of the game play involved.

It becomes apparent when reading her article that the genre of computer games Kember cites, draws on a particular aspect of game play. These games are not the macho shoot-em-ups seen today like the popular ‘Halo’ or the strategy games such as ‘Command and Conquer’, instead each one seemingly reflects on a more mundane aspect of human life and existence, such as the running of a city, management of environment, evolution, and even in the case of "Creatures"… small fluffy animals.

The ‘real world’ as such, has been transformed into a simulation that we can master within the square box of our computer. Within our computer, ‘virtual’ communities of animals, civilisations, species, gene pools etc are generated that we can manipulate (to a certain extent!). What Kember notes is interesting however, is how science, the idea of evolution, ‘life’, AI, biochemistry, has been taken over by the computer engineer, who now builds, gene by gene, element by element, a ‘living creature’.

As well as communities being created within the structure of these games, they also allow for users to create societies and communities through the internet. Kember notes that these communities, specifically that of "Creatures" indicates how the line between producer and consumer is becoming increasingly blurred as users of the computer game, with the right technical skill, have a free range and often help from the producers, to create new adaptations to the game and manipulate it. This can be seen by viewing the new release of the “creatures docking Station” http://www.gamewaredevelopment.co.uk/creatures_index.php and http://www.cyberlife-research.com/. Similar things can be seen through new developments from the “Sim” games, including the new "SimCity" game and "The Sims" http://www.maxis.com/ and http://thesims2.ea.com/community/

Naturally of course, as it becomes easier and easier to manipulate the game to ones own ends, questions arise, especially such as those concerning ‘artificial life’ such as “Creatures”, about the treatment and moral actions of many of the games players. Kember notes the activity of the player Antinorn and his creation of a website, where he displays his tortured and abused Norns and writes of how to torture Norns, spurring a myriad of abuse from other players and a number of ethical debates. Most interestingly in a mirror of real life the creation of the SPCN (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Norns) *think of the RSPCA*.

It is interesting to consider the nature of Norns and their relationship with the player, it is far greater than the player/character relationship expressed by Mia in her article, as these Norns, as well as requiring the effort of constant care, are also autonomous ‘living’ creatures.

Furthermore, in terms of thinking about the environment and artificial (mirror) worlds created in the Sim games, Kember notes the educational benefits and learning possibilities these worlds offer. Yet we must also consider how the game positions the player/user, and the limits of their manipulations of the game…

“…imaginative or conscious autonomous agents pass through an object or instrumental stage to become microcosms of human- like cultures and societies in which human agents invest anthropological, psychological or sociological concerns. In other words, they become mirror worlds offering novel opportunities for narcissism.” Kember (CyberLife’s Creatues p109)

postmodernism

2004-10-07T17:55:00.000+08:00

if anyone is interested in taking a look at a really funny comment on postmodernism, i found this great website by accident the other day. Every time you open it you get a randomly generated postmodernist essay of intelligent sounding jargon. Great concept and a very well executed program too.

Tutorial Response on Rheingold's piece

2004-10-06T10:44:00.000+08:00

I should have generated more discussion on the cultural, political, ethical and commercial implications of virtual communities, rather than focusing so much on identity and the convergence of virtual life with real life. I should also have briefly covered the history of CMC (computer -mediated communications) and talked about Rheingold's views on the future of virtual communities.

Tutorial Presentation: Virtuality And It's Discontents: Searching for Community in cyberspace

2004-10-03T23:28:00.000+08:00

Turkle discusses how cyberspace is used to complete people's need for communities. She explains the smooth transition to computers and virtual worlds by pointing out our embrace of simulations in our culture. Turkle brings up the question of whether it is sensible to think that computers will help reverse the social atomisation we experience today.Turkle points out that virtual and real experiences need not compete, with each providing different advantages. However, there are difficulties since virtuality can distort the experience of the real. They can make artificial experiences seem real, more compelling than the real deal, and even lead us to feel that we achieved more within that virtual experience than we truly have. She raises the question of how to get the best of both virtuality and real life.With the spread of the Internet, the online virtual communities of MUDs provide a virtual social mobility to young people facing problems in real life. While in real life, they might face job and economic instability,MUDs provide them with the opportunity to build the life they want in a virtual world. They feel more themselves in the virtual world than they do in the real world. The story of MUDers that Turkle writes of points to the issuesof the political and social dimension of virtual community.The issue of rules governing cyberspace are discussed in connection with sex and violence. While some might dismiss such incidents since they consist ofonly words, a community based entirely on communication may not take it solightly. Violent virtual acts such as rape and murder raises the question ofaccountability for such actions of virtual personalities. Now, there have been examples of the establishment of rights and responsibilities of virtualselves. There has been a movement towards the creation of utopian communities in cyberspace.
Finally, Turkle states that instead of virtual communities as a place of resistance to everyday life, it may not inspire people to demand more.Virtual environments can be used for constructive purposes but rather than solving real problems, people seem to be investing themselves in unreal places. This culture of simulation leads to the fear that authenticity is lost. Rather than thinking of cyberspace as a substitution of life on screen for life in the real world, we could try to make virtual and real life more complementary.

Week 10- Online Communities: Julian Dibbell

2004-10-02T19:07:00.000+08:00

"A Rape in Cyberspace: Or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards and a cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society"

Julian Dibbell’s narration of the 1992 "Bungle Affair" highlights the problem of ‘virtual rape’ and as such complexities of regulating online communities. LambdaMOO, the Multi User Domain – Object Orientated, gives users the capacity to create new identities and spaces to inhabit and interact with a diverse group of people. However as indicated in the "Bungle Affair" the space of freedom of expression and friendly interaction was easily disrupted by online sexual abuse.

The ‘virtual rape’ in LambdaMOO occured with the manipulation of characters through words on the screen and the imagery envisaged by the members of the online community. Describing himself as a "fat, oleaginous, Bisquick- faced clown dressed in cum- stained harlequin garb and girdled with a mistletoe - and – hemlock belt whose buckle "KISS ME UDER THIS BITCH!", "Mr Bungle" immediately portrays himself as a menacing figure(p.200). By using a subprogram, "voodoo doll", he is able to attribute actions to other characters that their users did not actually write and subsequently legba and Starsinger are subject to unwanted sexual acts.

Dibbell’s analysis of the reactions of the victims and members of the community reflect the complexities of on line-off line experiences and the civic nature of an online community. Whilst legba and Starsinger were not harmed physically legba’s tears whilst arguing for Mr Bungle’s punishment indicates the emotional harm caused by the event. Dibbel also suggests that her statement to the group defied expectations from the real life and virtual reality actions. He writes ‘ its mingling of murderous rage and eyeball-rolling annoyance, was a curious amalgam that neither the RL nor the VR facts alone can quite account for"( p203).This response can be seen to support the fluidity of online and offline identities.

The implementation of petitions, ballots and the subsequent ‘booting’ mechanisms indicate the need for regulation of online communities, similar to that of RL systems. In saying this it is important to note the indifference felt towards Dr Jest by the community as Mr Bungle’s ‘ punishment had been no more or less symbolic than his crime’ ( p.211).
With my own knowledge on MUDs limited to what I have learnt in this unit I will be interested in accessing the success of online communities through other people’s experiences.

2004-10-02T18:55:00.000+08:00

English 252 Tutorial Presentation
Howard Rheingold: “The Virtual Community”

Rheingold’s article draws upon his experiences in the WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) to discuss the cultural, political, ethical and commercial implications of virtual communities and to encourage his readers to make use of virtual communities, before “big power and big money … find a way to control access” to them.

He begins by revealing how one can build friendships with complete strangers via a computer screen and even claims that you can fall in love in cyberspace. Yet he describes visiting WELL as being “audience, performer and scriptwriter … in an ongoing improvisation.” This implies that when entering virtual communities, your ‘friends,’ like you, are acting, perhaps taking on contrasting personas and assuming completely different identities. So how ‘real’ these relationships and events actually are is vastly debatable, especially since one can “pretend they are someone else” in cyberspace. How effective, therefore, would “conduct[ing] a meeting” or “publish[ing] a novel” be? Would it not be more effective to conduct such practices in real life?

The article explores the history of CMC (computer-mediated communications) technology and Rheingold applies his findings to suggest the future of virtual communities. He informs us of how individuals have used CMC technologies to suit their own, specific communication needs and build their own virtual communities, which are growing sub-cultures. He proposes that the Net and virtual communities, including WELL, are converging and that, like other CMC services, such communities may in the future be controlled by commercial powerholders.

Rheingold also talks about the strangeness of meeting his WELL friends for the first time; meeting these people he had “never seen before,” yet knew so much about and who knew so much about him. His article suggests that he now attends regular WELL parties and meets up with people from all over the world, who he has got to know through virtual communities. This not only indicates the convergence of virtual communities, but also the convergence of virtual life with real life, which is a particularly valid and interesting concept in relation to the future of Western society.

response

2004-10-02T14:49:00.000+08:00

Hi Tama,
I was wondering whether we can respond to any of the tute presentations that have been posted or whether we have to do it during the week that it is presented/posted.
Helen

Critical Annotated Webliography

2004-09-10T09:02:00.000+08:00

My Guiding Question: “From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, technological ‘progress’ has always forced society to re-evaluate the meaning of ‘life’.” Discuss critically.

Technological influences on the human body challenge the ability to define the boundary between nature and technology and forces society’s views on the meaning of ‘life’ to alter. With this in mind, I would question the meaning of ‘life’ from different viewpoints and discuss how it has changed over time, comparing organic human life with technological ‘life’. I would study how and to what extent this has resulted from technological progress, utilizing the examples of Frankenstein and the Visible Human Project (VHP).
Having read Catherine Waldby’s articles[i], which discuss different technological issues and the way they are forcing us to re-evaluate the meaning of the ‘body’ and ‘life’, I began a Google search, using key words and phrases, such as “Visible Human Project,” “Frankenstein,” “meaning of life,” and “technology.” Although certain sites were inappropriate, I still found many sites that I thought would contain useful information for the assignment, including these six that each take different approaches to the ideas of technology and ‘life’:

First Online Source
This essay[ii] is an extremely broad, in-depth study of how technological development “changes the life forms of human beings[iii]” and how it affects our perceptions of the meaning of life, which, of course, would prove extremely useful material for the assignment. Van Brakel proclaims that the effects of technology on human life forms and the meaning of life today is greatly exaggerated, which could establish an interesting point of argument in the assignment. He proposes that our life form and our meaning of life are only altered when we are actually in cyborghia, as “traditional dichotomies disappear[iv]” and objects, bodies and spaces do not have value in themselves, but are “components or subsystems of larger systems[v]”. This is an idea I had not previously thought of, but would prompt a significant discussion on the human life form and the meaning of human life in cyborghia for the assignment.

Second Online Source
Stuart Murray’s essay[vi] is very clearly written and discusses issues covered in Catherine Waldby’s research on the VHP[vii], which would be very useful for the assignment. Murray proposes that while Waldby successfully outlines the history of visual medical technologies, her work raises the following questions: “What fresh challenges do recent medical technologies raise for a consideration of human subjectivity[viii]?” and “Do these technologies in some manner refigure the human, throwing open anew “the location of subjectivity and embodiment[ix]”[x]”. In the assignment, it would be interesting to reflect upon these questions in relation to Waldby’s research.
Murray points out that just as technological processes such as the VHP have destabilized the boundary between “the organic and the machinic, between the actual and the virtual, between genesis and what Waldby calls “Technogenesis[xi]”[xii]”, they have also destabilized the line between life and death, which raises questions about the moment of death, life preservation by life-support systems and indefinite life preservation in silico. These ideas could prompt a significant discussion in the assignment.

Third Online Source
Bruce Charlton’s essay[xiii] is a detailed exploration of human intelligence and the meaning of ‘life’. It shows great insight and introduces different ways of thinking about the meaning of ‘life’, which would provide useful ideas for discussion throughout the assignment. Charlton proposes that human intelligence is substantially social intelligence, which could, in the assignment, be used to back up the idea that artificial intelligence has no concept of social understanding, unlike humans. This would illustrate another difference between human intelligence and artificial intelligence, thus strengthening the boundary between the two.
Charlton puts forth that sexuality, reproduction and emotions are deeply embedded in the meaning of human ‘life’ and, again, are not really experienced by artificial intelligence. He suggests that because artificial intelligence is purely technological, it should not affect the way we interpret the meaning of ‘life,’ which could make an interesting point of debate in the assignment.

Fourth Online Source
This piece[xiv] questions the meaning of ‘life’ and discusses how technology, biotechnology in particular, “forces us to consider life and the unknowns of life[xv].” This material could provide a good starting point for the introduction and could, again, be used throughout the assignment. Nielson talks about developing a concept that explains humanity, society and the meaning of life when looking at technology; a concept she refers to as “deep life[xvi]”, which is an interesting idea and could provide a good reference point in the assignment.
Nielson’s piece interestingly conveys the meaning of life as something that provides meaning for the individual, rather than society in general, a concept I had not previously given much thought. It would be useful to take on this angle of looking at the meaning of life in the assignment. Like Charlton’s essay, this piece also discloses that emotion is infused into the meaning of life, which, Nielson adds, “can be reformulated as one’s own emotional state or scientific understanding evolves[xvii]”. This latter idea, to a degree, sums up the topic of the assignment and could provide a useful quotation for the conclusion.

Fifth Online Source
In this essay, Richard Eckersley values the meaning of life as being “a crucial aspect of human well-being[xviii]” and looks at how the way society views the meaning of life has changed with technological advancement. His exploration into the history of the meaning of life would be very useful in helping to demonstrate how the meaning of life has changed. He suggests that the meaning of life is an individual matter, rather than a social given. Unlike Anne Nielson, however, he perceives this in a negative light, as we are no longer as influenced by family ties, morals and religion, and have created the “empty self[xix]” who is obsessed with technology, speed and consumerism. The contrasting views on the meaning of life and the way it is influenced by technology could provoke an interesting debate in the assignment.

Sixth Online Source
Clive Redman’s piece[xx] outlines the difficulty in defining the boundary between humans and machines, which would make a very good introductory point for the assignment. Redman focuses on the concept of artificial intelligence, comparing human intelligence with technological intelligence, with particular emphasis on robots. He reflects on both human life and robotic life and proposes that roboticists “are increasingly looking at biological systems for inspiration[xxi]”. He concludes that while robots are physically and intellectually based on humans, they are restricted by homeostasis. Robots would therefore be unable to maintain a functional state in a changing environment. This indicates that unlike human lives, a robot’s life is pre-programmed and restricted to certain functions and conditions. He asserts that robotic life will probably be restricted in such ways for years to come, so until that time, human life is unlikely to be dramatically affected by it. This, in turn, could construct an argument that the meaning of ‘life’ will not be greatly altered by artificial intelligence until robotic life can adapt to changing environments. For the above reasons, Redman’s ideas on human life and artificial life would be of great significance and interest throughout the assignment. I would, however, have liked Redman to further explore the meaning of human ‘life’ before comparing it with robotic life.

[i] Catherine Waldby, “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History,” in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000, pp.1-19 and Catherine Waldby, “The Instruments of Life: Frankenstein and Cyberculture.” Prefiguring Cybercultures: An Intellectual History. Eds Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson and Alessio Cavalaro. Sydney: Power Publications, 2002, pp.28-37.

[ii] J. Van Brakel, “Telematic Life Forms,” University of Louvain, 1999. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v4_n3html/VANBRAKE.html (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[iii] J. Van Brakel, “Telematic Life Forms,” University of Louvain, 1999. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v4_n3html/VANBRAKE.html (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[iv] J. Van Brakel, “Telematic Life Forms,” University of Louvain, 1999. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v4_n3html/VANBRAKE.html (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[v] J. Van Brakel, “Telematic Life Forms,” University of Louvain, 1999. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v4_n3html/VANBRAKE.html (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[vi] Stuart J. Murray, “The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine” (Waldby, Catherine. New York and London: Routledge, 2000). http://www.reconstruction.ws/021/revVisibleHP.htm (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[vii] Catherine Waldby, “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History” in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000, p1-18.

[viii] Stuart J. Murray, “The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine” (Waldby, Catherine. New York and London: Routledge, 2000). http://www.reconstruction.ws/021/revVisibleHP.htm (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[ix] Catherine Waldby, “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History” in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000, p1-18.

[x] Stuart J. Murray, “The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine” (Waldby, Catherine. New York and London: Routledge, 2000). http://www.reconstruction.ws/021/revVisibleHP.htm (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[xi] Catherine Waldby, “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History” in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000, p1-18.

[xii] Stuart J. Murray, “The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine” (Waldby, Catherine. New York and London: Routledge, 2000). http://www.reconstruction.ws/021/revVisibleHP.htm (Assessed 17 August 2004)

[xiii] Bruce Charlton, “What is the meaning of life? Animism, generalised anthropomorphism and social intelligence,” Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 2004.
http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/meaning-of-life.html (Assessed 20 August 2004).

[xiv] Anne Skare Nielson, “Life as the unknown factor,” Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, Copenhagen, May 2001.
http://www.cifs.dk/scripts/artikel.asp?id=348&lng=2 (Assessed 26 August 2004)

[xv] Anne Skare Nielson, “Life as the unknown factor,” Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, Copenhagen, May 2001.
http://www.cifs.dk/scripts/artikel.asp?id=348&lng=2 (Assessed 26 August 2004)

[xvi] Anne Skare Nielson, “Life as the unknown factor,” Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, Copenhagen, May 2001.
http://www.cifs.dk/scripts/artikel.asp?id=348&lng=2 (Assessed 26 August 2004)

[xvii] Anne Skare Nielson, “Life as the unknown factor,” Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, Copenhagen, May 2001.
http://www.cifs.dk/scripts/artikel.asp?id=348&lng=2 (Assessed 26 August 2004)

[xviii] Richard Eckersley, “What’s it all about?” The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 2000, Spectrum section, p.4; We have know-how, we need know-why, The Age, 3 June 2000, News Extra, p.2. http://nceph.anu.edu.au/Staff_Students/Staff_pdf_papers/Richard_Eckersley_papers/Richard_E_SMH-Age_meaning.pdf (Assessed 18 August 2004)
[xix] Richard Eckersley, “What’s it all about?” The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 2000, Spectrum section, p.4; We have know-how, we need know-why, The Age, 3 June 2000, News Extra, p.2. http://nceph.anu.edu.au/Staff_Students/Staff_pdf_papers/Richard_Eckersley_papers/Richard_E_SMH-Age_meaning.pdf (Assessed 18 August 2004)

[xx] Clive Redman. “Artificial Intelligence,” The Open University, UK, 2004.
http://tscp.open.ac.uk/t184/html/lesson1/artificalintelligence.htm (Assessed 20 August 2004).

[xxi] Clive Redman. “Artificial Intelligence,” The Open University, UK, 2004.
http://tscp.open.ac.uk/t184/html/lesson1/artificalintelligence.htm (Assessed 20 August 2004).

Bibliography

Charlton, Bruce. “What is the meaning of life? Animism, generalised anthropomorphism and social intelligence,” Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 2004.
http://www.hedweb.com/bgcharlton/meaning-of-life.html (Assessed 20 August 2004).

Eckersley, Richard. “What’s it all about?” The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 2000, Spectrum section, p.4; We have know-how, we need know-why, The Age, 3 June 2000, News Extra, p.2. http://nceph.anu.edu.au/Staff_Students/Staff_pdf_papers/Richard_Eckersley_papers/Richard_E_SMH-Age_meaning.pdf (Assessed 18 August 2004)

Murray, Stuart J. “The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine” (Waldby, Catherine. New York and London: Routledge, 2000). http://www.reconstruction.ws/021/revVisibleHP.htm (Assessed 17 August 2004)

Nielson, Anne Skare. “Life as the unknown factor,” Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, Copenhagen, May 2001.
http://www.cifs.dk/scripts/artikel.asp?id=348&lng=2 (Assessed 26 August 2004)

Redman, Clive. “Artificial Intelligence,” The Open University, UK, 2004.
http://tscp.open.ac.uk/t184/html/lesson1/artificalintelligence.htm (Assessed 20 August 2004).

Van Brakel, J.“Telematic Life Forms,” University of Louvain, 1999. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v4_n3html/VANBRAKE.html (Assessed 17 August 2004)

Waldby, Catherine. “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History,” in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000, pp.1-19.

Waldby, Catherine. “The Instruments of Life: Frankenstein and Cyberculture.” Prefiguring Cybercultures: An Intellectual History. Eds Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson and Alessio Cavalaro. Sydney: Power Publications, 2002, pp.28-37.

Trouble with commenting on blogged posts

2004-09-08T22:58:00.000+08:00

I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced any problems or whether it might just be my home computer, but I can't see any comments that I have posted to any blogs, including the response I had posted earlier this week to my own tutorial presentation post. They submitted fine, but there is always "0 comments" showing where there should be at least "1". Should I try posting on the UWA computers instead? Would it make a difference?

