Week 12 Reflection

Hi, sorry for the late entry.. My computer has been down for awhile, and I only had the link to this blog on my computer ><

I feel that using a blog for learning purposes has been an interesting concept for me. I have frequently seen blogs as journals, online communities or even shops, but this is the first time I've ever used a blog as a learning tool. Personally, I felt that it was not as effective a learning tool as a live discussion. Probably due to the fact that it's harder for people to start a discussion or even participate in an ongoing one. People cannot interject with one-liners or add on to the discussion with small notes on the blog - things that make tutorial sessions so fun and effective. The blog is, however, much better than online tutorials hosted on the WebCT forums!

As for the matter of being a cyborg, I feel that there are 2 different definitions to the term cyborg - the official definition (a being with both biological and artificial parts) and Haraway's interpretation, that there are no separation between bodies and objects. I do not believe I'm a cyborg if I go by the official definition, but by Haraway's interpretation, every single human is a cyborg, for all humans utilise objects in some way or other in their lives, from a simple rock to a complex machine. I still do not regard myself as a cyborg, however, for I feel that Haraway has only borrowed the word "cyborg" loosely to create an entirely new category that only vaguely resembles the original meaning of the word "cyborg".

I enjoyed the tutorial discussions most, as the combined contributions during the freeform discussions are able to generate many ideas that most of us would not have come up with alone. There was actually little of the unit to dislike, but if anything, I'll probably find fault with the lack of time during tutorials. 45 minutes is just too short!

Charlotte's Reflection

My apologies that this reflection is a little late! The end of semester was so incredibly busy for me and I completely forgot that I still had one more blog entry to make for this unit!

So what did I think of this unit and the whole blogging process? It was quite interesting actually. I've never had a unit quite as interactive as this one and therefore I found it incredibly enjoyable. I liked the integration of blogging in this unit; I found it to be a very effective way of staying in tune with the ideas expressed in our lectures/workshops/tutorials and it was also quite interesting to read the input of other students in the unit. However, I do feel that blogging could be integrated even more into the unit assessment criteria; perhaps it would be useful to blog at least once per week? Either to comment on the lectures or just share random information to do with the unit. Sometimes I found myself forgetting to visit this weblog as I was technically only required to post on certain weeks! I just feel that students would benefit even more from this unit if blogging was more regular and counted for more of the unit grade.

Now, the question remains, do I consider myself a cyborg? This unit as certainly opened my eyes to new ideas about identity in this time of technological advancement, and I must admit I do consider myself perhaps 'part cyborg', in the sense that although technology does play a huge role in my life, I certainly don't think I would cease to exist if it was all taken away from me. Nor do I think my identity as a human being has been tarnished because of my connection with the online world. I am still human - flesh and bones - so I certainly do not resemble the physical appearance of a cyborg, but my mind certainly has a connection with the cyborg world.

To me, the digital age is exciting. I do not fear it, rather I am intrigued and fascinated by it. As someone who has grown up with this technology and witnessed all its many changes, I am excited for the future and what it will bring.

Jane's Reflection

A real top notch unit! I have really really enjoyed women studies at UWA, and this unit in particular! I will however be very happy not to read about cyborgs for a while. Over the course of the unit I have come to see myself as a cyborg, in the sense that i am 'wired' to technology, work with it, and use it everyday. A part of me does however think that a true cyborg is like that man we talked about in our last tute, the one who has wired himself up within a sensory environment. Very jazzy, yet kind of disturbing. I have found the blog very fitting with the units "cyborg" and technology focus and practical in a sense that we are able to practice virtual communication and engagement. The blog has also been great as a super hub of information, very handy for research.This unit has made me think critically about technology and gender, genetics, morals, communication, etc. The topics of discussion have been hard to grasp at times, but very enlightening and interesting.

Thank you all for a great unit!

Week 12 Reflection

I think generally the blog was an effective tool for learning purposes. It created a forum for discussion that was more continuous and ongoing than classes and it was also helpful for me in allowing time to think and consider other people’s propositions carefully and to articulate a response that comes out as you intend it to.

The only difficulty I had with the blog as a learning tool was that its format was quite narrative, it seemed as though the whole semester’s posts were contemporaneous, so currency lost its importance. The material was not sorted into threads, and was all available at the same time (with a lot of scrolling), which was a little overwhelming.

This unit definitely reaffirmed my perception of myself as a cyborg. I think the materials that were used and the order in which they were used brought together the cyborg theory throughout the semester in a constructive way. Learning about Piccinini and considering the issues of women, work and the integrated circuit certainly gave me more dimensions to consider my cyborg self-perception from.

What I liked most about the unit was that it brought together a variety of theories and theorists in a way that made them relevant and related to current developments in gaming and social networking. The discussion generated in the classroom was insightful and enjoyable. I think it was a well-facilitated environment for learning and an even platform for speaking.

Week 12 Blog reflection - Izzy

Weeeeellllllllll Hello
Before this unit, i've only used a blog once and that was for another assignment. The use of blogs as a way of communicating stories and whinging about life was the only way i thought they could be used until i took this unit. It never occured to me how widespread blogging is used for all types of subjects, such as putting heaps of political posts from other pages onto one blog for easier access. I particuarly enjoyed how we could post whatever (semi) relevant things we came across on the internet and interact with other students' ideas out of the classroom envirnment.

