Readings for this week's class on the intersections of technology and identity as a multimodal process were taken from:
--Philip Levine & Ron Scollon (Eds). (2004) Discourse & Technology: Multimodal Discourse Analysis. (Specifically, their introductory chapter and the chapter by Theo Van Leeuwen entitled "Ten Reasons Why Linguists Should Pay Attention to Visual Communication")
--Angela Thomas (2007) Youth Online: Identity and Literacy in the Digital Age.
--Anna de Fina, Deborah Schiffrin, & Michael Bamber (2006) Discourse and Identity.
In reading the selections for this week's class, and in reading your comments, the questions that emerged (for me) seemed to be grouped into three categories:
Identity
How are our identities shaped by different kinds of social spaces/practices?
How is this process in online interactions similar to or different from our identity-shaping face-to-face interactions?
How often do we engage in critical reflection regarding who we are--when do we engage in this reflection, and why?
What role does critical reflection on identity have to do with crafting an agentive self?
Identity as Multimodal
How does multimodal discourse analysis help us explore the concept of identity?
How does it shape our thinking and practice in helpful ways?
How can what we are learning about the multimodal fashioning of identity assist us in constructing a philosophical stance toward how to "take up" identity in our thinking? In relating research to the practice of education?
Identities On and Offline…Identities In and Out of School
How can we apply what's learned about identity in out-of-school contexts to our goals as educators working with teachers and students in school?
Does the identity work done in different technological/social spaces have bearing on the creation of selves that are agentive, active learners? If yes…how and in what contexts?
Epistemologically and methodologically, these questions--and the readings-- highlight how articulating one's understanding of identity is a critical foundation for any research that investigates identity as a multimodal discursive performance process. The importance of unearthing the specific understandings we have of what identity is and how it functions is undeniable. In our explorations of how identities are enacted in and out-of-school, our footprints reveal how heavily we have been pressed by various theories of identity and self. Erik Erikson. Kenneth Gergen. George Herbert Mead. Michel Foucault. Judith Butler...And since we are concerning ourselves with teaching and learning, what comes to mind immediately in considering how each of these individuals characterizes identity?
Agency.
12 comments:
A lot of questions to think about (and this may be a somewhat wordy response)….
I think that some of the ideas I am seeing in the readings and in considering your questions are that in no prior era have teens had such a chance to “try on” so many different identities. At one point in the readings I was actually wondering what Erkison would say about identity development as the task for youth. How has it changed due to technology? I would think that certainly the availability of more groups to identify with and places/ people to find support provides a wider world for youth to feel like they “fit in.” I do not know what research is out there, but it may be that youth are choosing to define their identities less around the social norms for their physical location.
What does this do for us in education? Well, for one thing it makes us a more diverse society and I believe that education should reflect this. Education can teach understanding or at least tolerance of diversity. Education can also respond by recognizing the individual motivation of students. My background is in gifted and talented education. Through this I have learned that an idea or a concept may be taught in a variety of ways. It is possible to teach the ideas and skills that I want to teach and to incorporate student interest and individuality. Education needs to respond to the modern student by providing at least some individual choice by students.
I think the reasons that people, and in particular youth, define themselves in cyberspace will depend in part upon their motives for being in cyber space and the frequency with which they encounter the need to create a representation of the self. Some go for entertainment, so for companionship, some as a creative outlet, and I’m sure that there are many more reasons. It is very different, in my opinion, for someone to choose a gaming avatar that has certain preset characteristics from which to choose, then for someone to write a novel online and have complete control over how to define himself or herself. Writing to a group in a chat room, on a discussion board, or via a listserv may tend to limit exploration to exploration of the self in relation to whatever topic defines the group. Additionally, I think the defining of self in cyberspace versus self in the “real world” depends to some degree on how separately or how intertwined those two spaces are from the perspective of the person. There may be a number of different factors that influence this division or lack there of, but I would hazard to guess that one of the factors may be age. The definition between real and cyberspace may also be influenced by a person’s awareness of being watched by others (one of the author’s called this “surveillance”). I have seen many cases where people “flamed” and seemed to forget that there were real people on the other side of computer screens. Some people reveal too much about themselves online, while others reveal very little and are still paranoid that they have gone too far. It would be very interesting to see how many people, given the choice, choose avatars or personas similar to their own, versus how many choose online identities that are opposites.
Identity is such a complex topic without adding on the layers of the digital and virtual worlds now accessible to people. Being rather inexperienced in the cyber world, it is hard for me to grapple with how much a person’s identity online might affect his or her perception of self*. Avatar identities and chatting with other people unknown in a physical context seem like role playing in a capacity that allows the person to choose the role to be played. Although, similarly people in the physical presence are just as likely to role play in wearing different masks for different occasions.
I was intrigued by how Thomas likens the visual creations presented by an identity online (such as in webspaces and avatars) to a virtual presentation to be encountered and read, as one might encounter and read a body. The “semiotics of identity” is a compelling concept, although I wonder if identity is not restricted to those unable to use technology in such a way to create original or satisfying avatars or page layouts.
In general, I found Winokur’s cybercommunity "categories of gaze" helpful as an introduction to a possible delineation of different roles and levels of engagement people embrace online. However, just as categorizing people is often restricting and realistically impossible, I found it hard to distinguish even in which category I would exist. Furthermore, if we are considering as educators how learning can be facilitated and the self developed through online activity, understanding parents’ and societal stances on appropriate online engagement may be pivotal. It’s interesting how "lived experience" now includes those interactions and exchanges that take place online, and that our students are learning in communities that often exist in distance or virtually but not within a close proximity. The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child embodies an entirely new concept.
*I have a blog as well as a Facebook page. I created a profile in both that is vague and bare. At best, each presentation is a weak and distanced sketch of who I am, or at least who I believe I am and think others see me as. Can identities online start to affect how one views him or herself in the physical world?
Interesting post, sorry I am a little late this week. I understand what tasha is talking about in that redifining your identity in terms of facebook, avatars and the like is difficult to do for some and it also makes me wonder if this is a selective community -most of the world doesnt have access to computers and the like and are left out of this new identity formation that goes on in our western society -dont ya think? I guess when you see (not to talk about this too much but it is becoming a hard reality) the fact that so many libraries are incorporating computer labs, huge dvd collections, and books themselves (or so it seems) are being replaced by this over encompassing modes of technology I am a little overwhelmed..so what is to come of this? Ijust wonder how it will evolve so that students and teachers rely less on technology etc. as a some savior and more on practical reality.
See you guys in class!!
-puneet
I was reflecting on some of the discussion from class and I wanted to say that I did actually have a purpose for bringing up television and reality shows (besides the idea of how nonverbal communication can inform or dissuade stereotypes). People often identify themselves with certain communities centered on different media such as online games and television shows. I just wondered what it said about how the identity of groups in our society has changed when you compare the changes in the style of television shows over time.
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