Update (7:30am, 9/9/04) Tama: Apologies from myself on behalf of the folks at Blogger. Their publication server died early on Wednesday our time and took a while (about a day) to get fixed. Everything that was posted during this time is now live on this blog, and I've been reassured this sort of outage is extremely unlikely to happen again.

Webliography q.3

2004-09-07T13:56:00.000+08:00

Critically assess the ways in which constructions of identity have been extended and/or altered by information and communication technologies.

The academic debate centering around this new means of identity construction is predominantly concerned with the possibilities and limitations of the medium – the extent to which digital environments liberate individuals from the body and its markers of identity, the ways in which online environments mimic ‘real-life’ inequalities, the impact on conception of the self of multiplicity and anonymity. Most of the literature uses the online forum of Multi –User Domains (MUDs), chat rooms or news group as the basis for examining representations of the self in virtual environments. Earlier works focus on predominantly text-based sites and relate the constraints this form places upon communication and expression, whereas later works deal with the implications of graphically rendered forums and the consequences of designing embodiment in onscreen avatars. Starting from works cited in articles in the course reader and sources such as The Video Game Theory Reader[1], I searched databases linked to from the library to try and locate online versions of journal articles. By following trails of links from online journals such as Postmodern Culture[2], I scanned references and bibliographies to identify authors and sources that gave relevant and diverse views of the impacts of communicative technology on identity. I attempted to cite online resources that, in combination with print sources such as The Video Game Theory Reader, Life on the Screen[3], The Second Media Age, The Digital Dialectic[4], and Cybertypes[5], would provide a broad view of the discourse surrounding identity construction and representation in online and virtual environments over the past decade.

Sherry Turkle has been extremely influential on the way that the representation of self onscreen and its implications for identity have been theorized. Her seminal work Life on the Screen[6] attempted to articulate the ways in which the internet and onscreen identities were encouraging people to think of identity in terms of multiplicity and flexibility.[7] In ‘Constructions and Reconstructions’[8] Turkle outlines the unique, postmodern qualities of onscreen representation which alter the ways in which identity is conceptualized – the ability to construct oneself through one’s own textual description, enabling us to compose and edit the identity that we broadcast, the relative anonymity of virtual identities, and the ability to create and explore multiple aspects of self in parallel.
Turkle sees the virtual environments of these early MUDs as the embodiment of the postmodern – where the ‘self is not only decentred but multiplied without limit’[9] – where new social and psychological worlds are being developed, where technology is an ‘evocative object’ for thinking about community.[10] Turkle sees MUDs as a medium which highlights the problem with conceptualizing identity as unitary by presenting limitless possibility for multiplicity and fluidity. She also emphasizes the ability of identity fluidity to enable conversations about gender and community – the culture of virtual reality underscoring the ways in which we ‘construct gender and the self, the ways in which we become what we play, argue about, and build.’[11]

'Postmodern Virtualities' is a chapter taken from Mark Poster’s The Second Media Age[12], which describes the potential for social transformation in the dissemination of internet technology. This second media age will[has] redefined the conception of identity – constituting ‘subjects in a postmodern pattern’[13] - fluid, diffuse identity achievable via the communicative and interactive capacity of the internet.
Poster sees the internet as an opportunity to communicate with others without the ‘social baggage that divides and alienates’, a vision of ‘cheap, flexible, readily available, quick’ technology enabling an ‘explosion of narrativity’ – the postmodern environment replacing the meta-narratives of modernity with ‘little narratives’ that validate difference. Poster focuses on the question of the forms of cultural articulation that are promoted and encouraged in virtual spaces, and lobbies for the construction of a medium in which essentialism and foundationalism are eschewed, and identity constitution can take place in opposition to restricting systematic inequalities, hierarchies and asymmetries.

Judith Donath’s article ‘Identity and Deception’[14] is an analysis of the opportunities for manipulation and deception presented by the anonymity of online identity. Though the focus of the argument is predominantly on the exploitation of anonymity, the article provides a detailed description of the processes of identity communication and how these function in text-based online environments. Donath describes the body as a ‘compelling and convenient definition of identity’, without which the basic cues of identity are absent, and identity becomes ambiguous. Donath outlines the new signals and signifiers of identity being adapted both to decipher and establish identity online. In this same way Peter Giese in ‘Self without body’[15] outlines the challenges and possibilities posed by disembodied, text based online environments, and the necessitation of borrowing, reinventing and reconfiguring symbolic traditions to construct and broadcast identity.

‘Under the rainbow flag’ is an article describing the articulation of gay, lesbian bi-sexual and transgender (GLBT) identities on the internet, and the emergence of a global gay culture. The web provides a space wherein meanings and identity are constructed and reconstructed – a space which Heinz, Gu and Zender argue has been embraced as liberatory by global gay communities. The article contends that the possibilities for expression of alternative sexual identities has been greatly extended by the safe, anonymous environment of global gay interactive web sites. A ‘global queer space’[16] has been constructed which maintains language and national differences, whilst supporting joint symbols and meanings, activism campaigns and news. Interactivity and the ability to overcome geographical isolation to communicate with others with similar sexual orientations provides a way to overcome loneliness, to organize transnational support and political advocacy, and to offset the hegemony of English-speaking, white, heterosexual hegemony.

Beth Kolko’s article ‘Representing bodies’[17] is concerned with the extension of MUDs beyond text-based interfaces and into graphical virtual realities, where avatars give user identities a visual, physical presence in cyberspace. Kolko rejects utopian visions of the ‘disappearing body’ in cyberspace or fluid ‘mediated’ communication, free of the constraints of social mores of everyday life. Kolko contends that social constraints are evident in virtual environments in the presence of gender, of economic status, education level - that there is a link between language and the body. Kolko sees the evolution of visual representations as a product of users desire to communicate driving technological advancement. It is in the forms that these design developments take on, that the possibilities for communication of gender and identity are dictated.

The range of sources available on the topic of what could be called 'new media studies' is daunting and draws on a diverse range of academic disciplines. In looking at identity and its mediation through digital technology, articles come from computer science, 'internet studies', from psychology, cultural studies, anthropology etc. locating articles which fit within the particular parameters of the type of argument you are attempting to construct can be difficult and time consuming. I've attempted to find articles which I think are representative of the variety of discourses which surround the impact of communications and information technology on identity construction.

References:

Donath, J. ‘Identity and deception in the virtual community’ prepared for Kollack P. & Smith M. (eds.) Communities in Cyberspace, 1996. available at: http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html [accessed 24th August 2004]

Giese, M ‘Self without body: textual self-representation in an electronic community’ First Monday, Iss. 3 no. 4 (1998) available at: www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_4/giese/#author [accessed 24th August 2004]

Heinz, B., Gu, L., Zender, R. ‘Under the rainbow flag: webbing global gay identities’ International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2/3(2002) pp107-124, available at: http://www.kluweronline.com/issn/1566-1768/contents [accessed 24th August 2004].

Kolko, B. ‘Representing Bodies in Virtual Space: The Rhetoric of Avatar Design’ The Information Society, Vol.15 No. 3 (1999), pp177-186. available at: http://weblinks1.epnet.com/externalframe.asp?tb=1&_ua=bo+B%5F+shn+1+db+bshjnh+bt+ID++1HQ+1F03&_ug=sid+10F0A4C2%2D86DA%2D4F7A%2DB071%2D5B4524903D85%40sessionmgr2+dbs+bsh+81A7&_us=dstb+ES+ri+KAAACBZD00080230+fcl+Aut+sm+ES+sl+%2D1+or+Date+D60F&_uh=btn+N+6C9C&_uso=st%5B0+%2DJN++%22Information++Society%22++and++DT++19990701+tg%5B0+%2D+db%5B0+%2Dbsh+op%5B0+%2D+hd+False+0E14&fi=bsh_2223838_AN&lpdf=true&pdfs=1.1MB&bk=H&tn=7&tp=CAP&es=cs%5Fclient%2Easp%3FT%3DP%26P%3DAN%26K%3D2223838%26rn%3D4%26db%3Dbsh%26is%3D019722 [accessed 27th August 2004]

Poster, M. ‘Postmodern virtualities’ in The Second Media Age, New York: Blackwell, 1995. available at: www.humanities.uci.edu/mposter/writings/internet.html [accessed 19th August 2004]

Turkle, S. ‘Constructions and reconstructions of self in virtual reality: playing in the MUDs’ Mind, Culture and Activity, Vol. 11 No. 3 (1994) available at http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/constructions.html [accessed 20th August 2004]

Turkle, S. Life on the Screen: identity in the age of the Internet, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

Turkle, S. ‘Cyberspace and Identity’ Contemporary Sociology, Vol.28, No. 6 (Nov. 1999), pp 643–648, available at: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0094-3061%28199911%2928%3A6%3C643%3ACAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E [accessed 20th August 2004].

Wolf, M. & Perron, B. (eds.) The Video Game Theory Reader, New York: Routledge, 2003.
[1] Mark J.P Wolf & Bernard Perron (eds.) The Video Game Theory Reader (New York: Routledge, 2003)
[2] Postmodern Culture, available at: www.muse.uq.edu.au/journals/pmc/readings.html [accessed 12th August 2004]
[3] Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen: identity in the age of the Internet (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995).
[4] Peter Lunenfeld (ed.) The Digital Dialectic: new essays in new media (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1999).
[5] Lisa Nakamura, Cybertypes: race, ethnicity, and identity on the Internet, (New York: Routledge, 2002).
[6] ibid.
[7] Turkle, ‘Cyberspace and Identity’ Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 28 No. 6. (Nov. 1999), p.643.
[8] Turkle, ‘Constructions and reconstructions of self in virtual reality: playing in the MUDs’ Mind, Culture and Activity Vol. 1 No. 3 (1994) available at: http://web.mit.edu/sturkle/www/constructions.html [accessed 20th August 2004]
[9] ibid.
[10] ibid.
[11] ibid.
[12] Mark Poster ‘Postmodern virtualities’ in The Second Media Age, (New York: Blackwell, 1995).
[13] ibid.
[14] Judith Donath, ‘Identity and deception in the virtual community’ prepared for Kollack P. & Smith M. (eds.) Communities in Cyberspace, 1996.
[15] Peter Giese, ‘Self without body: textual self-representation in an electronic community’ First Monday, Iss. 3 no. 4 1998.
[16] Bertina Heinz, Li Gu and Roger Zender, ‘Under the rainbow flag: webbing global gay identities’ International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies, Vol. 7 No. 2/3(2002) p.121.
[17] Beth Kolko, ‘Representing bodies in virtual space: the rhetoric of avatar design’ The Information Society, Vol.15 No. 3 (1999), pp177-186.

Critical Webliography

2004-09-07T07:23:00.000+08:00

Qustion 1: Donna Haraway argues that 'the boundary btween science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion'. Critically assess this assertion in terms of contemporary digital culture.

Introduction
Donna Haraway [1] argues that ‘the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an ‘optical illusion’. She further states the Cyborg is our ontology and we are constructed of both machine and organism. Through technological advancements machines have made it thoroughly ambiguous the difference between natural and artificial, mind and body, self-developing and externally designed. For Haraway, the defining characteristic of a cyborg is the ability for conscious self-improvement. Haraway also envisions the process of cyborgization as essentially liberating for women, as it would be a way to free themselves from traditional patriarchies and the constraints of being nothing more than laboratories for reproduction.
With these main issues in mind, the following articles work to reinforce and challenge these ideas. At the same time trying to define these boundaries between man and machine and understand the concept of the cyborg in relation to social reality and humanity. I began my research through Goggle entering the terms Haraway, cyborg, reality and science fiction. I later started typing in key words from previous articles, especially names of theorists or academics. All searches produced numerous results but through a lot of reading I was able to locate the six best articles that best argues Haraway’s ideas in relation to the boundaries surrounding the cyborg and the human.

1. Jennifer Attaway’s [2]article, works to discuss the idea of “How the interaction between human beings and intelligent machines has challenged the traditional understanding of what it means to be human. Attaway argues that the posthuman state is a disembodied condition informed by what is deemed "digitized desires." In order to understand this statement Attaway relates to Philip K Dick’s novel[3] to highlight her argument. The novel works to rethink human identity through the positioning of human beings within a technologically mediated reality. This displaces the biological body and the spontaneity of human sensation. In turn this anticipates contemporary critical conversations concerning the formation of the posthuman subject and works to strengthen an understanding behind Donna Haraway’s argument that due to technological developments the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion. This article doesn’t work in directly answering the questions raised in relation to Haraways arguments but it is extremely useful in creating an understanding of her issues in relation to the interaction between human beings and intelligent machines.

2. Mischa Peter’s article[4] is a useful article in displaying the number of prevalent and very dominant body types found in cyberpunk fiction which are also very much connected to a certain attitude towards the body in reality. Mischa Peter describes four different forms of technological bodies: the material body, the modified body, the enhanced body, and the repressed body. This representation suggests that these bodies go beyond stable boundaries like real-virtual, life-death, natural-artificial, however in doing so they also keep a number of boundaries firm in place and even emphasize the domination of one opposition over the other. Therefore where traditional science fiction, is concerned with restructuring the boundaries between the human and unexpected others (whether they are animals, aliens or machines) the attitude towards technology in cyberpunk literature seems to lead to a breaking down of these same boundaries”. In relation to Haraway, and the ambiguous difference between natural and artificial, mind and body, self-developing and externally designed. This article works to support this through the representation of the body in cyber punk fiction.

3. Brantley & Mendoza’s[5] article discusses the moral boundaries, issues, and dualities that surround the idea of ‘cyborg’. The idea of ‘Fabricant bodies’ is an interesting aspect of this article as it challenges Haraways defining characteristic of a cyborg that is the ability for conscious self-improvement. From Brantley & Mendoza’s argument, Fabricant bodies aren’t mechanical cyborgs or AI computers but are based on the fundamental human mold; it is argued a fabricant medulla functions to keep the heart beating and lungs working in exactly the same way as the natural human medulla. This idea of fabricant bodies contrast to that of Haraway’s idea of the cyborg. Another argument raised relates to an individuals’ perspective in relation to understanding the idea of the cyborg, suggesting that ‘reality’ is connected to human orientation. Therefore, the definition of cyborg would depend whether an individual believes in the definition of "real" from a scientific perspective or "real" from a human perspective. Different individuals are positioned to view the idea of the cyborg differently depending on their beliefs and values. This may be a leading factor into the ‘blurred boundaries’ of man and machine argued by Haraway and in addition reinforces and answers the concluding question of the article ‘Cyborgs come into being when boundaries get blurred?’.

4. Lucy Suchman’s[6] article proves to be the most useful source as it relates to the main issues of Donna Haraway’s article. Suchman’s argues for the importance of Haraway’s manifesto today, first by exhibiting how the issues of agency, knowledge, identity, and representation are still very relevant and second by relating her cyborg myth to the movement against globalization. The information provided clear in depth communication into understanding all aspects of Haraway’s article, paying particular attention to the idea of the cyborg and identity. Suchman’s further examines the boundaries of humans and animals and the fact that they can not be distinguished safely from the machine. This undermining of the boundaries of nature necessitates a new ontology, the ontology of the cyborg. Further topics and issues discussed and argued in this article that relate and reinforce Haraway’s article include: the distinction between physical and non-physical; the social relations of science and technology, in particular the traditional ideologies socialism and feminism; Identity in a postmodern society, the problems raised from the analytic tools, such as Marxist, psychoanalytical, and feminist; and the attempt to use the cyborg myth to produce a progressive political theory against capitalist colonialism. This is a rather long article yet the use of heading and subheadings makes it much easier to find specific parts of information.

5. Chris Thorp’s[7] article works to address how concept of the cyborg has changed the understanding of what it means to be human. In relation to Haraway, Thorp argues, these machines/cyborgs blur the boundaries of what is human. Once these full cyborgs are realized, human conscious will no longer be unique; humans will have lost one of their major defining characteristics that separate us from other organic/mechanical life forms. The destruction of these and other binaries will remove barriers to human and technological advances. This article is very useful in gaining an understanding of the cyborg concept and recognizing it as a useful tool to explore the questions of humanity and gender. A positive feature of this article is that it is easy to read and comprehend the information. I have found that there are numerous sites in relation to cyborgs and Donna Haraway, yet they are difficult to read and understand.

6. Chris Dunning’s article[8] is a useful source that explores the concept of conscious self from the perspective of the effects of different media technologies of communication on human perception. Through understanding the ideas raised by McLuhan the use of our senses to process information received from media technologies is what separates us from that of cyborgs yet increased technological developments and new communication especially that of the electronic web, will work to change the modes of perception of the society within which it evolves and has the potential to erase these boundaries that originally separate man and machine. This article is separated into sections, each discussing a different form of media. This sectioning enables a clear understanding of how each media effects and alters the uses of our senses. This information can be linked to the issues Haraway raises to create a better understanding of cyborgs and humans and how, in the future, the boundaries between these two could have completely disappeared.

In conclusion, each of these articles works to either reinforce or challenge Haraway’s ideas in relation to the cyborg and the human being and works to analyze ‘the boundaries between science fiction and social reality as an ‘optical illusion’. each article has its own unique bit of information that enables us to draw relevant conclusions in understanding the concept of the cyborg in relation to social reality and humanity.

[1] Donna Haraways article online http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Haraway/CyborgManifesto.html
[2] Attaway, Jennifer (2004) ‘Cyborg Bodies and Digitized Desires’, Reconstruction, Summer: Volume 4, Number 3 http://www.reconstruction.ws/043/attaway.htm

[3] Phillip k. Dick (1968)Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Del Rey
[4] Mischa Peters (2000) ‘Mapping the Body in Cyberpunk Fiction’ Paper for the 4th Feminist Research Conference, Bologna, September 29 http://www.let.uu.nl/~Mischa.Peters/personal/bologna/paper.html (accessed 3/9/04)

[5] Brantley & Mendoza (2000) Cyborgs and Androids in Science Fiction, 26th April http://www.babesinspace.net/report/reports/2000-04-26.html (accessed 3/9/04)

[6] Suchman’s, Lucy (2000) Cyborgs, identity and knowledge in the postmodern era http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~jkeren/Cyborgs.doc (accessed 3/9/04)
[6] Thorp, Chris (2000) How the concept of the cyborg has changed human self-perception http://www.brmovie.com/Analysis/Concept_of_the_Cyborg.htm (accessed 2/9/04)

[8] Dunning, Chris (1997) In Our Own Image: A New Tribal Self http://www.island.net/~chrisbo/1Tribal.htm (accessed 6/9/04)

Bibliography
Attaway, Jennifer (2004) ‘Cyborg Bodies and Digitized Desires’, Reconstruction, Summer: Volume 4, Number 3 http://www.reconstruction.ws/043/attaway.htm (accessed 2/9/04)

Brantley & Mendoza (2000) Cyborgs and Androids in Science Fiction, 26th April http://www.babesinspace.net/report/reports/2000-04-26.html (accessed 3/9/04)

Haraway, D. (1984) ‘A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s’, The Haraway Reader, New York and London: Routledge, pp. 7-45

Haraway, Donna article online http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Haraway/CyborgManifesto.html (accessed 31/8/04

Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.

Keen, Carolyn (1991). "Cyborgs at Large: Interview with Donna Haraway: Constance Penley and Andrew Ross. In "Technoculture," Minneapolis: Minnesota UP http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jenglish/Courses/keen2.html (accessed 29/8/04)

Mischa Peters (2000) ‘Mapping the Body in Cyberpunk Fiction’ Paper for the 4th Feminist Research Conference, Bologna, September 29 http://www.let.uu.nl/~Mischa.Peters/personal/bologna/paper.html (accessed 3/9/04)

Phillip k. Dick (1968)Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Del Rey

Suchman’s, Lucy (2000) Cyborgs, identity and knowledge in the postmodern era http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~jkeren/Cyborgs.doc (accessed 3/9/04)

Thorp, Chris (2000) How the concept of the cyborg has changed human self-perception http://www.brmovie.com/Analysis/Concept_of_the_Cyborg.htm (accessed 2/9/04)

Dunning, Chris (1997) In Our Own Image: A New Tribal Self http://www.island.net/~chrisbo/1Tribal.htm (accessed 6/9/04)

Webliography

2004-09-06T16:33:00.000+08:00

Donna Haraway argues that ‘the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion’. What does this mean in terms of contemporary digital culture?

INTRODUCTION
Donna Haraway’s ‘A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s ’ from which the quote in question was extracted, has become the quintessential Cyborg Manifesto for subsequent theorists. Thus when exploring online data in relation to this particular text, the search yields thousands of results. I structured my search by including a few key words from the afore mentioned quote in the Google search engine, and then searched for the information I desired that was not covered in the previous site I had visited. Because of the seemingly endlessness of the internet I was able to find six very concise and useful sites, each with their own emphasis on different parts of Haraway’s manifesto.