Do i regard myself as a Cyborg? I'd like to think not...but in reality I most probably am. The amount of time I spend on my laptop talking to friends or looking up things on the internet is ridiculous. As previously mentioned I work as a secretary so thats sometimes almost 10 straight hours sitting in front of a computer screen. Once the power was out and we had to write everything out manually, it was horrible! Once you become so reliant on technology for a certain tasks its ridiculously hard to go back to the manual way of things. Even leaving my phone at home for a day has me anxious about who could be trying to contact me. I'm travelling to Costa Rica in a few weeks so I'm going to be away from technology for awhile which should be interesting! I'm going to miss the constant communication to my friends and never ending pool of information that is the internet....Ahh yeah I'm such a cyborg.

What I most liked about this unit was how it opened my eyes to feminism in technology and media. I now notice the sexualisation of women in gaming and other medias and how men are portrayed as the dominant users of technology even though is often isnt the case. I enjoyed our in class discussions which allowed everyone to input their stories and ideas which I've scarcely had in past tutorials. Also the use of the blog as a way to post assignments was very beneficial as we could link every point and idea to further information. Personally i think more units should use this technique!

Overall, I've enjoyed this unit and it has defintely influenced me to look at more blogs online, input more in tutorials, and critically analyse the portrayal of women in technology and other medias.

Week 12 Reflection - emma b

I cant say that I had ever considered writing a blog or even following a blog before starting this unit. I had a very stereotypical attitude towards blogging, assuming it was just a diary or journal online. I've actually found blogging to be quite therapeutic and has actually made me think more about the subjects learnt throughout the unit. Being involved in an educational blog, reading weekly presentations on topics covered has actually helped me learn more and keep me up to date with the work. It was a great way for me to express my opinions about certain topics outside of class time, and kept me thinking throughout the week, not just during tutorials. I think the tutorial weblog was a great way to learn even though I wasn't really looking forward to it. I didn't know what blogs involved, how to post or anything. Turns out its quite easy and brings an element of fun to learning. Although I probably wont go and start my own blog once the semester ends, I think its a great part of this unit and also so relevant! It worked really well for me as I work full time but are able to access the blog at work, so if I had a spare 10 minutes, just log on and give the blog a quick read. Quite convenient for me!

Im not too sure that I would call myself a cyborg. I do battle with this question a bit in my head, but I just cant say that Im a cyborg just yet. Maybe in a few hundred years whens technology has developed so much that humans have chips in their heads which allows them to access the internet from their pupils, then yes maybe then we will be a cyborg. To an extent I spose I am a cyborg, but I dont use my computer or phone etc 24/7. I could easily survive without it if I wanted to, but I dont. I must admit I do love my computer, but I dont think its completely a part of me. Maybe only slightly...

I found this unit extremely eye opening, making me look at how we are using computers and technology when before starting the unit I didnt really give it a second thought. I thought our tutorials were fun and interesting, everyone had an opinion and was open, definitely liked that. I do not care for silent tutorials. I glad I decided to tackle this unit, an interesting one that I could relate to my every day life.

Unit Reflection Week 12

It was 8.35 am and i had to get to work by 9am. It takes me half an hour which meant i was already going to be late. Should i go back and get it? How am i going to text? What if someone tries to call me? What if i break down on the way, how on earth was i going to contact RAC? *Gasp* I caved in, took the next U-Turn and drove back home to get my mobile phone which i had left on charge and forgot to bring with me when i left the house. Cyborg much? I say, yes. Not a full blown one, but definitely on the right track!:)

Now onto blogs.. I have to say if it was any other unit, it would not have been as interesting. The scope and depth of this unit encourages so many types of discussions and debates, not even a 2 hour tutorial will suffice(it probably would, but you get the drift). This blog allowed for further comments on topics that interested us, as well as reading what others had to say. Like Jonathon, I am also from Singapore and blogs are pretty huge. Most of my friends back home have self-reflective blogs, which is probably why i had a narrow impression of what they were and what they could do. It was only after taking this unit and doing research for my essay that i realised the accessibility and ease of sharing information! I am considering starting my own blog, but not just reflective. Instead, i want it to be something controversial because nothing beats fiesty-ness on the net.

I did frequent our blog but at times had to remind myself to check it out, because being swamped with uni work does not help! The idea of a blog was also particularly relevant to the unit as we explored the relationship between technology and humans throughout the semester. We talked about cyborgs and cybernetics and even considered the horrific possibility that machines might overpower humans! Our increasingly high dependency on technology for our survival does worry me a little, but hey blame it on globalisation. We all have an inherent need to stay connected and be connected everywhere we go(refer to classic example in Para 1). Therefore, i think there is a fine line between our addiction to communication and our need for technology. I guess they complement each other, but which came first? have we always been this hungry to stay connected? or was it after the rise of the internet and new technologies? I'm leaning towards the latter.

This was the first time i have taken a Womens Studies Unit and I am glad i did. It made me think about so many issues I otherwise would not have considered and that in itself was a huge benefit to me. As for the recurring theme of Facebook, it basically was a concept that was close to home where most of us could relate to. The fact that so many things we discussed could be brought back to Facebook shows the all-encompassing nature of it.