SOURCE ONE
Hari Kunzru targeted the universality of cyborgism in relation to the human intersection with technology in the article titled, “You are a Cyborg.” “Realities of modern life happen to induce a relationship between people and technology so intimate that it’s no longer possible to tell where we end and machine begin.” It relates to Haraway’s argument that through the consumption, ingestion and utilisation of technology, we as humans, are classified as cyborgs. This idea has long been represented in popular culture through science fiction. Kunzru mentions Frankenstein and the Terminator as examples of filmic depictions of cyborgs, and says, “with advances in medicines, robotics and AI, they’re moving inexorably closer to reality.” This directly relates to Haraway’s claim of the illusory binary between science fiction and social reality. We are living as cybernetic organisms through a reliance and an insistence on science and technology. The distinction between body and machine is blurred, and Kunzru makes this quite clear. She makes two other points, the first being about postmodern constructions of identity. It this idea of each person being a node on a network of communication technology that destabilises modernist ideas of autonomous essential identity. Cyborg theory allows a reconstruction of self because of the apparent binary with the ‘natural’ that is evident in cyborgian discourse. Kunzru relates the idea of the ‘natural’ with that which is fixed in existence. It is unchangeable and permanent. It also acts as a justification for the assumptions of traditional gender roles, for example women are, “"naturally" weak, submissive, [and] overemotional.” Because Haraway is essentially a feminist, (despite her rejections of the term as a fixed and limiting taxonomy) Kunzru uses this idea of a freedom of identity construction in relation to feminist discourse. In this way women are liberated by technology and allowed agency to be able to create an identity, a sexuality and a gender without constraint. The term coined (not by Haraway) was cyberfeminism. Kunzru’s final point was about the utopian premises that could potentially be realized by cyborgism. Initially the cyborg was a fantasy of the scientific and military realm, ‘daydreaming’ about the possibility of escaping bodily limitations. “The cyborg was always as much a creature of scientific imagination as of scientific fact.” There was a dream of improving human capabilities through ‘augmenting’ the human body with artificial devices. Kunzru uses the artificial heart and the all-seeing bionic eye as examples of the creation of a ‘real life’ superpower. So how far has technology penetrated the membrane of our skin? The answer according to Kunzru, which echoes that of Haraway, is that the division between human and machine is indistinguishable and at the core of the social reality of this contemporary digital culture.

SOURCE TWO
Carolyn Keen wrote an article ("Carolyn Keen on Haraway")concentrating on the feminist aspect of Haraway’s text which is strongly evident . Technology enforces and initiates an evasion of the traditional concepts of gender and its associates. That is to say, the woman is situated outside the realm of technology, challenging the ‘humanist’ notion of childbirth and motherhood. It appears Keen is commenting on Haraway’s claim, “The cyborg is a matter of fiction and lived experience that changes what counts as women’s experience in the late twentieth century.” She also alludes to the binaries which are appropriated by the cyborg. In Haraway’s Manifesto, under the heading ‘The Informatics of Domination’, she outlines the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of a kind of scientific revolution. Her point is about the ‘optical illusion’ that is the apparent fictitiousness of the right hand column and the polarity of the ‘social reality’. Haraway believes that we are existing in a right-hand-column world today, a point which is debated by Keen. “What is interesting is the rhetorical strategy, the suggestion that an anti-science stance is unrealistic and ignores potential pleasures, and the potential value of science-fiction.”

SOURCE THREE
In keeping with the idea of feminism and cyborgs, I bring Yousuf Dhamee’s article, “Cyborgs and Feminists” to the discussion table. This article alludes more to cyberpunk, namely that of Gibson, but relates back to Haraway’s manifesto regularly. The most poignant point of Dhamee’s article is his understanding of the disjunction between identity and body. The body is no longer the site for all meaning which is fixed and ‘natural’ (to draw from Kunzru’s article). This would then allow for a feminist transgression of gender by abandoning their bodily representations and identifications. Dhamee suggests that this would be particularly empowering for women, which mirrors the central rhetoric of Haraway’s writing. He says in relation to a particular female character in a cyberpunk novel, “because of technology [she] is protected from the "natural weakness" of her gender.” He finishes by saying that through the notion of the cyborg, “women are given the opportunity to come to grips with the innovative technology they are traditionally kept from exploiting... rather than being dominated by computers, the cyborg woman controls the machine.”

SOURCE FOUR
The Heike Weber extract, “Female Cyborgs: Envisioning women as users of everyday technologies”, for me stood out for one specific reason. That is, despite a very concise and accurate understanding of Haraway’s cyborg manifesto, Lara Croft is referenced as the quintessential female cyborg from popular culture. This stands in direct opposition to my own understanding of Haraway, and the interpretation of the other articles mentioned here. Central to Haraway’s text is the binary between human and machine. Lara Croft, as a computer game superhero, exhibits, quite obviously, no organic material by which to be part human. This bypasses the cardinal ‘rule’ of cyborgism, which is that it is the intersection of technology with the human that results in the cyborg. If, by chance, Weber was referring to Lara Croft from cinema, (which is doubtful) then she is no more a cyborg than you or me. (If memory serves me, Lara Croft has no technological extensions of human activity, apart from what is external, ie she has no superpowers.)

SOURCE FIVE
This article feeds well into the one by Donna Haraway, entitled “The Ironic Dream of a Common Language for Women in the Integrated Circuit: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s.” In this she emphasises the ‘border war’ that is the struggle of binaries which cyborgism is ultimately overcoming. “We are all chimeras” , alluding to the fact that as people we are all constructed from binaries, polarities and dichotomies. Obviously Haraway’s fascination lies with the hybrid of machine and organism. “A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a creature of science fiction and a creature of social reality.” This article proves useful in clarifying her ideas from “A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s”.

SOURCE SIX
The final article is perhaps the most interesting as it draws on comparisons to historical figures with analogous ideologies. The article is titled “Manifesto Technologies: Marx, Marinetti, Haraway” by Steven Mentor. He starts by linking all three figures through his comment, “all manifestos are cyborgs.” What he means by this is that manifestos confuse political discourse and that they borrow from popular discourse and advertising. They serve to unsettle rather than clarify. Ambiguity is at the centre of manifestation. “Whether as homo faber and proletarian (Marx), Futurism's New Man (Marinetti), or cyborg (Haraway), the reader undergoes radical surgery, emerging with new prosthetics, often technological, but always discursive.” Mentor focuses on the political and social aspects of Haraway’s manifesto, and the political and social ramifications it had. It is quite complimentary that he has likened her cyborg manifesto to the influential writing of Marx and Marinetti, with the suggestion that her text is the quintessential political teachings to leave a lasting impression on society, just like Marx and Marinetti did at the end of the nineteenth century and early in the twentieth century respectively.

CONCLUSION
The six sites each proved useful in exploring Haraway’s idea of the blurred boundary between science fiction and social reality. The advantage of online research being in the ability to filter out the useless information and only enter the sites which prove relevant. There is also a definite convenience in being able to find information through search engines in 0.41 seconds, rather than the time it takes to search catalogues, and then to find the journal in which the article is situated. The only problematic aspect of the web is that there is no screening is what is allowed to be ‘published’, but as long as the information is critically examined then the web really does prove to be a powerful research tool.

WEBLIOGRAPHY- Q.4

2004-09-06T16:15:00.000+08:00

4."From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, technological ‘progress’ has always forced society to re-evaluate the meaning of ‘life’." Discuss critically.

The continuous impact of technological progress upon encoded notions of ‘life’ reflects upon the established concepts of both the latter and the former within society. The advent of the ‘thinking’ machine disturbs the humanist tradition of the ‘embodied creature’ that operates within the biological/technological binary[1]. Through utilising the examples of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Visible Human Project the proposed question demonstrates the historical impact of technology on the naturalised codes of human life. With this in mind I would explore the ideas that within fictional and scientific texts such as Frankenstein and the Visible Human Project challenge definitions of ‘life’ and discover how it has been understood within society. Investigation into other forms of technological progress alongside this exploration makes for wider and greater understanding of advances in this field and how these systems threaten humanist ideals. After readdressing some of the information gathered in the first few lectures and tutorial reading I became aware of the significance of the ‘cyborg’, to a discussion of human bodies and technology, outlined in Donna Haraway’s ‘Cyborg Manifesto’[2]. After consideration of these ideas I began a series of Google searches using related terms ‘Frankenstein technology’, ‘Haraway cyborg’, ‘bioethics cloning’ and a scholar’s name ‘Waldby’. Each search provided many inappropriate sites however through examining the first few pages of responses I was able to locate six readings through a link or an initial page.

The extensive portrayal of technology in literature and film is indicative of the evocative nature of the subject within Western society. Daniel Chandler’s essay effectively explores technological content in both media and consequently concepts associated with it[3]. Human fears of knowing too much, losing control along with our souls and being supplanted are the key themes that arise within his work. These themes reflect upon the hierarchical systems of value recognised by humans. Chandler’s analysis through a historical time line beginning in ancient Greece demonstrates the extensive and ambivalent nature of the interplay between human and machines[4]. As his work was written in 1994 it is not as contemporary as other sources that I have included, however this did not deflect from his expansive analysis.

Eugene Thacker’s paper on The Visible Human Project (VHP) provides an informative insight into the boundary transgression of the human body and virtual space[5]. His examination of the project is well structured and educative through a discussion of the process, issues involved and historical context of anatomical and medical knowledge. Using the critical reading of George Bataille’ s text The Impossible he explores how the VHP enters a space between the ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ body[6]. As such Thacker’s piece proves to be a useful source for the examination of technology and definitions of ‘life’. The only problem I encountered with this reading, notwithstanding a lack of detail, was I wanted further discussion.

An analysis of the VHP continues in Catherine Waldby’s investigation of its disturbances to non-medical and medical understandings of life and death[7]. Her examination of medical discourse and the digital uncanny is effective in assessing the project’s challenge to ideas of human mortality. Waldby’s contention of the liminal space of virtual reality suggests interesting ideas about the relationship of humans and machines. Her essay is extensive, well written carefully framing her argument through theoretical work on the living body, simulation and the supernatural. The work of both Thacker and Waldby reflects the great impact of technological advancement upon societies codes.

In a time before such technological ‘progress’ Donna Haraway’s 1984 Cyborg Manifesto broke new ground in understandings of human identity and the position of technology within society[8]. Her ironic cyborg ontology identifies that human and technology are entwined on both material and epistemological levels. As such she challenges the liberal humanist model of the subject through recognition of the postmodern subject, a concept that remains relevant to contemporary society. Haraway’s work is dense at times, can be hard to decipher and certain ideas such ‘post gender’ have been criticised and revised by scholarly contemporaries[9]. However her work remains poignant as a historical marker important to understandings of the assessment of ‘life’.

Material examples of the link between biology and technology are outlined in the Wired feature "Living Machines"[10] . It consists of a series of concise articles that reflect upon the blurred boundaries of the living and the non- –living. Christopher Meyer’s article argues that life’s properties: emergence, self-orgainization, reproduction and coevolution are present within systems considered to be non -living. The other articles examine spam as genes; cars designed like living things, bio art, ant algorithms for robots and software based on the human immune system. Each article presented me with new information and suggested the links between machines and the ‘living’[11]. Meyer’s article was particularly useful in exploring this subject however due to the scientific content was quite challenging. Due to the journalistic nature of the forum the articles were quite short yet providing material examples beneficial to understandings of the relationship between technology and biology.

"Living Machines" provided insight into the way in which the boundaries between the living and the non-living are becoming blurred. As suggested by Chandler the challenges that technology present to human perceptions of ‘life’ has lead to an ambivalent relationship. Leon Kass, the Chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics outlines in his paper problems with biotechnology[12]. I found his article useful because it drew attention to the negative and fearful attitude certain groups and individuals have towards technological advances and their understandings of human life. His arguments utilise the human reactions to technology outlined in Chandler’s analysis and reflect upon technological challenges to religious creation theories and ideas of ‘natural’ existence. It is interesting to note that it is the United State’s Council that he is chair. Kass uses evocative language and simplistic arguments that are largely unsupported yet provide an insight into the challenges technology presents to ideas of human life. For example his opposition to certain life extending practices and belief of a ‘natural’ existence[13]. Kass’s ideas should not be seen as representative of the diverse groups that oppose biotechnology however further research into the Council would cement their particular opinions.

As Chandler outlined there is quite an extensive history of humans negotiating their relationship with machines. Each source demonstrates that technology has forced society to re- evaluate understandings and meanings of ‘life’. Consequently there has been and continues to be debate and analysis by scholars, scientists, politicians and the community regarding regulation and control of technology. ‘Progressive’ technology such as the Visible Human Project and biotechnology reinforce the interconnection between humans and machines. Haraway suggested in 1984 that society is already made up of cyborgs yet a separation is still asserted by groups such as the President’s Bioethics Council. In many ways fear permeates the human experience in regard to technology as future ‘progress’ is unknown and challenges to essentialist ideas of life can be destabilising. However technology continues to increases at a rapid pace and if Meyer is to be agreed with ‘life isn’t the exception but the rule[14].’

1. English 252 Lecture- Tama Leaver ,The Wired Self I: Networked Ontologies, 26 July 2004,UWA
2. Haraway, Donna. ‘A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science,Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980’s, The Haraway Reader, New York and London: Routledge,2003,pp.7-45(originally 1984)3. Chandler, David, "Imagining Futures, Dramatizing Fears http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/SF/sf.html, (accessed 27 August 2004)
4. Ibid.p.15.
5.Thacker, Eugene. "Lacerations: The Visible Human Project, Impossible Anatomies, and the Loss of Corporeal Comprehension." Culture Machine, 3, 2001,http://web.archive.org/web/20030510181251/http://culturemachine.tees.ac.uk/Cmach/Backissues/j003/Articles/Thacker/impossible.html, (accessed 27 August 2004)
6. Ibid.p.4.
7.Waldby, Catherine, "Revenants: The Visible Human Project and the Digital Uncanny,http://mcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/Uncanny.htmll, (27 August 2004)8.Haraway, Donna, "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century".Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature,1984 http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Haraway/CyborgManifesto.html,(accessed 20 August,2004)
9. Markussen, Randi, Olesen, Finn, and Lykke, Nina, "Interview with Donna Haraway" Chasing Technoscience, Eds. Don Ihde and Evan Selinger.Bloomington and Indianapolis: IndianaUniversity Press, 2003,p.24-25
10. Meyer,Lohn,Jacob,Morely,Lipton,Dorigo,Pennarun, "Living Machines",Wired Magazine,12.02, February 2004,http://wired/archive/12.02/machines.html,(accessed 27 August 2004)
11. Ibid.p.1
12. Kass, Leon, "Beyond Theory: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Human Improvement",2003 http://bioethics.gov/background/kasspaper.html, (accessed 20 August 2004)
13. Ibid.,p.3
14. Meyer,Lohn,Jacob,Morely,Lipton,Dorigo,Pennarun, "Living Machines",Wired Magazine,12.02, February 2004,http://wired/archive/12.02/machines.html,(accessed 27 August 2004)p. 1

Webliography Responses

2004-09-06T08:40:00.000+08:00

For guidelines on making your Responses to your peers' Critical Annotated Webliographies, please see details here.

The Ethics of Porn on the Net:Tutorial Presentation

2004-09-05T20:11:00.000+08:00

The Ethics of Porn on the Net by Kate Albury.

In this article Albury looks at different oppositions to pornography including those from religious, feminist and Marxist perspectives. She identifies that the digital age raises a variety of issues surrounding the publication of porn that were not relevant when the industry was restricted to traditional printed pornography, typically appearing in glossy men’s magazine form. The diversity of media in which pornography is available, as well as the diversity of sexual preferences presented and the accessibility of pornographic sites raises not only questions about the morality of pornography itself, but whether the internet can be a space of sexual liberation or does it continue the sexist degradation of women.

Aulbry identifies the need to discuss the ethics of pornography and the ethics of pornography on the net separately. By first identifying the oppositions to pornography she is then able to argue that even if we consider porn as immoral, it should not be seen to be unbound by ethical considerations.

The diverse range of pornography available on the Web shows porn is not always objectifying female sexuality, as amateur pornography does not always subscribe to the ‘norms’ of female sexuality that dictate what is sexy in commercial porn. It could be argued that the internet is makes a level playing field for for individuals of all sexual persuasions to enjoy their sexualities, since it is not only the traditional mysogynistic hetero porn that objectifies women that is available. However, it could also be argued that in making things better for women, what it really means is that now there are more marginal groups being sexually exploited and marketed through prejudice and stereotypes.

Webliography for Question 4

2004-09-05T13:29:00.000+08:00

The ‘meaning of life’ in relation to technological progress has numerous implications and asks for the continual redefinition of what the term “life” constitutes.

In referencing the Visible Human Project as well as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein[1], the above statement conveys that it is not only scientific realities, but also cultural science fiction that has needed the recreation of ideas about science and its place in ontology. As such, discussion of this statement needs insight into how thinking about life has changed with progressing scientific achievements along with the hypothetical designs and speculations of popular culture. The main directions this discussion can take focus on notions of how human life can now be recognised to be technology in itself; the effect that ever-developing artificial life will have on our understanding of the authenticity of existence; and the ethical and ideological ramifications of the act of creating and re-creating life. I started my research using Catherine Waldby’s works[2] on The Visible Human Project and Frankenstein to guide me into questions on the topic that needed to be explored. With some key ideas in mind, I used the Google search engine exclusively to conduct numerous searches on the subject, using combinations of the terms “Visible Human Project”, ‘Frankenstein”, “Catherine Waldby”, “life”, “artificial life”, “technology” and “ontology. After each respective search, I scanned up to the first thirty websites for any relevant information. While results mostly yielded numerous excellent sources for this hypothetical essay, searches for appropriate commentary on Frankenstein proved relatively unsuccessful and suitable websites were scarce.

Because Catherine Waldby provides much academic analysis into the cultural aspects of biotechnology, her early article on the Visual Human Project, or “VHP”, is a perfect resource for this essay. It is her first work on the VHP and predates most other scholarly material on the subject, which could make it somewhat precarious because at the time of writing, those main initial ideas hadn’t yet been subjected to academic critique. Waldby gives the VHP ethical connotations inside the field of medical research, but most interestingly, applies the VHP to traditional Judaeo-Christian theological notions about what constitutes the meaning of existence. She also discusses the analogy between the VHP and Frankenstein in medical science’s fascination with re-animation of the dead, and the “sense of the uncanny in [both] figures” .

Stuart J. Murray’s critical review of Waldby’s book[3] on the VHP appears on the online journal Reconstruction, and although writing for Reconstruction is open to any author, strict submission guidelines mean that it is a genuine scholarly resource. While most of the review colludes with and summarizes Waldby’s arguments (in which case research is better done by studying the actual book), it is somewhat useful in that it offers objective criticism to Waldby’s discussion and adds further ideas. It questions the homogeneity that Waldby gives the different VHP technologies and offers the suggestion that the technologies allow for “techno-human manipulation of their productions” in different ways and objects. A website such as this doesn’t provide any innovative detail and would best be used as a secondary source.

An article in the Washington Post by David Brown gives a broad overview of the scientific technicalities of the VHP, provides interviews with members of the project teams that were involved and reports on the developing and future uses for the data set. The article doesn’t provide any cultural analysis of the VHP but is quite useful in providing the required background for the more methodological specifics. The journalistic style and interview excerpts can easily be integrated, but the article’s main fault lies in its focus on technological capacities of the time when it was published in 1999. In an essay, a more recent account of updated technology would have to be used.

A useful ‘essay’ for exploring the idea of human life itself being a computerized entity is David Brown’s ‘Man, the Digital Machine’. It is a fantastic resource considering that it has translated biological, emotional and psychological mechanisms (in other words, what makes people, people) in depth into mathematical code in order to convey the invisible digitalisation of the human apparatus. However, it isn’t easy for a reader with no background theoretical knowledge to understand the jargon enough to contribute further analysis it in detail. This text is also slightly dubious, having not been academically assessed, and the theories have been posted directly by the author, albeit a highly qualified one.

Ruth A. Curl looks at the space that science fiction has in ontological theory, including using Frankenstein to examine the ramifications of the creation (or re-creation) of life by man. Specifically, it notes that a computer (and thus, we assume, all progressing digitalisation) is a “vehicle for a greater or higher creation metaphor” and that it “generates the ‘God’ creator”. These ideas could be linked to the notion that the ‘meaning of life’ for humanity is the search to create life and achieve a God-like status. This essay is scholarly and does posses strong points about the search for meaning in fictive ‘technology’, but most of its discussion is about the unrelated cyberpunk genre.

Steward Dean’s introduction to artificial life forms provides a concise chronological history of the development of artificial life (AL) programming. An insight into AL is crucial to any discussion of “life” and technology because of notions of a digitalized existence as well as the human craving for creation. Dean’s guide strives for simplification of the broad topic and the text doesn’t lead into any deeper epistemological explanation. Essay writers must be wary that this is an amateur text written by an accomplished student but not an academic resource. Like David Brown’s article , it would be best used to provide a basis of understanding for the concepts of AL, to be theorized further in an essay.

The main argument of the essay would have accepted the original statement: that technological progress has always forced society to re-evaluate the meaning of ‘life’, whether through scientific reality or fictionalised speculation. To tie in the extra informational material to the question, the essay would have had to link Frankenstein to the discussion of science fiction, and the VHP to discussion of ever-expanding scientific technology. The essay would probably be framed around Catherine Waldby’s works on Frankenstein and the VHP, but it would then expand to encapsulate the ontological implications of new ways of creating existence in digital space, as in AL. It would also explore ways of re-working traditional theological and biological ideas to redefine the human as already a technological entity, as in Brown’s work.

End Notes For Written Sources
[1] Mary Shelley. Frankenstein, or, The modern Prometheus. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Catherine Waldby. The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London & NY: Routledge, 2000.
[2]Catherine Waldby. The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London & NY: Routledge, 2000.
and Catherine Waldby. ‘The Instruments Of Life: Frankenstein And Cyberculture’, in Prefiguring Cyberculture, eds. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson & Alessio Cavallaro (Cambridge & London: MIT Press, 2002), pp. 28-37.
[3]Catherine Waldby. The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London: Routledge, 2000.

Bibliography
Brown, David. ‘The Visible Human Project: A Slice of Life’, Washington Post (January 1999). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/horizon/jan99/body.htm (accessed 28 August 2004).

Curl, Ruth A. ‘The Metaphors of Cyberpunk: Ontology, Epistemology, and Science Fiction’, Poetry of Whispered Dreams (July 2004). http://www.poems2u.com/writings/cyberpunk.html (accessed 27 August 2004).

Dean, Steward. ‘Artificial Life- Life Forms and Creatures’, Steward Dean’s Guide to Artificial Life (May 2003). http://www.webslave.dircon.co.uk/alife/lifeforms.html (accessed 28 August 2004).

Murray, Stuart J. ‘Catherine Waldby's The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine’, Reconstruction (2000). http://www.reconstruction.ws/021/revVisibleHP.htm (accessed 27 August 2004).

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or, The modern Prometheus. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Stevenson, John. ‘Man, the Digital Machine’, OneLife (1998). http://www.onelife.com/evolve/digman.html (accessed 29 August 2004).

Waldby, Catherine. ‘The Instruments Of Life: Frankenstein And Cyberculture’, in Prefiguring Cyberculture, eds. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson & Alessio Cavallaro (Cambridge & London: MIT Press, 2002), pp. 28-37.

Waldby, Catherine. The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London & NY: Routledge, 2000.

Waldby, Catherine. ‘Revenants: The Visible Human Project and the Digital Uncanny’, Murdoch University WA (August 1996). http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/Uncanny.html (accessed 27 August 2004).

Webliography, Q. 3 Identities online

2004-09-04T18:36:00.000+08:00

Communicative technologies have certainly become an accepted part of all of our lives, if not even part of our identities. In reality, we all actively construct our identities to a certain degree, however, cyberspace has arguably created a space in which the construction of identity is less constrained. In my analysis of the question, I was specifically concerned about particular aspects of identity such as gender. My focus was to locate information regarding the use of the internet according to gender, if participants consciously create online identities parallel or contradictory to real life, if points of identity held the same significance online, and how liberal really is the internet in constructing identities. I began my research by re-reading articles about identity by Silver[1] and McGerty[2]. These produced ideas to narrow down my search. Admittedly, I am not an overly experienced or confident internet user. The process took several attempts using key terms such as, ‘gender online’, and ‘online identities’. Whilst the search expectedly generated abundant results, I sorted through the websites which looked most promising to locate six appropriate and relevant readings regarding how identity is extended and constructed online.

Initially, I wanted to concentrate on issues of gender and identity as a starting off point. This proved to be very helpful as there were many articles with this theme, which also linked into other avenues of identity. I found articles by Lisa Schmesier[3] and Lisa King[4] to be particularly useful. Schmesier asks; why is it necessary to bring gender into a space where identity can arguably be completely constructed? I thought that this tied into issues about the assumed liberality of the internet. She also proposed that gender is an inescapable aspect of identity. This was a particularly important point, which I would mention and elaborate on in an essay. However, Schmeiser’s article was also very helpful as it revealed other issues that I had not given much importance to. This was the issue of bodies. The body is synonymous with identity and I thought it would also be interesting to include in an essay on how this relationship is articulated online. The website and it’s contributors claim that gender still remains to be a concern although our online selves do not have a body. Whilst this article was also useful as it provided many links and was easy to navigate, the information provided was rather brief and could have contained more detail.

King’s article had far more depth and relevant information than Schmesier’s. She discussed how online voices and language altered or constructed identities in terms of gender. King proposed that gender is always identifiable online and provided practical examples of gendered discourse. I felt that the ways in which online language portrays gender would be worth consideration as a tool in the construction of online identities. King’s article also looked at the belief that cyberspace is egalitarian. However, gendered discourse makes neutrality impossible. This point made me reconsider the extent to which we can control the construction of gendered identities online, which connected to my question regarding the essay; do we consciously construct all aspects of our online identity? Overall, I found it difficult to fault King’s article.

After restricting my search to gender issues, I decided to broaden the search using the key terms, “identity online”. Brett Rolfe’s[5] work was very good as it assisted in examining online/offline identity relations. It discussed how one of communication’s key roles is to define the self either evasive or pervasive to the real self. Rolfe’s study was very much constructed like an ethnography with interviews, sources, statistical information and methodology. This was particularly useful as it provided evidence I could use to support my argument in an essay. The article also contained historical information about how communication has always played a role in identity formation and referred to Haraway’s[6] work on cyborgs giving the article sense of familiarity. Like King’s article, I found Rolfes very informative and simple to read, despite being written for academic purposes.

Kirk’s article[7] on the other hand was not as forthcoming and lacked a sufficient amount of information. However, it produced one significant point which made the article stand out and worth assessment. Kirk discussed the role of online communities in extending identities. He focused on how we all like to be accepted and that these communities required a status. Therefore, our real identities are extended or falsified to conform to what we assume is acceptable for these communities or gain a desired status. Kirk also noted that the act of typing itself helps create identities since we choose what we send, delete, the style of language etc. I thought that these technical aspects of communication were relevant to answering the essay question. If I was to explore this further, I would use Kirk’s argument as a starting point, then look at other technical aspects such as internet cameras, sounds and photos that we deliberately choose to use, distort or omit.

One of the better articles, which I came across, was by Beth Kolko[8]. This article was particularly good not only because it was extensive, but also because the author has been involved in other writings about online identities. Kolko’s article provided ample information regarding many matters of identity. What I found most useful was her ideas about governance and it’s affect in constructing identity since no other websites I came across had mentioned this aspect. She discusses the lack of rules, boundaries and ‘impermeable walls’ of cyberspace which permit people to create such elaborate and fantastical identities. She also discusses experiments which have been carried out to control information given out online. This idea of governance, or lack of, would be a contributing factor to the extent that we can actually alter our online identities. Whilst the internet appears to be an unrestricted space, the laws and ethics of the internet would also be an avenue when exploring how identity is formed online. This linked into the final webpage which was mainly focused on the laws of cyberspace. Whilst it did not directly address how identity is constructed, I thought it was still relevant and provided another component to the argument. Abelson and Lessig[9] were particularly thorough and their major focus was the question of authenticity. They looked at identity theft and helped define actually what a digital identity is, (which is always helpful). This was the lengthiest article, which was probably it’s downfall as it was laborious to read and rather complicated.

McGerty[10] suggested that there has been very little study on identity online. However, I found many matching results, although at times the quality was questionable. Whilst most articles were repetitive and contained much of the same, my main aim was to cover a range of aspects, such as ethics and bodies, to look allow all avenues of identity to be explored in an essay.

Adelson, Hal and Lessig, Lawrence.“Digital Identity in Cyberspace,” (10 December 1998), http://web.mit.edu/raffic/www/legal-techinical/cyberspace.html (accessed 24 August 2004)

Haraway, Donna ‘A Manifesto for Cyborgs.’ (1984)The Haraway Reader, New York and London: Routledge, 2003, pp.37-38

King, Lisa. “Gender Issues in Online Communities.” The CPSR Newsletter, 18. 01, (2000) http://www.cpsr.org/publications/newsletters/issues/2000/Winter2000/king.html (accessed 22 August 2004)

Kirk, R. “Identity and International”. (2001) Http://stc.org/ontercom/pp5s/2001 (accessed 23 August 2004)

Kolko, Beth “Discursive Citizenship : The Body Politic in Cyberspace,” University Of Texas. http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au (accessed 22 August 2004)

McGerty, Lisa-Jane. “Nobody Lives Only in Cyberspace”: Gendered subjectivities and Domestic Use of the Internet.” The Wired Homestead. Eds. Joseph Turow and Andrea L Kavanaugh. Cambridge, 2003 pp. 337-45

Rolfe, Brett. “Towards a Hybrid Self: Reconciling Real and Virtual Performative Identities.” 2004. http://www.digitalstrategist.com/docs/research_proposal (accessed 23 August 2004)

Schmesier, Lisa. “Why Bring Gender Online?”, CMC Magazine, (March 1996), http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1996/mar/ed.html (accessed 22 August 2004)

Silver, David. “Margins in the Wires: Looking for Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Blacksburg Electronic Village.” Race in Cyberspace. Ed. Lisa Nakamura and Gilbert B Rodman Beth E. Kolko. New York: Routledge, 2000, pp.133-150

[1] Silver, David. “Margins in the Wires: Looking for Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Blacksburg Electronic Village.” Race in Cyberspace. Ed. Lisa Nakamura and Gilbert B Rodman Beth E. Kolko. New York: Routledge, 2000, pp.133-150
[2] McGerty, Lisa-Jane. “Nobody Lives Only in Cyberspace”: Gendered subjectivities and Domestic Use of the Internet.” The Wired Homestead. Eds. Joseph Turow and Andrea L Kavanaugh. Cambridge, 2003 pp. 337-45
[3] Lisa Schmesier. “Why Bring Gender Online?”, CMC Magazine, (March 1996), http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1996/mar/ed.html (accessed 22 August 2004)
[4] Lisa King. “Gender Issues in Online Communities.” The CPSR Newsletter, 18. 01, (2000) http://www.cpsr.org/publications/newsletters/issues/2000/Winter2000/king.html (accessed 22 August 2004)
[5] Brett Rolfe. “Towards a Hybrid Self: Reconciling Real and Virtual Performative Identities.” 2004. http://www.digitalstrategist.com/docs/research_proposal (accessed 23 August 2004)
[6] Donna Haraway, ‘A Manifesto for Cyborgs.’ (1984)The Haraway Reader, New York and London: Routledge, 2003, pp.37-38
[7] R. Kirk. “Identity and International”. (2001) Http://stc.org/ontercom/pp5s/2001 (accessed 23 August 2004)
[8] Beth Kolko, “Discursive Citizenship : The Body Politic in Cyberspace,” University Of Texas. http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au (accessed 22 August 2004)
[9] Hal Adelson and Lawrence Lessig, “Digital Identity in Cyberspace,” (10 December 1998), http://web.mit.edu/raffic/www/legal-techinical/cyberspace.html (accessed 24 August 2004)
[10] McGerty, Lisa-Jane. “Nobody Lives Only in Cyberspace”: Gendered subjectivities and Domestic Use of the Internet.” The Wired Homestead. Eds. Joseph Turow and Andrea L Kavanaugh. Cambridge, 2003 pp. 337-45

Webliography: Online Identity

2004-09-03T18:03:00.000+08:00

Critically assess the ways in which constructions of identity have been extended and/or altered by information and communication technologies.

The utopian ideals spawned by the advent of the Internet and online culture asserted that in cyberspace we could be free of our bodies. In my research I aimed to show that the split between our online and offline selves is not as great as first imagined, and that the prejudices and stereotypes that exist offline are just as present online.

I also wanted to show that there are still most definitely possibilities to extent and alter the conventions of identity, but that users of the internet as a whole are still inherently connected to the offline conventions which prevent the early utopianism from becoming realized.

I started my search with the Unit Reserve List, and chose my sources from a shortlist of four. I then used search engine Google and searched broadly under “identity and online”- and the overwhelming number of articles on identity theft prompted me to include one.

Jane Long mentioned the site misbehaving.net in class, so I explored this database and found some more informal and less academic work that was easy to read, and also found a link to Lisa Nakamura’s article, through a response made to the original article.

1) Will the Real Body Please Stand Up?

Sourced from the Library, 30/08/04 by Allucquère Rosanne Stone
http://ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/connectsession=sZclv51yZgKlHRNh&url=http://cmo.library.uwa.edu.au/04236.pdbf

This article is concerned with body/mind split, and focuses on critiquing the idea that there are no bodies in cyberspace. The example of Julie (the middle-aged psychiatrist pretending to be a disabled woman in chat rooms) shows that while there is no reason that the online and offline identity should intersect, and there is nothing to ensure they do, people assume some sort of ‘duty of care’ that what you say online is the truth.

The difference between people using the net for leisure and those with more experience was summed up in this quote, which I would include in an essay:

“They had long ago taken for granted that many of the old assumptions about the nature of identity had quietly vanished under the new electronic dispensation”

I would discuss the fact that while some people are happy that online spaces be liberatory and that people can escape the constraints of their offline selves, others are scared by the possibilities of an extended idea of identity offered by the internet and the programs online. “Julie” would make a great example of this.

This article identifies that in constructing identity online, eroticism and sexuality are greatly altered, and that rather than being extended, these are altered dramatically in a space where one’s actual physical appearance may play little or no part in seducing a prospective partner. I’d spend a paragraph looking at the possibilities for online romance, and the dangers it may pose.

2) It’s a Queer World After All

www.glaad.org/documents/csms/The_Sims.pdf From The online Course Resources 30/08/04 by Mia Consalvo

This article deals with sexual identity in cyberspace through the case study of the computer game The Sims. In this game, players are enabled to give their “players” their own identities, choosing from a myriad of different physical features. This displays the possibilities for construction identities on the web.

This game is a simulation of what life could be like if everyday experiences (shopping, dating, buying a house) could be “lived” online. The interactions between the Sim “players” displays the flexibility of sexuality in cyberspace.

This online game differs greatly from the traditional Board games like Game of Life, in which the only choice you make is male or female, and your “players” are blue and pink respectively. There is also no differentiation between adult and child “players”.

The contrast between the online and offline games shows that identity can be more fluid online, and that since life can be simulated in a game there is no reason why we could not portray ourselves as freely using online software.

3) Race In/For Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on the Internet

By Lisa Nakamura, http://www.humanities.uci.edu/mposter/syllabi/readings/nakamura.html

Lisa Nakamura’s article is concerned with the way race is performed in online spaces. She identifies the invisible whiteness of individuals on the internet, and goes on to suggest that any form of identification as “non white” is interpreted as hostile.

She looks at identity in the context of Multi User Domains (MUDs), where “the first act a participant performs…is that of writing a self description: it is the primal scene of cybernetic identity, a postmodern performance of the mirror stage”

Her main points are about the use of Asian identity online- who identify themselves as different more often that any other racial group. They do so through their screen names, which play on stereotypes of Asian culture, and seem to be aimed at striking a chord with a western audience, for whom Asia is an Exotic space.

Users of the web use the media to invoke their online identity by naming themselves after recognizable Asians like Bruce Lee (actor) or Little Dragon (Mortal Combat). She asserts that the offline identities do not correspond to their Asian avatars, and that this is “identity tourism”.

She identifies that by the reinforcement of racial stereotypes online, the possibilities of extending identity past the racist stereotypes of the offline spaces are negated

4) Identity Theft: Criminal Behavior Meets the Information Age

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=330810&seqNum=5 accessed 30/08/04 By David Gulbransen, Aug 20, 2004.

From Google searching, identity and online came up mostly with articles about identity theft. This shows the contemporary anxiety that our offline identities could be stolen from us online and reappropriated by a stranger.

Our credit cards, ebay items and bank accounts are such a huge part of who we are- they show our financial status our taste and our likes. Information and Communication technologies give us the chance not only to construct and manage our identities online by the transactions we make- they also leave a trail that leaves us vulnerable to hackers and thieves.

5)Musing on the Diverse Presentations of Self

http://www.misbehaving.net/2003/11/musings_on_dive.html Accessed 17/08/04 misbehaving.net

This short informal article really helped me get my head around the ideas of the online and offline self. It’s not something I’d quote heavily from, although she uses the term “written on the blog” alongside “written on the body” in a way that I’d like to explore fully in a paragraph, looking how the writing on a blog can expose or disguise identity. Her link to Erving Goffman’s “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” is something I might have followed up more extensively had my essay been something needing such a large body of research.

6) 9 Ways to Communicate a Rock-Solid Identity

http://www.bob-baker.com/prbyo/9ways.html by Bob Baker

This article takes a different viewpoint form the others and looks at the collective identity of a business. It is about corporate identity. As this is not what I aimed to cover in my essay I would only use this a little bit, but it gives a nice balance to the academic research I would have done offline, as this is a popular exert from a book and is directed at laymen.

This article shows how to construct an identity from scratch, where their s no body to be connected to. I guess it is this article that fully shows the possibilities for constructing identity over the net.

Conclusion

In writing my essay, I would look closely at the implications of identity theft and the anxieties surrounding privacy and the internet. I would explore the possibilities for liberation online, and discuss whether bodies do still matter in cyberspace. I would look at sexuality in cyberspace, using the Sims as an example for the possibility to corrode homophobia and look at the possibilities of online gaming as progress compared with traditional forms of games which enforce stereotype and prejudice.

I would conclude by saying that identity has certainly been complicated by information and communication technologies, but that we must first change our offline ideals before the liberation of the digital age can begin.

Webliography

2004-09-02T22:29:00.000+08:00

Critically assess the ways in which constructions of identity have been extended and/or altered by information and communication technologies.

I started the first search on Google with key terms “Constructions of identity”, adding “in communication technologies” for the second search. The first article I found that seemed useful was by Sherry Turkle therefore I also carried out a search on “Sherry Turkle”, who has actually conducted research on the Internet and the way it has changed our lives, the way we think and the way we shape ourselves. At the end, I limited my choice of articles to six, which helps to illustrate the idea of identity and provide examples of the manner in which technology has affected the construction of identity.

In the reading by López-Martínez[1], she discusses the role cyberspace plays with identity, and the opportunities it creates for development of self-understanding. She not only provides a definition of identity but also explains the link between both cyberspace and identity well. Pointing out interaction as a key component of the creation of identity helps to highlight the similarity in which identity is created both in the real and virtual world.

Rebecca Blood’s essay[2] on the history of weblogs proved useful as it not only documents the explosion in popularity of blogging, but also describes the way it differs from the original link-driven weblogs and delves into reasons for the popularity. Blood also manages to give a good analysis of how free-form blogging can empower oneself which provides a good start into how this form of information and communication technology extends construction of identity in terms of the range of information you could provide to others.

The drawback to using the Glasser article[3] for this question is that the focus is on the effect blogs have on academia, politics and traditional journalism. However, it does state a good example in the Baghdad Blogger, Salam Pax, of how borders between people are broken down by blogs. This further strengthens the argument that blogs work to link people through online communication. The point on how his blog helped to bring his personal vision of the war to the rest of the world also made me consider how far construction of identity can be extended, and if it is limited to just yourself.

The Donath reading[4] goes deeper into the issue of identity and the difference between creation of identity in the physical and virtual worlds. Again, the important role of identity for interaction is brought up, which I found in the López-Martínez reading[5]. Since this reading also investigates deception, it acknowledges the ambiguity identity has in the virtual world. Donath also brings up the importance of the invisible link between the virtual personas and their creators and the question of the degree to which a virtual persona inherits the creator’s qualities. This links to the question of extension, alteration, or perhaps even a combination of both. By using the Usenet newsgroup, Donath is able to highlight the importance of identity in a non-fiction, information-trading community where users are presumed to be who their digital identities say they are. A drawback of this article is the technical tone it takes for a majority of the report.

The first Turkle reading[6] provides a good introduction to the world of multi-user games on the Internet, she refers to as MUDs. Turkle also manages to give more specific examples of particular MUDs and points out the flexibility provided in terms of identity, surroundings and rules. Her choice of MUDs as the arena she investigates provides a clear look into one end of the spectrum where almost every detail in the virtual world you create in this provided virtual space is in your hands. With this unparalleled opportunity for identity manipulation, she is able to investigate the various ways people utilise these games in exploring and remaking the self. She describes a few examples of individuals and the purpose each of their MUD experience served them. Her analysis of the different outcomes for each individual in her investigation also points to a link between an individual’s choice of identity construction and their psychological needs at that particular time. It also introduces the notion people as “masters of self-presentation and self-creation” with the possibility of fluid, multiple construction of identity in virtual communities such as MUDs.