Finally, I always looked forward to tutorials, especially with the abundant amount of chocolates! A huge thanks to Tarsh and Allison for making the unit fun and enjoyable and i wish everyone all the best for their upcoming exams!

Unit Reflection

Self. net has been an interesting unit of study this semester. It has encouraged me to think more seriously about the relationship between humans and technology. I repeatedly found myself asking: ‘am I a cyborg?’ followed by the even more daunting... ‘am I on the way to becoming a cyborg?!’ To these questions I argued against such an absurd idea! ‘I am me, Carla. I’m no machine!’ Then looking at my hand I can see my mobile phone, my iPod earphones are firmly wedged into my ears and the light from my laptop is blaring onto my face. As I think about cyborgs I reflect on the number of cords which fall and tangle around my body. Is this what a cyborg looks like? I think that my regular use and dependence on technology cannot make me a cyborg. I still regard myself as being separate to the technology I use. I can reflect on the positive and negative effects the internet and other mediums have on my everyday life. This unit has helped me to develop an acute awareness of cyborgs and cybernetics so that I can still find a sense of ‘self’ amidst a dense technological world. Advertising and online communities (gaming, Facebook etc) suggest that technology can transform us into better selves. For example, laptops are advertised to pregnant women suggesting the possibility of being a mother and a successful up-to-date business woman. This unit has encouraged me to see past such ideas to always remain certain that technology cannot define who we are as individuals. It does have a profound effect, but will only control us as much as we will allow it to. So to conclude on the topic of cyborgs, I don’t think I’m a cyborg because of my critical awareness of the world around me.

I think the structure of the unit has encouraged active learning on a daily basis. The blog forum is open for discussion 7 days a week which made me think about the unit more often and persuaded me to contribute to the forum beyond what was said in the 45 minute tute. Often, with my other units topics are put aside and forgotten about after the weekly tutorial. Our tutorial blog page being accessible all the time encouraged me to look at the weekly topics more often relating them to my own experiences. The blog page has allowed me to be creative- posting pictures, links and manipulating fonts and colours. In a Communications unit I did last year we had to contribute to a blog discussion on Webct. This forum didn’t allow us to post links to other sites, or pictures and videos. It was a lot harder to explain ideas without the justification of expert opinions and other points of interest through links to other site (s). Learning about technology through a modern technological medium is a sneaky, but effective method in this unit! The downside to the blogging forum was that not all posts were commented on. The average comments on each post were probably between 1 and 3 which doesn’t allow for a truly beneficial discussion. Also, when people (including myself :P) are late in posting tutorial presentation summaries and questions the posts become muddled up with other weeks topics. This was a bit confusing at times!

Overall, I think I grasped a lot from this unit. The Webliography was particularly beneficial as I (and I think a few others?) had never actually done one before. I can see myself using the same critical research skills for my upcoming essay. I would have liked to study more films, and even TV shows, commercials and theorists rather than just having a few readings each week. I think we should have strayed away from Facebook as it seemed to come up a lot and was getting a bit boring. Also, we were always running out of time for presentations in the 45 minute tutes. I think that if two people worked on a weekly presentation together we would have more time for an open discussion. It would be useful to include other activities too such as debates. But anyway- thanks so much for all your work in this unit Tarsh and Alison...and thanks to everyone else for your input. :) Carla.

WEEK 12: RACHEL BENN

I was pretty sceptical about using a blog at the start of the semester. As we have discussed in our tutes throughout the semester, we all had preconceived ideas about blogs and ‘bloggers’...with images coming to mind of people sitting for hours on end blogging about their personal lives. However, through using the women’s studies blog this semester, as well as coming across other blogs amidst research for assignments, I have discovered that blogs come in a wide range of forms.

However, I would not consider myself a “cyborg” (yet!?) as I know there is still so much out there to learn...and as much as I am attached to my computer/Facebook etc, the concept of belonging to a virtual world/community (that is too far removed from ‘reality’, ie the games we have discussed such as Second Life/ COD!!) does not appeal to me.

This unit has taught me that the virtual and interactivity online may not be so far removed from what we call ‘reality’ and the tangible, but I still feel that there is a clear distinction between the two and that a danger exists when people become to engulfed in their ‘virtual realities.’

I enjoyed the interactive and engaging nature of this unit - the tutes in particular.

Week 12 Blog Reflection - Stephanie Ao

I am not a "Blog" person, even I had a few blogs before, I never use them. I find it hard to express my feeling in writing, but I do like to read blogs, especially fashion blogs, because they have photos and mix and match tutorials. Therefore, I was pretty sceptical at the start of the semester, honestly saying, I thought the blog will not be able to help me much to understand the unit and I would not be able to contribute to it much as well. However, I was totally wrong, the blog give us a place to discuss and share interesting topics aside from the tutorial, we can share photos, news article and even videos using hyperlink in the blog. This blog experience do not only give me more understanding about this unit but it also indicates the use of technology and internet (a very important topics in this unit). I have enjoyed this "blog" experience very much, this is the first time I ever use blog as a medium in studying. One thing I particularly like about the blog is we can write feedback to the author of the post (no matter positive or negative), maybe during the tutorial, some of us may feel embarrass to give out negative comments about other's opinion.

Growing up with internet and technology, I think I will never understand or experience the life without them. Am I a cyborg? Ok, honestly, before this unit, I have no idea what cyborg means, and I never ever think I am a cyborg. But now, I do think I am a cyborg, and most of us are cyborg as well. That's nothing wrong with it too. When technology advances, so do people, technology advances because people develop them. In conclusion, I really enjoy this unit, and I think this will not my last Women studies unit, cause I think all the topics in women studies quite interesting and I would like to learn more. This unit enable me to link the relationship between technology, race, gender which is useful to my major in communication studies.

Emily M the converted Cyborg (week 12)

I was very skeptical about the use of Blogs at the beginning of the semester. I think this was in part due to the perceptions I had of Bloggers; as people obsessed with one subject and who had nothing else to do but to sit at home and rant about it. By using Blogs as a reasearch tool and a form of entertaining the last few weeks I have realised that yes, some people seem to have all the time in the world to Blog about the most banal thing and that some people are experts in their field and have something to express.

Using this Blog have also been a really interesting exercise. Once I started I felt that I had an outlet to type the ideas that weren't fully formed enough to say in the tute and to really think things through before sharing them with the world. It has also been awesome reading this Blog. I have really enjoyed reading what everyone else has been thinking and how everyone has been reacting to the material from the unit. It has helped me by hearing lots of opinions and helped me to form my own. So thank you everyone, for sharing on this Blog, I have found it so useful!

Am I a cyborg? Well if I had to answer that question at the beginning of semester I probably would have thought of me as a Terminator-type figure and would have immediately said no. But as I sit here watching a movie, texting two separate bosses about work, curling my hair for Guild Ball, while checking my facebook, email, uni email, guild email, on-line shopping order and texting a friend about which pres we are going to before the ball in 20 minutes... while blogging, well, without the technology that is seamlessly a part of how I live my life, I think I would be an entirely different person. My identity is constantly being formed and manipulated different technologies which makes me a Cyborg (and proud of it).

Week 12: Reflective Post of WOMN 2205 in General

I had heard of “Blogs” before and I had even seen an entertaining film (The Julie and Julia Project) about a weblog but the first time I had ever set up and signed into a weblog was here in WOMN 2205. Most of all, I think it is a unique and interesting method for teaching and learning purposes. I find that it takes the pressure off of having to sit down in front of yet another book or journal article to gather information. Don’t get me wrong, I am pretty old-school so I prefer printed text but the blog environment served as something different to me. Like a breath of fresh air.

What I think is most interesting about the blog is the opportunity to write back to the author of the posts. You can’t really do this with written texts. Sure, you can write your thoughts down in response to what you read but it is very unlikely that the author of those texts (printed) will read your response, never mind respond to your response. So in this light, I find that the blog is very useful for learning because even though a particular post may be on some general topic, the comments and posts in response create little, more specific, debates or discussions. It is like an on-going tutorial class. It is interesting because as you encounter the various thoughts and opinions of people, you are stimulated into thought yourself and you can then direct those thoughts back to its source.

I liked that you could come across any kinds of information like videos, comics, pictures and links which would send you to all sorts of interesting webpages; the kinds of information and web spaces I probably would never have encountered before. It made this space of information interesting, interactive and entertaining. Then again, this is also where I found myself frustrated. For example; “click here….I explore….more links on that page…… click…..oooh, interesting….. More links….. Click….. Nice….. Explore……Click….. Click….. Click… and suddenly, two hours have gone by and I’m watching a Miley Cyrus video… wait, what!? I don’t even like Miley Cyrus… How did I land up here? And this is what haunts me about the internet; you start off at one purpose driven place and then, without knowing quite how, you find yourself wandering like Alice through Wonderland. By clicking on one link, you trip and fall into a tunnel, only to end up spiraling through cyberspace finally thinking… How did I land up here? Perhaps it’s just me but I find this happens to me a lot when I enter the web.

Nevertheless, I guess now that I am thinking about it in this way, this is part of what made our Tuesday tutorials so great. The presenter asked a question and our discussions took off in the way surfing the internet takes off by clicking on one link. After 40 or so minutes into our discussion, we land up asking; how did we get talking about this? All in all, I found the Weblog, as a learning tool, interesting. Some people learn through visuals others through auditions and so on. I can’t say that the weblog is an effective way for me to learn, as I prefer old -school printed text but I definitely found the weblog an efficient way to share information.

Do I consider myself a Cyborg? If I consider that real cyborgs are people who make use of cybernetic or mechanical technology to enhance and overcome constraints of the body then I suppose in that way I am cyborg. I cannot survive without my glasses; I rely and depend heavily on them to overcome my constrained eyesight when it comes to reading. I also had braces to fix the alignment of my teeth when I was younger so considering this, by how I use and have used technology to enhance my life then I am Cyborg-ish. As an identity, no. I don’t consider myself a cyborg as I don’t identify myself merged with machine. I identify myself as a modern-day human being who uses tools called technology to assist myself in learning, navigating and developing in this world. Because I can separate myself from the technology, no matter how much I need it, I don’t identify myself as a cyborg. I also don’t think “cyborg” is a category much in the same way that I agree that gender is not categorical. I think “cyborgism” is continuum-like. You may either be more or less. I think I am less. I enjoy my identity as human, in what it means to me. I enjoy my human body and embodiment and I also know that there are others who enjoy their identities as cyborgs. We are all different and not everything is for everyone. I still maintain that the increasing advances in cybernetic technology can enhance life for so many, I just wouldn’t want it to take over and override the raw, fleshy, flawed, volatile, and natural human humanness that I believe defines our species. I don’t believe humans were ever meant to be perfect, hence we are mortal and I think that cybernetic technology is an attempt to perfect our species. It is not for me but I do respect that it is for others.