The second Sherry Turkle article[7] covers similar material, but goes into the anonymity of MUDs and the multiple identities the players can create and explore. Turkle has opinions from players who explain how these virtual identities help them in relation to their real life identities. The idea of how these multiplied virtual identities affect the mind in the physical world is also explored. This is a good point since the multiplicity factor of MUDs and virtual communities is often viewed as therapeutic and beneficial but should also be viewed for its dangers. She even explores the area of consequences of such identity manipulation. Various examples such as virtual gender-swapping and virtual adulterers show how such choices are meant for self-reflection or as a release outlet for frustrations, but can end up creating emotional confusion in real life.

After reviewing the six readings, I would take the approach of organising the essay accordingly. I would begin the essay defining identity and the differences as well as the relationship between the physical and digital world. Following the introduction, I would discuss the different constructions of identity already visible in our current technology. While citing examples of the various technologies, I would illustrate the respective effect on the construction of identity in each case to provide a view of both ends of the spectrum in relation to the flexibility of construction allowed. I would also include a discussion on the consequences of such actions in order to give an even view of both benefits and complications.

Critical Annotated Webliography

2004-09-02T18:16:00.000+08:00

Critically assess the ways in which constructions of identity have been extended and/or altered by information and communication technologies.

Introduction
As the guiding question is fairly broad, I have chosen to focus specifically on the ways in which constructions of identity have been extended and/or altered by the Internet. Thinking about several articles that deny utopian ideals that the Internet can potentially free our identities from bodily constraints[1], it seems that the Internet may not have the power to alter ‘who we are’. However, the Internet may offer us alternative conceptualisations of identity that focus less on ideas of self. With this in mind, I searched various online resources for ideas about how conventional conceptualisations of identity have been challenged within the online context. Hoping to engage with a variety of perspectives, I found the following resources useful: Google to find articles and perspectives available in a mainstream arena; online databases and course resources available through the UWA library to find academically oriented articles; Daypop and Technorati to find more subjective and individual perspectives; and http://neworder.box.sk to obtain more technical perspectives. I then filtered through the results to find sources that engaged critically with ideas of identity.

Source One
Allucquere Rosanne Stone’s article, sourced from Course Materials Online, explores anxieties about the mutability of identity on the Internet. Stone suggests that conventional markers of identity such as gender are still important in an online context because of concerns about authenticity. Stone’s example of cross-dressing demonstrates that the central concerns are quite different in online and offline contexts. Whereas we are likely to feel secure in our knowledge of the ‘real’ identity of a cross-dresser when we are presented with visual evidence, our inability to determine someone’s ‘real’ identity online may provoke a feeling of vulnerability. In this way, the Internet challenges our ideas about what constitutes identity. The article will be useful to provide a theoretical basis to reconceptualizing notions of identity.

Source Two
Dr. Mark Warschauer’s article, sourced from Google, does not propose that the Internet has altered our identities, but rather that different elements of our identities are foregrounded in the online context than in ‘face-to-face’ interactions. In particular, he suggests that the role of language in identity formation and expression has become more central on the Internet, where language plays a greater part in interaction and the English language dominates. I found the idea that certain elements of our identities are more integral to online communication useful for situating identity as conceptual rather than fixed.

Source Three
http://Neworder.box.sk contributor OpioN presents some abuses of identity on the Internet that complicate conventional concepts of identity in “The Terrifying Truth About Online Stalking”. In OpioN’s terms, identity does not have any physical relation to our selves, in that a stalker is able to assume our identity on the Internet with a few easily retrievable markers such as usernames and passwords. Security issues have redefined the concept of identity online, which has now become a series of details, often generated by a computer. Of particular interest to me are OpioN’s practical ideas on identity management. The notion of managing our identities outlines the conceptual change towards a fluid understanding of identity, as we negotiate the public and private representations of our selves.

Source Four
Major Dale Long’s article, sourced from Google, raises issues about identity being reduced to numbers, signatures and passwords. Although the article disputes these forms of identification in favour of using ‘biometric’ characteristics to identify and verify our digital identities, I am interested in what it leaves unquestioned. Long does not consider the implications of being identified by our genetic makeup. This formulation of identity is interesting in the context of my topic as it negotiates the body in a way that challenges ideas of self.

Source Five
Ian Murdock’s blog entry “Orkutified” , sourced from Daypop, pursues ideas about identity management, labelling Orkut “the Internet’s address book”. The potential for our personal information to be collected, accessed and distributed on the Internet, essentially storing identities, implies a new understanding of identity and has serious implications for our power to control our identity.

Source Six
Katherine Morawaki’s art performance “Recoil”, sourced from the blog “Near Near Future”, presents an interesting reassertion of identity as related to the body rather than data. The insertion of small magnets in clothing acts as “data terrorism”, as the magnets are capable of erasing data from people’s electronic devices if they brush past. Creating a “data-free zone” around the wearer, the performance promotes an awareness of the extent to which digital technologies shape our lives and reasserts the role of the body in our sense of self. This anarchistic idea is useful to me as a way of visualising the negotiations between different conceptualisations of identity.

Conclusion
Although these sources differ greatly in their angles and rationale, I believe that they will be useful in assessing the ways in which constructions of identity have been extended and/or altered by the Internet. I will argue that the Internet has shifted our understanding of identity, in certain contexts, from the self and physical markers such as gender and race to a set of data. Furthermore, this identity has come to exist in the public domain, without any connection to the physical world. This presents certain problems for Internet users, who have to manage their digital identities to prevent identity theft, security violations and personal abuse due to the public availability of such personal data. I will explore the implications of separating the concept of identity from the self as a possible liberation from the body as well as a reductive shift that denies our differences and our physical presence.

Notes
[1] Such as: Lisa-Jane McGerty, “”Nobody Lives Only in Cyberspace”: Gendered Subjectivities and Domestic Use of the Internet.” The Wired Homestead. Eds. Joseph Turow and Andrea L. Kavanaugh. (Cambridge, 2003), pp.337-345; and,
Lisa Nakamura, “Menu-Driven Identities: Making Race Happen Online.” Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet (London and New York: Routledge, 2002), pp.101-135.

Re fromatted Webliography

2004-09-02T17:31:00.000+08:00

Guiding Question:
“From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project [VHP], technological ‘progress’ has always forced society to re-evaluate the meaning of ‘life’.” Discuss critically

Introduction:
I noted several key words to help research this question: “Frankenstein”, “VHP”, “technological ‘progress’” and “meaning of life”. Initially, I re-read both of Catherine Waldby’s articles in the reader, to get an idea of some themes to explore[1]. From these articles I developed some basic ideas in relation to the guiding question; firstly, ‘VHP technology displaces the body in a ‘simulated’ space and computerized data creates living flesh from the dead’, secondly ‘the creation of Frankenstein to modern robots/AI raises religious issues about ‘life’, what is life and our position in nature?’. My next step was to search the internet through ‘Google’, ‘Yahoo’, and the UWA Library website. I searched for other related Catherine Waldby articles, terms like ‘Robot’, ‘AI’, ‘Technological Progress’, “Frankenstein’, ‘VHP’ and lastly, ‘Life’. From these searches I developed several major areas through which to answer the guiding question: ‘Technological Progress and Singularity’, ‘Frankenstein and AI/Robotics’ and ‘VHP and Genetic Enhancement’. I classified articles found under these headings, in relation to how the meaning of ‘life’ has been changed, and discovered a growing tension between ‘science’ and ‘nature’ and ideas of life as technology has progressed.

Technological Progress and Singularity

Technological singularity[2] identified the possible consequences of technological progress, and introduced some common theories by Dr. Vernor Vinge and Moore’s Law. This article raised the idea of whether human life will come to an end, and touched some of the anxieties that are intrinsically linked with technology and were discussed in Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’. Because this article is limited due to being an encyclopaedia article it acted only as a stepping stone in giving me some basic ideas, however it enabled me to decide to pursue the idea of ‘technological singularity’ in other search areas to see whether articles might connect it more closely with the other terms I was interested in.

James Bell’s[3] article further incorporated the idea of ‘singularity’ with the argument I wished to develop. Bell remarks that ‘technological progress is driving… toward a “Singularity”… [where] technology and nature will have become one. At this juncture… new definitions of “life”, “nature” and “human” will take hold[4].’ This article explicitly brings out how technology is changing the view of “life”. It establishes the thread of the dichotomy that exists between technology and nature. This dichotomy is being broken down through progress and its uncontrolled development[5]. I would then be able to use this article to illustrate the development in GNR[6] technology that allows them to self ‘replicate’ e.g. give ‘life’ to another version of themselves.

Frankenstein and AI/Robotics

Roger Clarke’s[7] article provided information on Asimov, a central figure in robotics. It noted Asimov’s view, from as early as 1940, of where robots would stand in comparison to humans[8]. The article serves to establish that robots would be viewed as ‘slaves’ to human control, but that this would also be impossible to ensure as robots developed consciousness, and became more ‘human like’ and viewed themselves as part of humanity. The article critically analyses Asimov’s work, posing the question at one stage that if a robot ‘is human enough, he would be accepted as a human[9]’. In forming my argument I would use this article to establish that robots would become like humans, no matter what laws were developed to restrict them, and that this would lead to questions about how we distinguish humans as living and robots as not. If there comes a time where one cannot be distinguished from the other, how can we say robots are not alive, and that they should be slaves?

Dr. Garis[10] highlights moral dilemmas of AI machines; he is a prominent figure working in this area, giving his paper authority in this field. He illustrates ideas connected with the construction of ‘brain-like computers containing…artificial neurons[11]’. This raises ideas associated with how we might view ‘life’, especially in regards to humans. One definition of human life would be our ability to think rationally, is this what separates us from animals? However, Dr. Garis illustrates that AI will be able to think, and be superior in intelligence to humans. He also raises issues of AI experimenting with ‘Darwinian evolution’ on themselves. His article notes the relation between human and AI, and their meaning of life, integral to my essay question.

Mooney[12] notes interesting points associated with humanity and its use of technology to set itself aside from animals. He notes that it was technological progress, new and unknown sciences that made Shelly question life, creation, nature and religion. This has implications for my question. His discussion of “Frankenstein” links with the VHP in the notion of humans being broken down into parts due to technology, removing the divine and natural idea of ‘life’ and associating more with science and anatomy, the use of corpses, a taboo, similar to VHP. He further notes the dichotomy between invention and birth and how life is connected to female creation, and that male invention is connected with death[13]. This would link Frankenstein and VHP together, and follow the thread of science/nature. However, his article I assume is for academic purposes[14].

VHP and Genetic Enhancement

Waldby[15] further discusses issues raised by Mooney about the breakdown between science and nature. She raises serious issues in reference to human life (a term central to my question) linked to the VHP: the issue of flesh into binary code to create living matter, the idea of reproduction of the body removed from the female and instead through technology, the dead body used to discover life, life as an abstract force of animation/simulation and dismemberment/re-memberement of body. She highlights the idea that technology is removing life from birth and that it is becoming an ‘economy’[16]. Waldby is informative, and she proves her authority on the subject, having written a number of other articles linked to the study of the VHP. She would also be helpful in positioning human life in terms of technology and links on to ideas associated with genetic engineering of human life.

Bailey’s[17] article is written in a highly political and journalistic style, however it gives some insights into the differences of opinion related to scientific progress. He makes an interesting comment on how the magic of life has been removed by technology, and that it may not act supportive of human development, but change it completely, as in genetic engineering. Bailey discusses concerns raised by Wolfson about human design and perfection. Bailey’s article, although coming from a magazine, highlights how society’s view of human life is challenged by new technology. His article picks up on a fear similarly found in Shelly’s novel of new technology and the nature of uncovering that human life is no longer divine, but can be interfered with.

Conclusion
These articles addressed each area of the question, and under the sections I decided to investigate, provided and adequate base with which I could generate an argument. The meaning of ‘Life’ has been re-evaluated due to technology, as the boundary between nature and science has become increasingly blurred. The use of human bodies in the VHP, and the adjustments to human life by technology, as well as the possibility to create humanlike robots, has confused these boundaries. It becomes increasingly difficult to identify life, when the dead can be re- animated through computer code, and machines are able to think and replicate themselves. The maternal mother is now under threat of being replaced by the male inventor, who gives birth to genetically modified humans, and AI that can out surpass us in intelligence.

Footnotes!
[1] Waldby, Catherine. “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History”, in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000, pp.1-18. And, Waldby, Catherine. “The Instruments of Life: Frankenstein and Cyberculture”. Prefiguring Cybercultures: An Intellectual History. Eds. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson and Alessio Cavalaro. Sydney: Power Publications, 2002, 28-37. Her two articles cover issues on technology and how it has changed our views of the ‘body’ (VHP) and ‘life’ (Frankenstein and Cyberculture) and mentioned ethical and moral dilemmas of technology.
[2] Wikipedia, “Technological Singularity” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity, (last modified 2004), last accessed 2.9.04 The idea of technological singularity involves technological progress accelerating beyond human understanding, and the idea of smarter-than-human intelligence which humans may be unable to influence or predict the consequences of their creation.
[3] Bell, James, “Technotopia and the death of nature”, Earth Island Journal, http://80-gateway.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqd&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&rft_dat=xri:pqd:did=000000116101305&svc_dat=xri:pqil:fmt=html&req_dat=xri:pqil:pq_clntid=20923, 2002, last accessed 2.9.04
[4] Bell, James 2002.
[5] Bell quotes Kevin Kelly’s idea that the ‘realm of the born… (nature) and realm of made… (human construction) are becoming one’. This quote could be used to highlight how technology is confusing the creation of life, and how its whole meaning will change when technological singularity is reached, and progress is uncontrolled (Bell, James, 2002).
[6] GNR= genetics, nanotechnology and robotics, Bell, James 2002.
[7] Clarke, Roger, “Asimov’s Laws of Robotics Implications for Information Technology”, http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html, 1994, last accessed 2.9.04.
[8] Asimov’s Laws establish that a robot’s ‘meaning of life’ will be subservient to that of humans, they are by nature of the meaning of the word ‘robot’, slaves (Clarke, Roger, 1994)
[9] Clarke, Roger, 1994.
[10] De Garis, Hugo, “The 21st Century Artilect: Moral Dilemmas Concerning the Ultra Intelligent Machine”, http://www.cs.usu.edu/~degaris/essays/Artilect-phil.html, 1989, last accessed 2.9.04.
[11] De Garis, Hugo, 1989.
[12] Mooney, Adam, “The Dilemma of Artificial Nature: Forbidden Knowledge in Frankenstein and The Terminator”, Dystopian Science Fiction and Technofear – Artificial Nature, http://members.ozemail.com.au/~admoon/essay/04_artificial_nature.htm, 1995, last accessed 2.9.04
[13] However he goes on to break down this positive/negative dichotomy between natural birth and scientific invention and establishes that technology is part of human nature and we come to view established technologies as natural e.g. no one today finds a plane flying in the sky to be an unnatural or frightening phenomenon (Mooney, 1995).
[14] However, the quality/clarity of his writing, and the substantial amount of references of academic quality and links to notable Universities, made me evaluate this work to be of a suitable academic nature.
[15] Waldby, Catherine, “The Visible Human Project: Data into Flesh, Flesh Into Data”, http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/wildbiol1.html, last accessed1.09.04.
[16] “…if the force of Life is understood as informational code, the program of Life itself can be rewritten.” And … “any technique which seeks to replicate living matter involves the effacement of the maternal body as point of origin, even when, in practice, no technique has been able to dispense with maternal bodies completely” and further “…biomedical fantasizing about human life and Life in general as an informational economy which can be animated, reproduced, written and rewritten, through biomedical management”, (Waldby, Catherine, “The Visible Human Project: Data into Flesh, Flesh Into Data”, 2004).
[17] Bailey, Ronald, “Right- Wing Technological Dread” Reason Online Magazine, http://reason.com/rb/rb013101.shtml, 2001, last accessed 2.9.04

Biblio/Weblio

Text Articles For Initial Reference: Waldby, Catherine. “The Visible Human Project: An Initial History”, in The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman Medicine. London and New York: Routledge, 2000

Waldby, Catherine. “The Instruments of Life: Frankenstein and Cyberculture”. Prefiguring Cybercultures: An Intellectual History. Eds. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson and Alessio Cavalaro. Sydney: Power Publications, 2002

Online Sources Used For Webliography: Bailey, Ronald, “Right- Wing Technological Dread” Reason Online Magazine, http://reason.com/rb/rb013101.shtml, 2001, last accessed 2.9.04

Bell, James, “Technotopia and the death of nature”, Earth Island Journal, http://80-gateway.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqd&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&genre=article&rft_dat=xri:pqd:did=000000116101305&svc_dat=xri:pqil:fmt=html&req_dat=xri:pqil:pq_clntid=20923, 2002, last accessed 2.9.04

Clarke, Roger, “Asimov’s Laws of Robotics Implications for Information Technology”, http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/SOS/Asimov.html, 1994, last accessed 2.9.04

De Garis, Hugo, “The 21st Century Artilect: Moral Dilemmas Concerning the Ultra Intelligent Machine”, http://www.cs.usu.edu/~degaris/essays/Artilect-phil.html, 1989, last accessed 2.9.04.

Mooney, Adam, “The Dilemma of Artificial Nature: Forbidden Knowledge in Frankenstein and The Terminator”, Dystopian Science Fiction and Technofear – Artificial Nature, http://members.ozemail.com.au/~admoon/essay/04_artificial_nature.htm, 1995, last accessed 2.9.04

Waldby, Catherine, “The Visible Human Project: Data into Flesh, Flesh Into Data”, http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/wildbiol1.html, last accessed 1.09.04

Wikipedia, “Technological Singularity” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity, (last modified 2004), last accessed 2.9.04

Other Articles Accessed: Bostrom, Nick, “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence”, http://www.nickbostrom.com/ethics/ai.html, 2003, last accessed 2.09.04 Capps, Robert, “The Humanoid Race” Wired Magazine, 12.07, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.07/race.html?pg=1, 2004, last accessed 2.9.04 Rev David, Jones, “Cloning and Stem Cell Research”, http://www.health.thechurch.com.au/scr_027.html, 2001, last accessed 2.09.04 Kunkle, Daniel, “John Von Neumann: Genius of Man and Machine”, http://www.rit.edu/~drk4633/vonNeumann/, 2002, last accessed 2.09.04 Thacker, Eugene. “Lacerations: The Visible Human Project, Impossible Anatomies, and the Loss of Corporeal Comprehension.” Culture Machine, 3, 2001,http://web.archive.org/web/20030510181251/http://culturemachine.tees.ac.uk/Cmach/Backissues/j003/Articles/Thacker/impossible.htm last accessed 2.9.04 Wikipedia, “The Turning Test”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test, last accessed 2.9.04

webliography

2004-09-02T17:06:00.000+08:00

Contemporary society has recently been confronted with the implementation of new technologies which question the definition of human. Digital culture encompasses a broad range of theorists who often revisit and rework other older ideas, providing numerous contradicting often ambiguous readings of the human subject. New technologies have produced what Catherine Waldby refers to as technogenesis, “’the loss of an origin securely located in nature’”. This loss of origin in nature is not a new phenomenon but is part of the process of reconfiguring humanity in a technologised world.

Waldby[1] looks at the impacts of genomic projects on the position of the human subject, paying special attention to the sciences and social sciences/humanities divide. Biology and related sciences see living bodies as constituted by information which is comparable with data. The humanities, exemplified best by Susan Oyama[2], argue that this is a reductive approach, that computer programs can not possibly emulate living human systems. For Waldby each argument is partially true, she believes that science needs to remember that it is not a coincidence that the human body is organised like information systems, that the convergence between matter and data has been engineered[3], while the humanities is critiqued for retreating to much from material practices of biology and fact that the informational approach does provide results. The Human Genome Project is a way of mediating the human body creating a two way street between genetic information and data and back again. In conclusion Waldby reminds us that all translation results in loss, affirming that humans cannot be defined by technology and are therefore separate from it.

The notion of ‘posthuman’ as articulated by Hayles[4] can be read as a response to technogenesis, both the frightening and liberating aspects are analysed. For Hayles although we are not securely located in nature, we are easily separable from machines, being human is an embodied thing which includes an evolutionary history that machines do not have[5]. Hayles critiques the flaws in old notions of humanities location in genesis as “applied … to that fraction of humanity who had the wealth, power and leisure to conceptualize themselves as autonomous beings”[6]. The ‘posthuman’ is about partnership (with technologies/nature), not domination and control. As Hayle’s points out “everyday we participate in systems whose total cognitive capacity exceeds our individual knowledge”[7]. Humans are reconfigured as emergent subject’s part of a system, not the masters.