In conclusion, I absolutely loved the course WOMN2205. It totally out-did my expectations. Not having done a woman studies unit before, I expected to encounter more feminism and feminist theory. I did not expect to encounter weblogs, cybernetics, gaming theories, cyborgs and the exciting yet frightening world of the internet. I sort of expected that we would learn about technology in relation to gender identities a little bit but the ideas I have grappled with in this course were unexpected, especially the ideas about cybernetics and cyborgs. I didn’t know it existed until this course. TRUE STORY. These ideas in particular are the ideas that challenged me the most. They confronted me and forced me to face myself and my identity and to understand myself in relation to these ideas of the post/trans-human. I learnt a lot about myself and in some ways, developed a fresher sense of identity in this unit. To have experienced something like that, learning about myself, being so challenged and so confronted has been the best unexpected experience. I expected this when I enrolled in psychology, and while I learn a lot about human body and behavior in psychology, I’ve never had an experience of embodiment learning like here in WOMN2205. I talk about Self.Net: Identity in the Digital Age often, even to Mum back home in South AfricaJ. Although the issues and ideas presented in this unit were serious, exploring them was more a fun than serious kind of learning and our tute has been my favorite yet. Two thumbs up to this course. Thank –You!

Peacockchic.

Week 12 Reflection- Guia Reyna

Throughout the semester, we’ve been discussing the impact of technology on our ideas of identity, especially as women. I have noticed that in our tutorial discussions, most of us expressed fear on how technology is rapidly changing our lives, for better or for worse. There’s been too much focus on Donna Haraway’s idea of a cyborg. And if we are going to limit our definition of a cyborg as a being of both organic and inorganic materials, then our image of a cyborg will be that of Hollywood’s (remember Robocop?). With this unit, I realized that being a cyborg is not about having “mechanical” parts. I think it’s more about opening one’s mind on the possibilities technology offers and using it to better one’s self and society in general. Let’s consider the Internet for example. Most of us consider the Internet as a “utopia”, a virtual space where gender and race are unimportant. This is not the truth of course that’s why we are always looking for ways to change it. This process of recognizing our imperfections and using technology to eliminate these imperfections is what makes us cyborgs.

Regarding the blog, I am not much of a blogger. Never was and, even after this unit, never will be. I do recognize that we can learn a lot from the blog but the truth is we only learn what we want to learn. In my weekly browsing of our blog, it’s noticeable that not all of us comment or share ideas on every topic posted. I commented on two or three (I think) topics. Some of my comments were not even “scholarly”, which proved to me that our blogging is more about socializing and not about sharing new ideas, at least not all the time.

I am really happy I took this unit as an elective this semester. It is really interesting and enjoyable. Technology, especially the Internet, is something I’ve always taken for granted. I never considered the Internet in contexts such as gender, race, and identity. I wish that our tutorials last more than one hour because more time is needed for thorough discussions.

Week 12 reflection

I think it's difficult for a person to say whether they consider themselves a cyborg or not because 'cyborg' means different things to different people. I recognise the huge impact technology has had on the way we live as well as on our physical bodies (from caesarians to vaccinations to braces to knee reconstructions) but I don't feel comfortable calling myself a cyborg even after this unit.

I'm of two minds regarding the use of blogs. In a way it was good to see what other people wrote in their posts but on the other hand, I would have preferred to maybe have a longer tutorial to continue our discussions in person - we always seemed to run out time when we were discussing really interesting issues. The blog was also less effective because I didn't always know everyone by name and so it was difficult to recognise who was writing each blog.

I think that as one of only four core women's studies units, this unit should have had more emphasis on gender and feminism than it did. I found that a lot of the time we were just talking about technology generally and it wasn't always being brought back to ideas about gender and feminist thought. However, I did enjoy most of the unit. I felt at times that some of the articles were a bit 'out there' and I didn't enjoy reading them (the virtual rape article for example) but that is probably just because of my view on the issues. The tutorial groups were also a bit big - especially when we're talking about issues that can be quite sensitive sometimes a smaller tutorial would be more appropriate. It also gives everyone a chance to give their opinion.

Emily P. Week 12 Reflection

This unit has been quite eye-opening with regard to my ignorance of how technologically advanced we actually are, and the level of advancement that we are aiming for and that is currently being researched. These new technologies are emerging at such as rapid rate and I find that when I look into the future I am not sure what to expect and when I stop and think about it , it becomes quite scary and threatening. The idea of us becoming more and more disembodied, and turning from human to cyborg is threatening because my body, and everything that is associated with it, is such a large part of my identity. The MCI ad which we watched in one of the first workshops which mentioned a place with no age, genders, races, or infirmities, a place with only minds and portrayed it as a kind of utopia. To me this is no utopia, I believe that idnetity is a large part of individuality and my gender, sexuality, race and age are things that I identify with and that I don't want to be without. Although I fear us becoming cyborgs, I can definately see it happening and I think the process has already begun. Our lifestyles are not even close to what they were 20 years ago, technology has changed our language, the way we communicate and interact, we can create new identities and we cannot live without technology because of the extent of the attachment that we have formed to it. It is becoming a part of us.

I found that with this blog, I didn't really make the best use of it, other than fulfilling the compulsory requirements. I had never used a blog before but its not at all difficult to use and I didn't find that it advanced or added to my skills in anyway. I did post one reference to a couple of articles relating to the unit which I found interesting, for the interest of others in the tute, but as for things that other people had posted, I never looked at any other posts that were put up. I really only used it when it was necessary. It is also quite difficult to keep track of what week we are actually in to know when I had to make my posts.

I didn't really enjoy the unit, but I think that may be because I was happier in ignorance, and I didnt really enjoy the lectures because it did feel like all I was being told was things that I already knew because this topic is very familiar to alot of us and we have first hand experience which the issues being spoken about. I did however enjoy the tutorials where we got to hear the differences between peoples experiences, especially those from different countries.

Social Networking Site presentation

Article discussed: Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life by Danah Boyd

A social networking site is an online place where a person can create a profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other people. Online social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo have become one of the greatest social technological phenomenon’s of the 21st century. Today, digital communication is not just common in teenagers’ lives. It IS teenagers’ lives.

Why teenagers go on these social networking websites?
-helps them define their identity
-it makes them feel they have established themselves independently from their parents.
-to make new friends or connect with their existing friends
-in order to look cool

Key points Danah raised in her article
• The relationship between social networking sites and concept of identity.

 Social networking sites allow teenagers a space (an online profile) to model their identity. They are able to write themselves and their community into being.

 The concept of identity refers to the ways in which teenagers develop their online profiles and lists of friends to fulfil four important community processes:

1. Impression management: is about personal identity formation -users on social networking sites model their own identities through the information they give on their profile (pictures, videos and personal information) and also the degree to which they make it public or private in the online community. Through these activities they give out signals to others about who they are.
2. Friendship management: Teenagers use the publicly displayed profiles of other users to select who they prefer to embrace as friends on their lists and who they would not want to add. They look at the identity markers of other users to decide the levels of social interaction they would want to establish with them.

3. Network structure: is about the roles that teenagers carry out in the social community in which they participate. Some teenagers would be active participants-they would post information and construct intricate networks of friends, while others would be inactive and have a restricted personal network.

4. Bridging of online and offline social networks-how social networking sites have become an important part of a teenagers life while they are offline.

Second point
• Social network sites are a type of networked public with four properties that are not typically present in face-to-face public life: persistence, searchability, exact copyability and invisible audience.
-I know that she did not state that networked publics are better than face-to-face public life and I am not arguing that they are better. I feel that it is better that face-to-face relationships do not contain these properties.

Persistence: Any speech that occurs in networked communications such as facebook will have a much longer shelf-life than any face to face conversation that you have had, as discussions in networked publics are recorded and saved for posterity. So what you said when you were 14 will still be accessible when you turn 30. If you posted something stupid online when you were young, you would have to live with it for the rest of your life. President Obama warned high-school student last September. “Be careful about what you post on Facebook, because in the YouTube age whatever you do will be pulled up later somewhere in your life”. So in this way mediated publics make it harder for you to reinvent yourself.

Searchability: In mediated communication strangers can use search and discovery tools to locate the online profiles of people with similar interests as them, which means that they can find someone’s digital body in a few clicks. I find this quite dangerous and feel that it may raise privacy issues. Some teenagers do not privatize their online profile, which means that anyone can access the information on it. Strangers can know about your activities and use them to their advantage. In unmediated spaces, people cannot obtain the geographical co-ordinates of any person, it makes it harder for strangers to locate you and cannot find out how much you have in common with them.

Replicability: Networked publics allow photos and conversations to be copied from one place to another, which makes it harder to differentiate between the original and the copy. The information can be modified and altered into something completely different. You might have made a general comment but somebody alters it to make a political argument. So misinterpretations can occur. The altered information might harm your identity or affect what you were trying to say. Face-to-face relationships are much clearer and help avoid misinterpretations because the people communicating are having face-to-face conversations.

Invisible audience: In unmediated spaces, we are able to visually detect everyone who hears our conversation, so we know the type of people that are listening, even if they are strangers but in mediated publics the audience is invisible, you don’t know exactly who is looking at your profile. You can’t see the audience, the way you can when you are chatting to a friend in an offline public space or at a party. You have no control over it.

Discussion questions
• Do you feel that teenagers should be able to conduct activities on social networking websites without the interference of adults?

• How do you present yourself in an online environment like Facebook? Do you make conscious decisions about how you appear?

• Are networked publics diminishing a teenager’s ability to conduct more traditional relationships? Is the digital technology turning them into screen-enslaved, socially challenged adults?

Reflection- Week 10

*Im really sorry that I am so late, but I only just realized that I had forgot to post my reflection!

Pidd, H 2010, ‘Cyberstalking: tackling the 'faceless cowards'’, Guardian 24 September, viewed 19 September 2010,
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/24/ukcrime-police>.