Stuart Murray[8] gives a comprehensive overview of Catherine Waldby’s The Visible Human Project: Informatics Bodies and Posthuman Medicine, this includes an in-depth analysis of the position of the human subject and how this is being challenged by new technologies. VHP and associated projects and technologies are continuing to break down many long standing binaries (a project that began in earnest with postmodernism); the destabilisation of boundaries locates the human subject in a new precarious and simultaneously exciting position. Murray acknowledges the anxieties that surround new technologies which integrate with the body and allow access to the body as never before, this is particularly confronting when in our post-modern world knowledge is the new power. Concerns are also expressed about ‘biovalue’ a term equivalent with Heideggers ‘standing reserve’ the idea that the complex, inherent knowledge of the human body can be employed or used by technologies and that the resulting power would be dissipated through existing hierarchies[9].

Heidegger’s ideas about contemporary technologies and their numerous impacts are outlined by David Vessey[10]. Heidgeggers theories are invoked by numerous contemporary thinkers on issues of technology. Heidegger saw technology as exploiting nature whereby objects become ‘standing reserve’ ready to be used at will by humans. That humans were in control of technology is a myth for Heidegger, illustrating the anxieties surrounding technology. Humans did not control the ‘truth’ or revealing which for Heidegger is the essence of humanity; instead humans themselves also became ‘standing reserve’ although they were unable to see this. To rescue ourselves from this conception we need to look at the essence of technology, as both revealing and concealing of the truth.

Susan Hawthorne[11] looks at organic bodies and the concept of the cyborg from a feminist perspective, which reinforces the importance and separateness of the natural body from technology. Hawthorne finds the current definition of cyborg to inclusive to be useful, this also takes the focus away from the real body and the political struggles centred around it. The concept of the cyborg is a way of escaping or denying the real politicised body. The fallacy that cyborg culture has no origins is uncovered by Hawthorne who traces cyborg genealogy and finds that they have been owned and controlled primarily by white, male elite[12]. This type of critique is extended to cyberspace and virtual reality (VR), neither of which can exist without the real world. Hawthorne finds that VR is out of touch with the real world, “VR is the commodification of the mind’s processes”[13]. The liberating possibilities of cyberspace and VR are not being taken advantage of instead these are worlds created by (mostly) white males for white males. Hawthorne advocates that we embrace embodiment and (re)learn to be in the body.

The VHP is the focus of Thacker’s[14] online article which delves into the historical aspects of anatomy, vital for understanding the human subject’s ambiguous and historically changing position, technogenesis or genesis? Thacker provides evidence that since the renaissance science has been obsessed with links between modes of organization, visibility and technique; this began with the anatomical dissections in the sixteenth century which challenged textual authority with visceral evidence, paving the way for the demonstration of visible proof. Early anatomy also focused on the technical logic behind the body. There is juxtaposition between messy dissections and anatomical texts that technology has failed to allay, technology can not give a true representation of the body.

New technologies and projects reconfigure how we see and know the body leading to a redefinition of what it means to be human. The general consensus appears to be that old notions of humanity influenced by the enlightenment are considered to favour the white, western, male, elite and that notions such as autonomy and mastery over nature, once associated with humanity are false. Feminist theorists especially stress the importance of the body and are already wary when it comes to ideas of natural, instead highlighting the politics behind naturalisation. Most theorists also agree that the new human subject postion recognises that it is part of a system that includes nature and technology, and that we are products of this system while maintaining a unique force that makes us human.

Bibliography

Hawthorne, Susan, Cyborgs, Virtual Bodies and Organic Bodies: Theoretical Feminist Responses, http://cmo.library.uwa.edu.au.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/04155.pdf 22/08/2004

Hayles, Katherine, What Does It Mean to be Posthuman?, http://online.itp.ucsb.edu/online/colloq/hayles1/oh/09.html, 29/08/2004.

Murray, Stuart, Catherine Waldby’s The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman medicine, http://www.reconstructions.ws/021/reVisibleHP.htm, 24/08/2004

Thacker, Eugene, Lacerations: The Visible Human Project, Impossible Anatomies, and the Loss of Corporeal Comprehension, http://web.archive.org/web/20030510181251/http:/culturemachine.tees.ac.uk/Cmach/Backissues/CM001/Articles/host.htm , 28/08/2004

Vessey, David, Martin Heidegger: The Question Concerning Technology, http://www.beloit.edu/~philorel/faculty/davidvessey/Heidegger22702.html, 30/08/2004

Waldby, Catherine The Human Genome Project: Information, Embodiment and Experience, http://www.ssn.flinders.edu.au/soci/staff/riaz/genomeproject/8.htm, 24/08/2004

Ps. I have copies of all the articles if I have incorrectly cited the URL’s.
[1] Catherine Waldby, The Human Genome Project: Information, Embodiment and Experience, http://www.ssn.flinders.edu.au/soci/staff/riaz/genomeproject/8.htm, 24/08/2004
[2]Waldby, p. 2. Oyama’s idea is that development of organic systems is not hypercomplex an emergence between organism and environment, which is impossible to simulate with computer programs.
[3] Waldby, p 4.
[4] Katherine Hayles, What Does It Mean to be Posthuman?, http://online.itp.ucsb.edu/online/colloq/hayles1/oh/09.html, 29/08/2004.
[5] Hayles, p372.
[6] Hayles, p. 376.
[7] Hayles, p. 377.
[8] Stuart Murray, Catherine Waldby’s The Visible Human Project: Informatic Bodies and Posthuman medicine, http://www.reconstructions.ws/021/reVisibleHP.htm, 24/08/2004
[9] Murray, p. 3.
[10] David Vessey, Martin Heidegger: The Question Concerning Technology, http://www.beloit.edu/~philorel/faculty/davidvessey/Heidegger22702.html, 30/08/2004
[11] Susan Hawthorne, Cyborgs, Virtual Bodies and Organic Bodies: Theoretical Feminist Responses, http://cmo.library.uwa.edu.au.ezproxy.library.uwa.edu.au/04155.pdf 22/08/2004
[12] Hawthorne, p.221.
[13] Hawthorne, p 230.
[14] Eugune Thacker, Lacerations: The Visible Human Project, Impossible Anatomies, and the Loss of Corporeal Comprehension, http://web.archive.org/web/20030510181251/http:/culturemachine.tees.ac.uk/Cmach/Backissues/CM001/Articles/host.htm , 28/08/2004

The Horror of the Webliography!

2004-09-01T11:32:00.000+08:00

This Webliography is incredibly difficult!! I am finding it impossible to restrict it to 1000 words.
Maybe the problem is in the information being given, or how I am presenting it. I think I shall try breaking down the assessment of the sources into just points about the source.
All I want to do is write the essay!! THat would be so much more fun!!! WHY OH WHY CANT WE WRITE THE ESSAY!!!!!!!!!
Can I put info into the footnotes maybe? That might give me more wordcount to work with.....
That example in the instruction sheet, if you added up the words and used the same amount for 6 - 8 sources, then the conclusion, it SO would of come to more than 1000 words!!
TAMA can we have 1,500!!!????
PLEASE!!!!!!!

Menu Driven Identity: Workshop Response

2004-08-30T14:29:00.001+08:00

On the Hotmail registration page the two genders male and female are offered, and it is mandatory to allocate one of these in order to successfully acquire a Hotmail passport. This information continues the marginalisation of those who identify as transgender, and, as Hotmail is available globally, presumably there may be thousands of transgender people being offended by this question. The languages available to Hotmail users are only the dominant languages and do not include dialects- for example, there is only French- when French can be French Canadian, Islander French etc. In the allocation of occupation there is no diversity in Trades wheras other proffessions get more specific descriptions (lawyers, engineers). This is degrading to the plubers and electricions whose identity comes all bundled under one term. This shows Hotmail to be targeting professional people over those with trades.

Yahoo gives the option to specify gender but it is not mandatory to tick either box, and in the area of occupations gives more avenue for specification than Hotmail with a secondary classification box.

Both Hotmail and Yahoo! seem to be eurocentric and targeted towards affluent educated people. The password confirmation question’s seem very american (not everywhere has School mascots!) and the assumptions made about having pets, favourite movies or books assumes a certain degree of resources.

Lava life suggests you specify your racial identification through choosing a last name that has specific racial and ethnic connotations. This does not account for those of mixed race, or who do not wish to define themselves pruely through their racial or ethnic background.

LavaLife encourages young, white, attractive individuals to use the website. The default settings continue the archaic idea of men being active in formation of relationships by assuming “male seeking female”. Personal qualities become saleable commodities; users are encouraged to specify a desired race, age and/or gender for their partner, sugesting that people actually do (and should) have preferred race/age for a partner and should not be flexible. I think it is racist to assume that people should specify an ethnic background for a prospective partner or that in your profile you should be encouraged to include that information because it can lead to the perpetuation of racial stereotypes (like the deferential nature of Asian women, or the *ahem physical qualities of African American men.

Lava Life encourages a kind of online sex tourism that is dependant on race, age and gender.

Tutorial Introduction for Margo Kingston’s “Diary of a Webdiarist: Ethics Goes Online” (Week 8)

2004-08-29T20:20:00.000+08:00

This article by Margo Kingston focuses on the ethical issues that she had encountered while writing and managing her online political column for the Sydney Morning Herald, called ‘Webdiary’ (which can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/webdiary/index.html). Shortly after its initiation, Webdiary had become a highly-involved forum for discussion of federal politics, with readers coming from differing views being able to contribute freely to the open topical discussion set by Kingston’s column, via email. Kingston acknowledges that she cannot post to the web every publishable email that she receives from readers, but she does try to include a full spectrum of opinions, to facilitate interesting debate and avoid a trail of one-sided views that collude with her own. In this article, Kingston recognizes that the fairly recent medium of the internet has brought in interesting ethical concerns when it comes to a forum such as Webdiary, as compared to the constraints of the editorial pages of the traditional paper-based news media.

The most positive result of Webdiary is that it has acted as a successful communication bridge between journalist and reader, that in ‘opening the floor’ to the readers’ commentary, they are able to “join the show and help direct it”. This brings into question the nature of ethics in media when applied to the flexibility of the internet. Kingston discusses whether established codes such as the Media Alliance’s and Sydney Morning Herald’s code of ethics can be applied directly to the online environment. She states that these codes must be adapted to fit online journalistic practices, which are less planned, more interactive and faster. Kingston also muses on the position of power that she holds in her position as moderator of the reader responses that get posted, and how this is separate from the activities of an editor of a newspaper, where the power stems from controlling the selection of responses to rigorously planned topics. The power of the moderator in Webdiary is that essentially “the moderator’s professional ethics” become the ethics of the entire site. Kingston felt that in this case, the most important part of the journalist-reader relationship was the trust that all engagement would be natural, and the trust in the journalist being objective to the best of their ability, while acknowledging the myth of objectivity. Thus, the online media brings in new levels of accountability.

With the reader’s contributions, there are ethical issues resonating around nom de plumes because anonymity is much easier to achieve online, and more problematic. She also discusses problems with offensive material in the reader contributions, because it is inevitable where personal opinions can be expressed as naturally as they can online. Conflicts of interest concern readers of the site, because like in any media, the affiliations of a person can influence their response. On Webdiary, plagiarism and corrections are of great concern to Kingston, but it is different from traditional media because in the easy and close interaction with the readers, it becomes an ethical responsibility for the moderator to correct any errors. Kingston also notes the ethical ‘obligations’ expected of herself and her contributors, lists of ethical codes which have been specifically constructed for Webdiary.

Menu- Driven Identity Workshop Response

2004-08-29T10:17:00.000+08:00

What categories are available for users to choose from when signing up for Hotmail, Yahoo mail or in order to use the Second Life game world? What presumptions do these categories make about users and what does the absence of certain categories of identity say?

Both Hotmail and Yahoo mail include categories of name, language, country, gender, occupation. English was the default language set and America was the default country. This portrays the dominant status of western white culture in this category. Although the site can be constructed in a particular way as to promote white western culture, it could display a diversity of cultures implicitly through its typed text, especially that of a name. The terms and conditions are more like the rules as to what you can and can not do therefore to an extent this can be seen to create a false sense of identity as the user has to take into account his actions and behaviors too meet the requirements in the terms and conditions. Both however, are similar in their layout and structure, they both even use blue backgrounds. Yahoo mail has a couple of extra categories to expand of personal information. In relation to gender the only little thing that seemed to stand out was in the Yahoo mail, the word ‘dairyman’ under the name category. This can carry connotations related to the white man, once again subtly promoting the idea of a dominant white western culture.

2. What sorts 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?

Lavalife portrays features of people that are considered importatnt in choosing the ‘right’ mate/ partner for yourself. These features tend to construct identities that are traditionally stereotypical of heterosexual relationships with the default setting set at ‘man seeking female’. Although this can be changed, it is presumed that this is how the majority of people will act towards finding a partner. However, relationships can be heterosexual or homosexual. Another thing I noticed was that these singles were predominantly white. Race seems to be an important issue in choosing a partner. I found it interesting that under ethnic background, you were presented with four options, white, black, Asian, other and mixed. The fact that white is first reinforces a domiance of ‘whitness’, also any other race that comes under the category ‘other’ is seen as less important because it does not require a specific race. If you are not white, black or Asian you are just ‘other’ with no other reference. Images in the ‘man seeking woman’ category are all white people once again reiforcing this issue of whitness and dominace. This whitness is also linked to maleness as all white people are portrayed under the ‘man seeking man’ category. Males also tend to include annual income over personal interests linking capitalism and career to men. Age gender location, horoscope, religion, height, and body type are other categories included in this site, yet all this information seems very organised and structured in the same way. There is nothing unique about the setting of each invividuals details. It is only through their typed text and an image (if one is propvided), that we are able to gain any real insight into the type of person they are. Therfore, for a user, how do you know if this information you are presented with is real or just created identities constructed through lavalife?

Menu- Driven Identity-workshop response

2004-08-27T16:53:00.001+08:00

1. The categories on the Hotmail sign up include first and last name, language, country, state, gender and occupation. The default sign on Hotmail stating America as country of origin and the use of English language indicates America’s primacy in the construction of service portals and the use of this site by Americans. Similarly, whilst a diversity of languages exists they seemed to be mainly European. Gender must be outlined as either male or female supplanting any position in between.eg.transgender. Under the occupation section, there was no listing for any agricultural industries thus assuming that individuals within these industries would not be using Hotmail.
The Yahoo mail service asked for additional information including Title and Specialisation under which business orientated positions were listed. Underneath a ticked box indicates whether you want to receive additional Yahoo promotions. etc. Yahoo’s additional questioning suggests that the service provider is interested in utilising user details for advertising purposes. Yahoo also denies partially blind users through a system of registration that needs a code verified. Hotmail has a voice-activated system for code verification.
The Second Life site, in contrast to the two other mail servers, takes a different approach to identity construction. The title immediately suggests opportunity for the user to experience a new existence online. Users’ are asked to construct a first name and find a last name from the selection provided. The last names provided seem mainly European however there is some exceptions. This site is less rigid in identity construction, age country or occupation categories are not listed, however gender must be acknowledged. In comparison to Yahoo, Second Life has strict privacy policy that states that Linden Lab respects your privacy and they will NEVER rent or sell your email address.

3. The “identities” on Lavalife are constructed through the questions asked by the service provider. The default search on this site is set on a male seeking a female implying a heterosexual audience. The age is set on 18 suggesting a younger audience however also setting the minimum age for users. The questions that are used to construct member profiles include age,ethnicity,height,religion and annual income. It is the answers from the users that areused to construct the profile initially viewed on the site. Ethnicity, age and physical appearance are prioritised. Members would be able to “improve” their identities if certain questions were not asked such as height, body type and annual income. Furthermore, individuals may be advantaged if the site did not include photos. It is also important to note that Lavalife does not make concessions for the bisexual community. The site would be more representative if a section was constructed for this group.

Menu Driven Identity Workshop Response

2004-08-27T15:35:00.000+08:00

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 identities say?

The default for both Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail was set on English for language and America for country, therefore assuming that the majority of users are English-speaking and from America. Although both have a wide range of languages and countries from which to select a different option, not all languages and countries are included on the list.
Unlike Yahoo!, Hotmail does not have a user ID and requires you to enter your name, which can reveal your ethnicity.
Both sites require you to enter your occupation or industry, while Yahoo! also asks for your title and specialization. This can be useful information for advertising purposes.
At the end of the sign-up page, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail both employ a visual code verification for security purposes and Hotmail also has an aural code verification for the partially blind. Not having this aural facility, Yahoo! Mail discriminates the partially blind.

Second Life doesn't have a default and you create your identity by choosing a name from the options list. These names are varied in ethnicity, although the majority are English and Europeen names. The site also provides security and privacy reassurance for the user.

All three sites need the user to reveal their gender, thus discriminating intersex individuals.

4. Are any of the websites you've visited inherently racist? Why or why not?

None of the websites are inherently racist, but they do discriminate people who speak less common languages or who are from smaller or less developed countries. For example, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail do not enable the user to type in their language or country, but have lists from which they have to choose an option. Although the lists are divers, they do not include every language and every country in the world!! Furthermore, although Second Life does not require people to reveal their country, it demands you to choose a name, which of course, reveals your ethnicity. This list may be long, but it would not include names for all ethnicities. The ethnicity options each site are limited.

Menu driven identity response

2004-08-27T12:41:00.000+08:00

1) Hotmail and Yahoo are both very similar in their list of questions, similar critiques can be made against both. Both have a default setting which is English and America, which although culturally biased is I guess a true reflection of the internet majority users. Both sites also ask for a zip code which I assume is something similar to postcodes in Australia and which reinforce the American dominance of these sites. The forgotten your password settings questions where also culturally biased, rather eerily naturalized questions, which it would usually be assumed everyone (at least of western culture) would have no problems answering. The security question assumes that English is the first language, even I could have come into difficulty answering it and English is my first language. Both sites make presumptions as to the geographical and cultural background of the user of their sites. Although both sites do reflect the demographics of most internet users, their presumptions do not encourage those from different backgrounds to feel comfortable with using these sites.
The second life registration form is a lot more open. The one thing that jagged with me was that although mostly left up to the user to create their own identity, the choice list of last names was mostly exoticised and strange, assuming that the users would be wanting to create an identity to escape the banal (western) off line names and possibly personality's.

2) The lava profiles provide a few spaces for the users ethnicity to enter into their created identities. One is the photograph option which would physically place an individual in an ethnic or racial group and the other was the ethnic background question. The overwhelming majority of people with profiles who I looked at stated white as their ethnicity (strange I didn't realise white was an ethnicity). The second most common response was no ethnicity specified, however a lot of these people also put their height down as 3 feet so the validity of their profiles must be questioned. The only 'mestiza' at least in terms of ethnic identity was displayed by an 'Asian' women who in a rather long profile explained that she was Chinese who lived in Columbia in south America.

Menu Driven Identity workshop response

2004-08-27T12:08:00.000+08:00

1. Setting up an email account with Hotmail or Yahoo requires the entering of personal information such as gender, age, location, preferred language and occupation. Both Hotmail and Yahoo sites make it clear they are attempt to cater for what they view as the ‘mainstream’ of internet users in the options and categories available, and whilst the sites appear to acknowledge variety amongst email users through the availability of interfaces in different languages and a range of products and subscriptions, the narrow field of languages and options available reveals that not only are white, western users considered to be the majority, but also that movement outside of this default identity is severely limited.
The Yahoo!Mail site has three mail options available to users, each accompanied by a photo and caption; there is the free mail service with a picture of a white woman saying ‘I want email to stay in touch, share important moments with people who matter’, the Yahoo!plus package shown with a white man saying ‘I need to go to the next level, so give me the works.’, and lastly there is the personalised email address option accompanied by a picture of a black man saying ‘with my own address, my mail is as unique as I am.’ The design of the interface lays out the categories and assumptions yahoo makes about its users ; women are using email as an extension of their pre-existing social networks and require only basic letter writing email capacity, white men using email are more savvy with the technology and are more dependant on email professionally and personally, and finally – the ethnic minority who uses the internet as a means of expressing his deviation from the percieved norm.
The surnames available for use on the SecondLife site engage in a kind of discursive racial mapping (Kang) – the inclusions and exclusions in ethnic origins create limitations on the kinds of ethnic identities available for use on the site. The names take in a reasonably broad range of western and eastern European surnames and a few common Latin American names – but fail to include even a tokenistic, stereotypical Asian name. The assumption of a virtually homogenous white user group is implied in the exclusion of certain types of ethnic surnames –the names included serve an aesthetic value which reinforces the white “sanitised” design of the game – ‘milk’ ‘dragonfly’ ‘tapioca’ are names which avoid any associations with racial or cultural 'others'. In this environment of assumed 'whiteness' users can pick and choose the gender, skin colour and appearance of their avatar within the game, to try on and create a exotic ‘more exciting, animated you’.