I chose a newspaper article called “Cyberstalking: tackling the 'faceless cowards'” for my reflection. I thought this would be an interesting topic because we have continuously discussed cyberstalking in our lectures, workshops and tutorials. I found this topic appealing as it made me question if I was cyberstalking whenever I went on Facebook. Would surfing through a friend’s profile every now and then, be considered cyberstalking? The article describes cyberstalking as ‘any repetitive behaviour that makes someone else feel uncomfortable or threatened’. This can include unsolicited emailing, spamming, instant messaging or gathering of an individual’s personal information in order to harass them. It states that cyberstalking is a ‘hidden menace online’ which keeps growing and argues that although many people see it as a harmless activity, today it is recognized as a crime by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The article outlines some key issues which I think make it relevant to our Women’s Studies unit. Firstly it outlines the ways in which a person’s online and offline identity is interrelated. For example in the article Roland Reed, 42 years old youth worker is cyberstalked by an anonymous person online and is accused of paedophilia. This accusation affects his offline identity because it ruins his reputation in the real world. So we can see that online actions can affect offline actions. The article also compares cyberstalking and real life stalking which again deals with the online world and the offline world. It states that both of them are equally damaging. Secondly it is relevant because it points out that once you post information on the internet; it cannot be erased or deleted. This is what Roland Reed realizes when he tries to remove information about him from the internet. He states ‘I have discovered you can't be ex-directory on the internet’. We have constantly discussed that information posted on internet will always persist. Lastly another reason why the article is relevant is because of the argument that the increase in cyberstalking is due to ready access of personal information on social networking sites. Adults as well as teenagers provide endless information about themselves on these network publics, which enables and attracts cyberstalkers to bully them in cyberspace.

The news article was written on 24 September 2010, so I can say that the information provided is up-to-date and current. I found it online when I was surfing through the U.K based Guardian newspaper website. The Guardian newspaper is a British national daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. It has recently won a prestigious Association of Online Publishers award, which shows that it is a good source. Even though the online newspaper is U.K based, I can still use the information provided in Australia because cyberstalking occurs in a similar manner everywhere. It does not include a bibliography as newspapers do not contain such content, but this means that I cannot further enquire about the points that the author raises. The article has been written by Helen Pidd, who is a reporter for the Guardian. She joined the newspaper in 2004 and now works with the Home News team. She has worked with the Guardian for a long time and published many different articles, so I think that the information, she provides is credential. The author’s intention are very clear, throughout the article she argues and provides cases against cyberstalking. But she is not bias, she provides figures from the British Crime Survey as well as real life examples to prove her points. The author might be trying to attract all types of audience members, as cyberstalking is an issue which majority of the population has to deal with and understand.

N. Katherine Hayles vodcast.

Damien's E-learning and Digital Cultures Blog: "‘…the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion’"

Great video of a N. Katherine Hayles lecture...

Week 12 Presentation - Speculative Fabulations for Technoculture’s Generations: Taking Care of Unexpected Country

My presentation on Tuesday will be on Donna Haraway’s writings on the artworks of Patricia Piccinini.

Haraway sees Piccinini as an artist with ideals similar to her own, a ‘sister in technoculture, a co-worker committed to taking “naturecultures” seriously’ without leaning toward the two often-portrayed extremes of either a return to Eden or a coming technological apocalypse.

The turning of this dichotomy into a continuum is a theme throughout Haraway’s essay, her describing Piccinini’s creatures as ‘simultaneously near kin and alien colonists’, and something of a reconciliation between Frankenstein-type fears and an unfettered endorsement of harvesting and disposing of technological and genetic creations.

Haraway also sees Piccinini to be conveying her Australian context in her work, saying that she ‘seems to me to be proposing ... a decolonizing ethic indebted to Australian aboriginal practices of taking care of country and accounting for generations of entangled human and non-human entities’. She makes comparisons between the technological advancements that Piccinini’s creatures may seem to be a product of and introduced species in Australia like the cane toad and white settlers, and how these effect their respective ecosystems.

Perhaps the most powerful quote in Haraway’s essay is from Piccinini herself, saying “in my work, perhaps I am saying that whether you like them or you don’t like them, we actually have a duty to care. We created them, so we’ve got to look after them”.

I would like to examine three main questions based on the article, set out below with some points for thought.

1. As a viewer, do you think Piccinini’s artworks evoke empathy or disgust?

o Do they appear threatening? and is there any significance in that the human children in many of the sculptures have hands while their creature counterparts do not?

2. Do the apparent themes in Piccinini’s artworks harmonise with Haraway’s ideas in a her cyborg manifesto?

o Consider the notion of the cyborg as both a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction, it’s evolution being a continuum without a start or end.

3. If it is accepted that Piccinini’s artworks are intended to evoke some kind of empathy amongst viewers, is her own context apparent in the ways she attempts to do this?

o Including her context as someone who migrated to Australia, a potentially isolating experience

o Piccinini’s race as an element of her context reflected in the relateability (or otherwise) of the sculptures

o Her context as female, and whether any appeal to maternal (or paternal) instincts is employed (Haraway writes: ‘The point for me in Piccinini’s Nature’s Little Helpers is parenting, not reproducing. Parenting is about caring for generations, one’s own or not; reproducing is about making more of oneself to populate the future, quite a different matter’.)