2. Lavalife generates and broadcasts profiles of ‘singles’ categorised by their gender, age, height, body type, ethnic background, religion, smoking and drinking habits, and their geographical location. For each of these categories options are presented as a drop down menu which, whilst it allows the user not to specify their racial and religious background, or to select ‘other’, it doesn’t allow the user to act outside these limited options. ‘Racial’ categories are a prominent feature in the profiles of Lavalife users. The inclusion of racial or ethnic background in the few details displayed in the user profile disallows any interaction that is not filtered by racial meanings and associations – there is no delay that enables the postponing of racial stereotypes (Kang). Lavalife offers an ‘international’ interface ‘in your language with content that is relevant to you’ – however, the only sites available are those for French and English speaking Canadians, Australians and English speaking Americans – a cross section which barely represents the white English speaking world. The identities and options available for broadcast on the Lavalife web-site do not allow users to create their own categories and labels for identification – instead the site relies on basic groupings which brand anyone not fitting into these simplified versions of society as ‘other’ or ‘not specified’ and clearly emphasis a norm that is white and English speaking.

Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

2004-08-27T02:52:00.000+08:00

2. What sort of 'identities' are visible in the profiles on Lavalife? Howare they displayed? What presumptions does this display make about both the people reading these profiles and those users who made them?

Profiles on Lavalife follow a fixed format of picture, nickname, short introduction, age, gender, location, race, horoscope, religion, height, body description, smoke habit, alchohol habit, number of children and desire for children, education level and yearly income. In general, the categories in each profile seem to presume people have certain preferences when dating and seek to represent the most common ones.
The 'Intimate Encounters' option is limited to signed up users so I did not explore that section, but it was interesting to see the difference in profiles for the 'Dating' and 'Relationship' options. Under the 'Dating'option, the children, education and income categories are not specified in profiles. These are only present in profiles under the 'Relationship'option. This seems to presume that people interested in just dating would not be concerned about these areas while serious relationship seekers would.I noticed that some of the categories such as race and smoke habit and pictures were left out in some profiles but the extent of optionality is uncertain.

Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

2004-08-26T22:29:00.000+08:00

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?

The categories made available to potential users are very essentialist and conform to the standard defining categories of ‘real life’ society, for example, ‘age’ is included as well as is “gender”, with only a male/female choice presented to the user, which is problematical for those with any possible alternative gender identities. Labelling categories like ‘age’ are not only used as targets for advertising and marketing, but also form legal boundaries in the case of those below the ‘legal’ age of 16. The categories show that the sites assume a lot about it’s users, specifically that they must come from a dominant middle-class group. Evidence of this is in Second Life’s security question of “what is your favourite vacation spot?” Yahoo’s signup emphasizes the presumed Western-ness of its users, with themes embedded into American cultural consciousness, like the “all-time favourite sports team” question.

4) Are any of the websites you've visited inherently racist? Why or why not?

I found that although Lavalife did not in-itself discriminate against users in the categories it presented, there was a remarkably huge proportion of Caucasian user profiles, compared to those of users of ‘other’ ethnicities. While this isn’t ‘racist’ as such, it is important to consider possible reasons for this imbalance of ethnicity, as represented on the site. Where there were pictures accompanying the users’ profiles, they almost always showed Caucasian people, regardless of sexual preference. It was also apparent that there was a Christian majority in the ‘heterosexual’ section of the website, compared to the homosexual sections, which showed a majority of ‘non-religious’ listed for the user’s religious affiliation. What this leads to is that even though a site may not be designed to be ‘inherently racist’, through the identities of the users that sign up, it can invariably turn into a website that is posed primarily for a majority of one particular, dominant group in society, in this case, Westernized, white and Christian. Alternatively, it could be that users who identity with ‘other’ ethnicities or categories simply choose not to voluntarily reveal their ‘alternative’ characteristics, for different reasons.

MENU DRIVEN IDENTITY RESPONSE

2004-08-25T15:06:00.000+08:00

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?
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?
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? What changes would you suggest in order to "improve" the sorts of identity Lavalife users can construct?
4. Are any of the websites you've visited inherently racist? Why or why not?
1) Hotmail: Other than standard categories such as name, gender etc, Hotmail does not seem to give its users an option to create an identity based on race information. However, you could interpret that some form of race identity could be created through the choice of Country and Language. If we look at this the default language is (surprise) English and the default country is US, even though I am accessing the site from Australia. From this point of view we can interpret there is some bias in favour of a dominant English speaking US group. However, in the US there are a number of ethnic and racial groups, and the selection of the US as a country, as well as the spoken language of English (which Tama admitted himself is the most common language if we include second learned) does not act as a completely discriminatory act in terms of race etc. The fact that race is not explicitly a question in the form can mean one of two things : when filling out this form it is irrelevant what race you are, everyone gets the same treatment, or, the dominant thought is that everyone is white so why bother with the question. In Hotmail’s privacy statement and user agreement forms etc, they do include ideas of race, and also the notion of internet stalking and signing up under a false name or identity. Hotmail remarks that it is not right to sign up without using your correct name or that any racial abuse etc should be carried out within their sites otherwise it is breaking the terms of the agreement. YAHOO: does not seem to take race into consideration, similar to Hotmail, however the default country is set to Australia. However, it is interesting to note that an example name is ‘dairyman’ is this a play on words considering our question or what? The example seems to point to a ‘white male’….SECOND LIFE: no question for race in this sign up, however I would think options would be available later on when creating your character. It is interesting to see though that examples of names appear to be typically western.
The absence of questions relating to race seems to suggest that in these contexts it is not a factor in the signup process, and that the standard appears to be for a white person, speaking English. However I think it is important to note that there are a number of factors for why these signups would not question race and assume that English would be the dominant language. Also when listing countries, languages etc there are a large number of choices. I don’t think it would be fair to say that from this specific viewpoint of looking at these sites that they are racist. If there was a site that explicitly asked me to list my race, what would that imply? Why would they want to know? And how would it affect the service I received?
2) Ok, Lavalife does seem to have some issues on gender and race….for a start the default setting is a male seeking a woman. Interestingly enough if you accept that it comes up with a predominant listing of Asian women. Maybe if you were to access the site from inside the signup option you would be given a more detailed search where you might be able to discriminate between asian, other, white etc in who you want to search for a match with. Peoples descriptions do tend to include their race, and most seem to be white, most gave their alternatives such as asian etc, while a few gave OTHER as a type. I would think in a dating service the notion of race would have to be brought up based on cultural compatibility. Naturally some asian women would only want an asian boyfriend/lover etc, due to simply a fact that they would have the same cultural background and it would make it easier to date. I don’t necessarily think the listing of race on lavalife is negative. I think lavalife illustrates the distinction between online and offline self perfectly. Here we can really see that race is an issue to people. For Hotmail and Yahoo in their signups race did not appear to be a factor, this is not necessarily saying they thought we are all white, but that they just don’t need the information for the creation of this online identity. In lavalife there is the assumption that at some point the people who are reading your description are going to meet you face to face, and so obviously both the readers and writers believe race to be an important factor, why, we can only speculate depending on the individual. It would be an interesting space in which to attempt the delay race issue brought up from the reading.
3) For a start, those people that don’t want to place photos could put up avatars, that would be cool. That would be a great way to indicate race and a number of other things. The site isn’t really catering for gay/lesbian from what I gather but there are other sites specifically for those. In terms of search criteria they could do to include race and language searches. There category pictures of ‘dating’, ‘relationship’ or ‘something else’ could do with some other racial groups in them other than just white people. However they do have a ‘black’ couple in other photos around the site.
4) I don’t think it is possible to say any of these sites are inherently racist. They seem to assume at times a certain internet user, but, if research has shown that this is the dominant user, than they are just using good business sense in assuming that user. The sites do seem to allow for the identification of race on the net. Remember, in Hotmail and Yahoo these are just the signup pages, once inside people can identify their race in a number of ways through the use of avatars etc. What is evident though, is that race in many situations does not seem to be an option to select from, like male/female. If I had to say that any of these sites where racist I would say Hotmail and Yahoo, and only because on their profile options in their member directories you cannot list what race you are, unless by means of a photo. This may suggest that they view that there is no place or necessity for race on the net. Whether this is a discriminatory attitude or a way of preventing racial discrimination by other members of the site I do not know.

tutorial review

2004-08-25T11:56:00.000+08:00

As per usual with our tutorial there was no problem with generating discussion. A lot of the infomation and ideas in my reading by Lisa Nakamura where covered very well in the lecture which meant i wan't left with a whole heap to say. I tried to cover aspects that weren't touched on in the lecutre. In retrospect I think it would have been interesting to look into the idea of the mestiza a little bit more.

Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

2004-08-24T14:59:00.000+08:00

In response to all the questions...

Yahoo! and Hotmail

It isn't really necessary to provide 'real' details for either hotmail or yahoo accounts. However, this performative potential is only acknowledged by yahoo, which says you should provide your "real name" if you want to be listed on a directory. Whether users provide 'real' or performed identities, it is still important to look at the implications these menus have on identity. The choice of language for both yahoo and hotmail accounts is extremely limited. Yahoo includes various different varieties of the most common languages but this seems to be at the expense of other common languages. There is no attempt by either company to include arabic languages, for instance, and yahoo doesn't even include Japanese. This is an extension of a pre-existing bias towards Western languages, and in particular English, on the Internet and in other forums such as business. Computer languages use predominantly English, and at least the Western standard of Arabic numbers and Roman letters, effectively excluding non-English speakers from active participation. The gender options for these service providers are also severely limiting - female and male are the only choices. Not only do they exclude people who wish to identify as another gender or as no gender at all, they also prevent users from withholding this information. It seems strange that gender is a required field, and the only explanation I can think of is that they need this information to better target advertising etc.

Second Life

The signing up process for Second Life seemed problematic to me. The list of surnames seem to act as stereotypical references to various cultures. I chose "Proudfoot" and would have liked to see how this Native-American stereotype was manifested in the game. However, as with many things on the Internet, people who dont have credit cards are unable to participate (could this be a class issue...?). So I can only imagine the race and gender implications of the game itself.

Lavalife

Class, race and gender become much more overt markers of identity in Lavalife. The details required to create a profile at this online dating agency seem to reflect the mainstream social value placed on class, race and gender (seeing as though the site is so popular). The standard profile (age, location, race, star-sign, religion, height, physique, smoking and drinking habits, predisposition to kids, education and salary) is so impersonal and shockingly discriminatory that the number of people prepared to sign up to Lavalife amazes and depresses me! Worse still is the different types of relationships that the agency supports for different sexualities:

Heterosexual men and women:
meet new people and have fun; look for a committed relationship; try something wild...
Homosexual men:
meet guys to hang out with; find Mr. Right; hook up for sex
Homosexual women:
hang out and flirt; find someone to get serious about; start something sensual.

It seems that, according to Lavalife, commitment is something that only heterosexual men and women seek. Furthermore, what is 'wild' for heterosexual couples is 'just sex' for homosexual men and 'sensual' for homosexual women. The implication seems to be that homosexual men are promiscuous and that homosexual women are caring and loving in comparison. The word 'sensual' seems to suggest that women are not sexual and need men to have sex. The options for women seeking women seem to be constructed within the male gaze (perhaps of the web designer...?) as the sensuality attributed to homosexual women seems to promote a 'lesbian fantasy' played out for the gratification of the sexually-coded, ie. men.

Perhaps the only positive element of the Lavalife structure is the ability for members to protest against the standard profile. Although I have not tried the registration process, it seems from the profiles I have seen that at least some of the fields are optional. Some members have chosen not to list their race or religion and other aspects of their "menu-driven identities". However, the structural foundation of the database - male/female - is inescapable. There is no outlet for other gender identities on the site and as far as sexuality is concerned, the structure seems to suggest that people are either heterosexual or homosexual. While it is certainly possible for members to protest against the categorisation they are subjected to, their chances of attracting someone would then be limited to the single line of individual comment. The site seems to suggest that "menu-driven identities" are our identities and judging by the popularity of the site, this is not under much dispute in mainstream society.

Menu-Driven Identity Workshop Response

2004-08-24T14:49:00.000+08:00

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?

The most notable element of the subscription forms for both Hotmail and Yahoo! mail is the necessity to specify a gender. Initially it appears that Yahoo! mail allowed this field left unanswered, however this appeared to good to be true, and upon further exploration, indeed does not. “Please specify a gender” is the explicit message from Yahoo! when trying to foil and bypass entering a gender. This is the candid realization of Nakamura’s idea of “Menu-driven identities”. The absence of further categories in this field draw on ideas from Dismantling gender polarization and compulsory heterosexuality: Should we turn the volume down or up? by Sandra Lipsitz Bem. () She argues that biological essentialism should no longer be at the core of individual identity. She believes that “the allegedly natural links that have thought to exist among sex… have been constructed, in part, by more than 100 years of gender-polarising theorizing.” This reductionist attitude toward gender in both Hotmail and Yahoo! mail is antithetical to the two solutions offered by Bem. She suggests an elimination of gender categories or “an explosion or proliferation of gender categories”. So by creating an infinite number of fluid gender categories, where mobilisation was possible between them all, the privileged status of the two-gender system would be de-stabilised. The problem with having a strictly two gendered online internet is that it forces participants to conform to prescribed roles of ‘performative’ gender, whereby essential and core identity stems from an extrapolation of biological gender. This disallows expressive and individual sexual identity and subjects participants to assessment based upon societal values and expectations of what it is to be either a man or a woman.
This idea is interesting when exploring Second Life. It draws a lot on the MCI advertisement which suggests a kind of emancipation from your offline self and a freedom to construct a new online identity. “Your Second Life name is your unique in-world identity.” Surprisingly, however, there are restrictions on the surnames available. So even though there is a degree of individuality in becoming a new online person, you are still essentially subscribing to another form of categorisation. In online forums where given information about members is paramount in constructing identities, name is critical. Generally, one’s name allows for conclusions to be made into gender and more importantly ethnic or racial background. This is disallowed in Second Life, despite an explicit reference to the notion of name being at the core of identity.

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

The structure of Lavalife limits users’ profiles in that each field has a finite number of options. To give an example, in the ‘spare time’ field I was forced to chose one of several options instead of writing what I actually did in my spare time. Also you are restricted to only four spoken languages, what if i had spoken all 16? The resulting profiles from the accumulation of the drop-down menu choices were bland and sterile. They did not give an insight into the personality of the member. It is also interesting to note the number of people who claim to have a ‘fit’ or ‘slim’ build, often contrary to their attached photo. Lavalife also insists that a member’s zodiac sign and smoking and drinking habits are of importance in online dating. Despite Lavalife having the most direct on and offline intersection, the ability to construct an ideal identity is too tempting, and indeed necessary in this online dating process (after all why would you pick the girl specifying ‘other’ in the ‘body size’ category when you could chose from a multitude of ‘slim’ girls). There is one section which allows an input of text from the participant, however in the right-hand column sits a link to the ‘profile guidelines’ further limiting and restricting content. Essentially there is no individuality in this forum, just a different combination of the possible options which are astonishingly supposed to accommodate everyone. Interesting to note is the default settings. The homepage has automatically checked the male seeking female box, drawing interesting conclusions about gender roles and sexuality, which I would go into if I hadn’t already exceeded the number of words allowed. Racially, Lavalife is a ‘goldmine’ for the articulation of race and ethnicity, but again, no words left. Ideally Lavalife should have an archive of anonymous members who submit essays outlining their intentions in the forum, their depiction of themselves and any other free flow of ideas.

Ruminations on Cyber-Race

2004-08-23T08:42:00.000+08:00

Week 6: Ruminations on Cyber-Race by Jerry Kang

“Race literature” emphasizes that race is a social construction. The way we understand the concept of race (racial mechanics) is derived from social cognition. “In any social interaction we map each other into racial categories (also known as racial mapping) based on physical appearance and more discursively the disclosure of a name". It is law and culture that provide a list of racial categories such as black, white, Asian through which we understand the basic idea of race. These meanings are triggered automatically and subconsciously, altering our behavior and understanding of racial mechanics. Kang examines the issues of race in cyberspace and argues that cyberspace is able to change traditional racial mechanics and create a new perspective of racial integration and social interaction among different groups.

Cyberspace works to disrupt these traditional racial mechanics through altering the ground rules of social interaction. Through enabling multiple forms of computer mediated interactions, such as Weblogs and MUDs, people interact with each other creating relationships based on common interests, experiences and fates. Kang argues that there are three strategies in which racial mechanics can be changed in cyberspace: Abolition, Integration, and Transmutation.

Abolition attempts to abolish race in cyberspace to avoid racial discrimination. This is however hard to achieve as most cyber interactions still take place through typed text and text permits racial mapping e.g. explicitly “I’am Asian” and implicitly (language, names). Coercing people into an abolitionist environment would harm people of color and make them silence an important part of themselves.

Integration contrasts Abolition through ‘Contact Hypothesis’ which helps to reform racial meaning in cyberspace by promoting social interaction cooperation among different groups. Cyberspace communities engage in more direct experiences which are less stereotypical, in turn people interact on terms of equal social status as groups congregate in virtual communities centered on social interests. If participants are treated differently it is usually on the basis of their reputation.

Transmutation (cyber-passing) is the act of choosing ones identity in cyberspace. This choice of racial identity is voluntary and is argued to possibly prompt a person to look at race as less fixed therefore working to destabilize racial categories.

These three strategies have their implications but they all portray that racial mechanics and racial mapping are able to be manipulated and changed in cyberspace. These strategies work to disrupt the way we perceive race in the real world and create new ways of understanding and perceiving the issues of race in online interaction.

Gattaca Response

2004-08-22T17:11:00.000+08:00

Does genetic screening and manipulation as presented in Gattaca evoke a new eugenics? Does this scenario seem credible given current scientific trends?

The film Gattaca raises many concerns about the possible future of genetic screening and manipulation by presenting it as a new age of eugenics. Director and screenwriter Andrew Niccol complicates the eugenic principle of improving genetic stock by examining the potential for discrimination and the social implications of predicting and/or eliminating human imperfections. The film critiques the reduction of human life to genetic profiles by questioning the meaning of perfection. While Vincent was born with human ‘imperfections’ unlike his brother Anton, he is able to achieve more in society’s standards. However, the only way for him to reach this potential is to escape his genetic profile, which positions him as part of the ‘underclass’. Vincent assumes the identity of Eugene Morrow, a perfect human who attempts suicide after failing to win a gold medal despite his genetic perfection. As Vincent states: “unlike the faith births, the genetically enhanced suffer under a different burden, that of perfection”. Ironically, Vincent is better at being Eugene than Eugene himself. This irony forms the crux of the film, as human perfection is measured in terms that make humanity irrelevant. In this way, Niccol raises a question that challenges the fundamental ideas of eugenics: What makes us human?

The future scenario suggested in Gattaca is credible because of the dominance of eugenic ideas in the past and the current proliferation of genetic engineering technologies. The ethical issues involved in genetic screening and manipulation are becoming increasingly important as the range of applications for the technology grows. The film Gattaca is a valuable exploration of the competing ethics between improving the chances of a marginalised few and maintaining cultural diversity. It is easy for those of us who have been lucky to be born with ‘normal’ genes to warn of the dangers of eliminating genetic imperfections. However, it is hardly ethical to deny someone the technology that would give him or her a chance in life. The dilemmas presented by such technology are incorporated into the film, as Niccol explores the grey areas of the ethical debate.

Overview of "Menu driven identities: Making Race Happen online" Lisa Nakamura

2004-08-19T13:32:00.000+08:00

Overview of “Menu Driven Identities: Making Race Happen Online”, from Cybertypes: Race Ethnicity and Identity on the Internet written by Lisa Nakamura.

Lack of access to the internet can be found along race, gender and class lines, these categories do not stand alone but are intersecting, often informing each other i.e. African-Americans are statistically more likely to have poorer education then whites therefore they genrally earn less and by extenstion are part of a lower class. It is just as important to note there are always exceptions to the above and other genralisations.
When the internet was being formulated race was not an issue, most probably because those involved in its production and use where white, middle class and masculine (people for whom class is unproblematic) which even today are still the ‘default’ settings for an internet user. If we consider that culture affects our cognition or the processes behind how we think and learn, ie. the uncovering of IQ tests to be biased towards white middle class culture, then this type of idea could be further applied to give the inherent structures of the internet a bias. The online environment does not exist outside of the offline environment and is being continually informed by offline ideology’s and developments.
Nakamura brings up numerous points in regards to the representation of race on the internet. She is especially interested in the design features of the web which assume that the user is white, male and middle class and the naturalising aspects of this inherently political process. When race is raised it is done so in a reductive way which neutralises the radical possibilities of the internet. Nakamura coins the term ‘cybertyping’ to describe the limited and often oppressive parameters available as racialised online identity choices. These menu or “click a box identity’s” deny complex fluid hybrid identities, what Nakamura refers to as mestiza, a term she borrows from feminist critique Gloria Anzaldua which is used to describe “the product of the transfer of cultural and spiritual values of one group to another” ..”The product of “racial, ideological, cultural and biological cross pollination””. The article also points out the relationship between business and the internet most specifically advertising which sets up the ‘other’ (non-white) as aestheticised exotic native for the purposes of commercialisation. Nakamura critiques the commercial aspects of the web which she sees as “functions[ing] in a similarly double way; they encourage tolerance by acknowledging “diverse” identities, yet create ambiguities about identities that fall between the cracks of hierarchical lists”. This is a reductive view of race which enforces rigid definitions an aspect which problematically appears to be built into the system of interface design.
Nakamura looks towards more informal, grass roots aspects of the internet which she believes (as well as providing evidence for) are closer to a more accurate expression of racial identity. The example given is that of email jokes, especially the “you know you’re a …” lists which highlight the partiality of ethnic identity i.e. Not all the list will apply to everybody, as well as deconstructing and challenging the naturalised assumptions of what it means to be a certain ethnicity.

Changes to this tutorial blog

2004-08-19T02:15:00.000+08:00

Hi Everyone,

New Link
A couple of changes to your tutorial blog. Firstly, you will notice I've added a link to the main Self.Net blog; this contains occassional posts from myself or Karen focusing on items which may be of interest for all students. Also, a number of curious people have found my own personal blog. Since some of you have found it, I may as put a link here, so if anyone else wants a read, you're most welcome (but do keep in mind, this is my personal blog, so isn't always 100% academically orientated!).

Blog Navigation Bar
I'm sure you've all noticed this new Navigation Bar at the top of the blog:

This adds some functions which might make using the tutorial blog easier:

The orange Blogger button will take you directly to Blogger.com.

Entering a search into the empty form box (the white box) and hitting search will search this blog (or whatever blog you are viewing). This should make finding earlier material much easier (only 15 posts remain on the front page, the rest go into the archive, accessible via the links on the side).

Finally, the BlogThis! button will automatically open a window to let you write a blog post.

FollowUp Comments for those Introducing Readings
Just a quick note: most of you who have already introduced readings this week in tutorials have gone back and published your reflection upon the tutorial after it finished. Those who haven't (and those presenting in the coming weeks) please remember that part of your tutorial presentation is to go back to the post you made before the tute and reflect on how well your presentation went (how well the ideas were received; what sort of conversation happened; any ways your ideas about the reading might have changed/expaned). Ideally, this should be done as soon as possible after your tutorial presentation (but really should be before the next meeting of your tutorial). Others are reminded, that they are always welcome to comment on any posts in their tutorial blog and are also welcome to post relevant links/ideas whenever you find things! (oh, and for those of you who've never read other people's comments, give it a go; there are some really interesting dialogues taking place in the comments!).

A reminder:
Before clicking the 'Publish Post' button, if you place the cursor inside the window where you have written your post press either Ctrl+A to select all and then Ctrl+C (on a PC) or Apple+A to select all and then Apple+C (on a Mac), this will place the text you have written in the memory of the computer (this is referred to as placing text on the clipboard). If something goes wrong during the attempt to publish, all you need to do to make the post a second time is place the cursor in the post window and press either Ctrl+V (PC) or Apple+V (Mac) to paste the text from the clipboard into that text box. (Occassionally blogger does 'hang' [which means not finishing the posting function], so it is useful to make this quick backup in order to avoid typing out the entry a second time!)

Gattaca response (sorry for the late post)

2004-08-18T17:08:00.000+08:00

Does genetic screening and manipulation as presented in Gattaca evoke a new
eugenics? Does this scenario seem credible given current scientific trends?

The situation presented in Gattaca is a more advanced method of eugenics that would become almost necessary, once introduced. While eugenics might have previously been justified by the difficulties arising from inherited disabilities, this new form of genetic mapping and manipulation would be rendered necessary in a new world where your future is planned, bought and executed before your birth. Rejecting it would likely lead to being left behind. Without the genetic "head-start", your future would be undetermined, at best.

The scenario seems technically possible given advances in science in areas such as IVF and cloning. However, the moral/ethical/religious issues that would arise from such controlled reproduction might be the larger obstacle for the acceptance of such a future.

Gattaca Response

2004-08-18T15:58:00.000+08:00

“Does the prospect of scientific manipulations of genetics have to be a negative thing in terms of gender? Is there something to be said for ‘Liberating’ women from reproduction?”

In terms of considering scientific manipulation, in the form of eugenics, I would think that it would immediately create a response that questions whether there would be negative implications for gender. But I don’t think this has to be the case. Obviously it has been evident through history that male children in many cultures have been considered a greater ‘blessing’ than that of a female child. But this is limited to cultures and their value of male and female as part of society. Women are linked not only biologically with reproduction but in many other ways as a ‘mother’ figure or the gentler version of the sexes. But if women are no longer the only means of producing a child I don’t see that this would HAVE to be a negative thing in terms of gender. I think females have other qualities that have been recognised in society today, they represent compassion, provide a substantial portion of the workforce, and excel at jobs etc that men may not necessarily be so skilled at. I think it is key to look at male and female as the two opposite sides of a coin, they each possess what the other lacks. Women don’t just contain the capacity to reproduce while the men have every other quality. Eugenics may offer the benefits of creating the ‘perfect human offspring’ but is there one single definition of what the perfect offspring would be?
I think that there is definitely something to be said for liberating women from reproduction. Today it is commonly known that women do not want to have children until they are in their 30’s! Why, because already women have broken out of the confines of simply being considered the ‘mother’. They are pursing their rights and positions in the public sphere, previously only dominated by men. If women themselves are no longer focusing on their ‘supposed’ only real reason for existence, that of giving birth, then why would the ability to not be the only reproductive force pose a threat. I would think they would welcome it. Think of all the women out there who suffer the fate of believing themselves inadequate and enduring the pain (and shame) of not being able to give their husband a child. They are not able to reproduce, but that doesn’t mean that creating a child from their genes would be inferior. There genes are still worthy of being reproduced.
If a fear of the negative effect of scientific manipulation is present, I think it should be interpreted more from an angle of the fear of our creation no longer being natural or ‘god given’ but being reduced to that of simple gene manipulation and like that of creating robots or computers. For anyone to think that they were born in a test tube (no matter whether it was still from elements of a ‘mother’ and ‘father’) is surely a terrifying thought and would have devastatingly negative effects for the human mentality I should imagine.
And think how much a child would cost then!! Even their creation would be more expensive then what it would be from natural reproduction!! And I should think the bond between husband and wife would also be lessened.
IF there were to be negative effects for gender I’m sure they would be felt not only by the women but also THE MALE. The male as well as the mother would also be detached from his original role in the nature of reproduction. Would the father still think of himself as a father of a test tube baby? What happens if his wife was to use the genes of another man to create a child? Would the husband consider that infidelity?
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the workshop as I have been ill and didn’t get to see Gattaca, so I’m having to answer the question from a wider angle. I apologise for my absence and if you would like to see my antibiotic prescription to justify my missing the workshop feel free to ask!

Gattaca: The Future(s) of Reproduction in Sci Fi Cinema

2004-08-18T14:59:00.000+08:00

1. The genetic screening and manipulation featured in Gattaca does seem to evoke a new eugenics. As witnessed in the film the genetic manipulation creates a 'master' group to the exclusion of those of natural birth.Genectic screening also poses many moral concerns for the diversity of human society and whether certain differences are necessarily 'bad'.The situation makes for many complex dilemmas.

The scenario in the film does seen credible given the progress of genetic enigineering.As my knowledge of this area is quite sparse I am not accurately aware of far we are in the manipulation of genetics however I am drawn to an example I heard on the news not long ago.The case surrounded a deaf couple who wanted to make sure that they would have a deaf child.Moral debates surrounded the idea of purposely ensuring 'disability'. Those arguing this case , presumably not deaf, were assuming a certain standard of life of the deaf person.This example demonstates the complexity of the issue.

2.The way that class,race and gender is explored in Gattaca is very interesting.Those of natural birth become the underclass of society and as such their lifetyle is limited.This construction defies ideas of the natural and the biological as right and good.
The powerful positions located in the film, the doctor and interviewer, are held by African American actors.This suggests changes to society as in the not so recent past and still in forms today, descrimination against non white communities has limited their employment possibilities.The casting also complicates the argument of eugenics , recognised through Hitler's concept of an aryan race , turning it on its head.
However, in terms of gender, traditional binary codes are used to construct male and female characters.The mother is moral and emotional when faced with the process of genetic enigeering yet it is the father who actually speaks out about leaving things to chance.After Vincent's birth she names her son, eve though 'imperfect' and hugs him as a toddler when he falls down. She adopts the protective , maternal characteristics traditionally assigned to women. The father is constructed as tough in his decision to not give his name to his first born and competitive in his support of the son who is stonger and taller.His harsh and direct rationale of Vincent's chances in life also correlates with characteristics traditionally assigned to men.Also in support of the use of traditional gender codes is the allocation of powerful positions to men in the film.

3.Scientific manipulations of genetics are largely seen as negitive however the prospect of it being a liberating tool for women may be valid. The end to physical problems of childbirth can be read as positive and reproductive technology would assist same sex couples. However, the joys of pregnancy and the closeness of mother and child would be lost and with this I think also some power.

Gattaca response

2004-08-18T13:44:00.000+08:00

Race, class and gender in Gattaca

Genetic screening and manipulation as presented in Gattaca evoke a new eugenics in that a 'perfect' human being is able to be created with no physical flaws or illness. This however is seen to be a male dominated precess in regards to the clip. When informed by the geneticist of the possibility of creating a perfect child, the couple chose their perfect child to be male. In fact the only female in the clip is the mother. It can be argued that the reason the couple are looking towards genetic screening and manipulation is to create what the female was unable to reproduce naturally and that was a healthy baby. Therefore, the role of the childbearing female is eradicated and this form of eugenics takes its place to 'perfect what the female failed to produce on her own'. It also portrays that the role of women in reproduction is not 100%. and for that reason eugenics is the only way to achieve perfection.

In regards to race and class, the western middle class white male is favoured. However, non-white males are viewed above the role of the female. The two authority figures in the clip are African American males. The geneticist and the male in the office ( i presume him to be the interviewer of a job Vincent was applying for). The African American male was presumed to be the figure in conjunction with eugenics ( as he was the one providing all the information and knowledge to the couple). He is seen to be responsilbe for creating Anton, the perfect child for the couple. Therefore, he is viewed as superior to the female in the clip as he produced what she could not. This futher portrays Eugenics to be male dominated.

In a capitalist economy in which Gattaca is set, eugenics is a way to produce a human race that would maximize the economy through a healthy and efficient working population. Vincent could not achieve a career in space due to a heart problem, but his brother was able to achieve what ever he wanted. Overall, eugenics is dominated by the middle class male.

Gattaca

2004-08-18T11:46:00.000+08:00

Gattaca presents theories of eugenics through the depiction of two opposing characters, Vincent and Anton. Vincent is a child conceived naturally and is labelled ‘invalid’, which, by extension constructs natural birth as a debilitating disorder and a hindrance in life. This stands in opposition to Anton who receives “the best of his parents” through genetic manipulation. His physical flaws are removed and prevented from ever taking place, making him the ideal ‘designer child’. In the capitalist economy that is Gattaca, human engineering is designed to maximise economic productivity by ensuring the most efficient and beneficial workers. ‘Genoism’ is the term used to describe a new form of discrimination in the work force. Where traditionally people were denied employment opportunities because of their race, gender, economic position or political standing, the people from Gattaca had to undergo fluid samples in order to establish their genetic purity. This kind of screening is reminiscent of applicants for the armed forces having to undergo physical tests before acceptance into the army or navy. However the kind of technology represented in Gattaca is beyond today’s means, but is credible nonetheless. The effectiveness of this kind of screening is limited however, as it appears (and I may be wrong) that the genetic manipulation goes only as far as eliminating physical flaws and the possibility of disease and illness, but does not, however, mention the manipulation of intelligence and creativity of the mind. This would thus only benefit the manual work force, but leave the ‘intellectual’ jobs unaffected.

A Gattaca Blogged Response

2004-08-17T17:12:00.000+08:00

“Does genetic screening and manipulation as presented in Gattaca evoke a new eugenics?”

It does evoke a new eugenics because the result of the gene selection process is the creation of a newly marginalised and discriminated-against milieu in that future society. The film clip presented the idea that in educational and occupational environments, being ‘naturally conceived’ is considered a liability- and a disability- that acts as a barrier to those who would like to pursue particular avenues.

“Does this scenario seem credible given current scientific trends?”

Considering that IVF technology has become increasingly available in Western countries during the last 10 years, as well as the development of research into cloning and the human genome, it seems that the scientific aspect of the scenario could very possibly become reality in the [near] future. However, more important are debates that have been issued recently concerning the ethics of screening for any such genes. Gay rights and disabled peoples’ activist groups have questioned whether such technology could lead to a foetus being aborted because it might carry “socially undesirable” traits or physical flaws.

Gattaca- Blogged Response

2004-08-17T15:24:00.000+08:00

The process of genetic screening and manipulation depicted in the Gattica clip suggests that the culture of eugenics that is featured time and again throughout history has the potential to move past the ‘skin deep’ eugenics of race. This genetic elitism threatens the privacy of the individual by not only making public their genetic make up with all its flaws and abnormalities but by defining people by their genes and pidgeonholing them as such.

I imagine this could easily become common practice if the use of genetic manipulation became widespread. I believe it is a symptom of our capitalist society to engineer individuals who will live long and remain healthy enough to sustain what is considered to be an economically beneficial worker- and to the detriment of culture and the arts. Without the ‘live hard, die young’ attitude possesd by those prone to addiction and recklessness, would experimental and innovative music/ film/ art be produced? I suspect not.

The potently ‘raced’ African American Geneticist featured in the clip suggests that as one breed (no pun intended!) of eugenics becomes obsolete, another is quick to take it’s place. So while there are naturally benefits to genetic manipulation (namely the recognition that no one race is inherently superior to another should all their genes be screened) there will always be a negative side.

I disagree with the idea that women could be ‘liberated’ from childbirth. Maternity is no longer viewed as a ‘burden’ to women, rather, that pregnancy is one of the perks of being a woman- one of the few things that she alone can do. It would of course be beneficial for those unable to carry pregnancy to full term; but in my opinion nine months of pregnancy should not be something that women should be able (or indeed want!)to ‘opt out of’ to avoid the inconvenience of physical alteration or economically unproductive time.

David Silver's "Margins in the Wires"

2004-08-16T12:50:00.000+08:00

"There is no race. There is no gender... There are only minds. Utopia? No,
Internet." ("Anthem", television commercial for MCI). David Silver attempts to
deconstruct and expose the falsity of this dictum through a close exploration
and analysis of the 'Blacksburg Electronic Village' (BEV). In a small town of
Virginia, USA, a university set up a communication network, wiring all
facilities and faculties of the university together. During the nineties this
system expanded to include the immediate community outside of the university,
eventually making this town, Blacksburg, "...Americaís most wired municipality."
Because BEV is an online community based around people sharing the same
location rather than the same interests, issues of marginality and the
articulation of race, gender and sexuality are entered. "Such absences speak
volumes", Silver says after discovering that in the fourteen discussion forums
and mailing lists on BEV not a single one addressed race, gender or sexuality.
(Silver does acknowledge the diversity in the coverage of age, however.) This
strengthens the argument of the 'digital default' being a male, white,
heterosexual. BEV is contrasted with PEN, Santa Monica's Public Electronic
Networking system, which provides channels that appeal to the margins
specifically. PEN, "actively recruits and encourages participation for
marginalised residents" standing in direct opposition to BEV which "tries
their best to route around such marginality." Silver's main argument is that
the popular myth of a transgression of race, gender and sexuality through the
anonymity of the internet is unfounded. He believes that the insurance of
online diversity can only be reached through an acceptance and acknowledgment
of a user's race, gender and/or sexuality and that that presence must be built
directly into the network.

oops...

2004-08-15T23:37:00.000+08:00

Hi! sorry kids, I'm a little late to this party - that's totally bad form. oh, well. hi! my favourite web site is the NME site because it's just like the magazine only with sound and videos(and pop-ups! everybody's favourite!) and it doesn't even cost you the six bucks.
see you in tuts people.

Brooke.

Tutorial Presentation - Week 5

2004-08-15T14:58:00.000+08:00

Tutorial Presentation
Helen Corker

Article: “Nobody Lives Only in Cyberspace”: Gendered Subjectivities and Domestic Use of the Internet.
Lisa-Jane McGerty

Focus Questions:

1. Are online interactions inherently gendered?
2. Do gender relations operate differently online compared with face to face interactions?
3. Does the idea of gender performativity make the dichotomy between online and offline life less significant? Does that division make sense at all?

Analysis

McGerty takes the view that Internet use is inherently gendered, saying, “the Internet is inevitably as entangled in the social arrangements of everyday life as we are” (p.337). In her opinion it is the false dichotomy of on/offline that has supported utopian notions of a disembodied ‘virtual’ self, as it ignores “the fact that an individual can never be online without being offline too” (p.339). Insisting that the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’ thus constitute each other, McGerty suggests that it would be more useful to deconstruct and analyse the on/offline dichotomy to discover how and whether they operate differently. Indeed, she refutes the distinction between online and offline life by describing a dialogue between them: “…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” (p.343).

McGerty makes some interesting interpretations of the on/offline dichotomy in terms of feminist notions of performative identity. Firstly, she argues that the dichotomy is problematic as it implies that the ‘virtual’ self is performative while the ‘real’ self is “something immutable and enduringly rooted within the wider context of structured relations of gender, race, and class” (p.339). Furthermore, she suggests that the notion of performativity exposes the irrelevance of the on/offline dichotomy if both ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ selves are performative (p.340).

Reference

McGerty, Lisa-Jane. “ “Nobody Lives Only in Cyberspace”: Gendered Subjectivities and Domestic Use of the Internet.” The Wired Homestead. Eds. Joseph Turow and Andrea L. Kavanaugh. Cambridge, 2003, pp.337-45.

Hello fellow Bloggers

2004-08-10T11:11:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone im testing
Wow a serious blog to participate in, not like that *cough cough* livejournal :)
My favourite website at the moment (ie the one I can remember) is yetisports
This is just some small fun games involving penguins and a yeti. Number four is good, but the orca the whale is hard. Beware addictive!!!
-Cheers

Hi There!

2004-08-10T11:10:00.000+08:00

Hey Everyone! This is my first post! How exciting! I've never done this before, so it's all very new to me!
I can't think of a favourite website at the mo, but I'll let you know if I come up with one! I usually just go to Google and type in random things - anything from news articles to cars to songs!

Anyway, speak soon!

Felicity /Flick/Fliss/Fizz..... I have 21 nicknames!

P.S. Oh I've just realized that we're meant to create a link to a website. Coming from England, I visit www.bbc.co.uk a lot. It's pretty good.

Hey there!

2004-08-10T10:25:00.000+08:00

Hi all so this is my first post. I don't have a favourite website, however i read the news everyday at this link The Straits Times.

Hey!

2004-08-10T10:21:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone, I have no idea what I am doing and I'm completely hopeless with computers (probably shoudn't have done this course!) I don't know what my favourite website is but I'll try to think of one soon!

first time blogger

2004-08-10T10:18:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone :) This is my first blog, how exciting! I don't really have a favourite website but some movie review sites are quite interesting. www.moviereviews.com

greetings

2004-08-09T15:31:00.000+08:00

heya hope everybodys not to englished out by the lecture, tutorial, workshop combo pretty hard on a monday arvo. My favourite website is home gymnastics, I love nothing more than the opurtunity to break both bones and furniture. have a fab day

cat's blogging mania

2004-08-09T15:20:00.000+08:00

howdy all!

As suggested by Tama's handy handout here's the website i use the most www.theatre.asn.au

Hi

2004-08-09T15:19:00.000+08:00

Hey, this is my first Blogger experience, although I've used (eep) LiveJournal. A really great web comic to check out is Diesel Sweeties.

hello

2004-08-09T15:17:00.000+08:00

this is my favourite website www.google.com

First Blog!

2004-08-09T15:14:00.000+08:00

Hi,
My favourite website is www.polichicks.org because of the funky accessories.

First post

2004-08-09T15:12:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone. A friend told me about this great site the other day. Give it a go, its really fun: www.jacksonpollock.org

greetings

2004-08-09T15:11:00.000+08:00

Heya, hope everybody is well today and not to englished out by lecture, tutorial, lab combo on a monday arvo. my fav website is home gymnastics, I love anything that gives me the oppurtunity to break bones and furniture at the same time
have a fab day!!!

Welcome!

2004-08-04T14:35:00.000+08:00

This (we)blog is intended for the Monday, 2pm tutorial group (Tama Leaver's group) in the unit Self.Net: Communicating Identity in the Digital Age.