You can see photos of Piccinini's works here.

Presentation

Week 12 Presentation: Post-Human Conclusions

By Jo-Anne Hodges

Hayles, Katherine. N “Flesh and Metal: Reconfiguring the MindBody in Virtual Environments.” Configurations, 10. (2002): 297-320.

In her article, Hayles makes a final point of saying; “we do not exist in order to relate; rather, we relate in order that we may exist as fully realized human beings” (Hayles 320). So, existence for Hayles is defined and experienced through how we relate in and to things in our environments or worlds and how these environments relate to us.

The article explores this Idea of Relationality and how it is expressed in virtual reality artworks such as in; “Traces,” “The Einstein Brain Project” and “nØtime.” These artworks will be described later but first I would like to explain Hayles’ notion of Relationality.

Previously, in her book “How We Became Post-human,” Hayles made a distinction between Body and Embodiment. Body, which is the human form, seen for the outside is a culturally constructed abstract concept. Embodiment is culturally constructed experiences that arise out of the interactions between the conscious mind and physiological structures. Embodiment has to do with an inner experience of feelings, emotions and sensations. So body and embodiment have been described as separate “things.”

Now however, Hayles is constructing this Body/Embodiment distinction in a new way. In doings so she has adopted the term Mindbody, this is defined as the merging of body and embodiment. Mindbody focuses on the idea of relation and Hayles proposes that both body and embodiment (Mindbody) emerge from it; from relation. What I think she means is that there are complex interactions between the body, our perceptions and our physical worlds. These do not exist as separated concepts or entities but rather that they are intimately intertwined and the relations between them, is what contributes to our experiences as fully realized human beings.

Hayles describes that our embodied experiences are changing through our interactions with our modern, information-rich environments. So, as we interact with and relate to our evolving technological worlds, the technology is changing and shaping the way we exist and experience that existence. For Hayles, the boundaries between humans and technology (aka, the skin) are becoming increasingly fluid. As much as our bodies control and shape the experiences we have with technology, technology also controls and shapes our bodies. For example, in video gaming, players project their proprioceptive sense (their body) into the gaming space (technology). Players may become so immersed in the gaming space that this space itself becomes a world and the joystick becomes an unconscious extension of the hand (Hayles 300). But also, that interaction of the Mindbody with the technology can condition and shape the central and peripheral nervous system. So, as our environments evolve there is an increasingly inseparable interaction between us and our technological, information –rich worlds.

Our technological, information-rich worlds shape us through a phenomenon known as “Neural Plasticity.” Neural plasticity is the brain/central nervous system’s ability to change its shape through experience. You know the saying “Practice makes perfect?” Well, when you do something repeatedly, your brain develops neural connections for those actions and the more you do that activity, the stronger those connections become. These neural connections are physical representations of experience. So, the more we interact with technology the more those experiences become represented in the brain (just think of how fast you can type compared to when you first started) and the more we project our “brains” (thinking, ideas, designs etc.) into our technological world, the more those worlds change. Both humans and technology are becoming smarter and smarter, one shaping the other, and this is a function of what Hayles calls Relationality.

As relationality itself evolves, creating even smarter technological worlds and even smarter humans, it is described that we will enter the Post-Human/ Trans-human Era. An age beyond the digital age where, like body and embodiment are no longer distinct concepts, humans and machine will not be separate concepts/species but a merged.

At this time, is it said that “A transcendent union of the human and technology will enable us to download our consciousness into computers and live as disembodied information patterns, thereby escaping the frailties of the human body, especially mortality (Haraway, cited in Hayles 299). So, in a sense Post-humanism will liberate us from the perceived constraints of our current human bodies. In another sense, our identities will change and evolve too as Hayles describes that living in technologically engineered and information-rich environments brings associated shifts in habits, postures, enactments and perceptions (Hayles 299).

Reactions to such ideas have been expressed through the interactive virtual artworks that Hayles explores;

“Traces”

Artists: Simon Penny, Phoebe Sengers, Andre Bernhardt & Jamieson Shulte.

- Inter-active simulation where the body is brought fully into Virtual reality

- Using sophisticated technology, the artists created what they call the CAVE. The individual is connected to a computer and movements are morphed onto the screen.

- This artwork is a reaction to the idea that post-humanism will create us as disembodied information patterns.

- The movements are represented as volumetric residues that trial behind the morphed model of the user’s body and as time passes, the residues gradually fade away.

- The idea here resists the suggestions that information technology will allow us to escape our bodies and avoid our mortality.

“The ‘Einstein Brain’ Project”

Artists: Alan Dunning and Paul Woodrow

- Based on the idea that what we perceive IS reality. Reality is not something “out there” but rather something “in here,” as a result of neurological processes in the brain.

- Reality is not something that pre-exist our experience of it. Reality exists as we construct it through Mindbody and relationality.

- The artwork points to Hayles’ concluding remark that we relate in order that we may exist. (Constructed reality as opposed to pre-existing reality).

“nØtime” (linked to video)

Artist: Victoria Vesna with collaborators; Phoebe Sengers, Hideaki Kuzuoka, Gerald Jong

- Nano art

- Interactive,

- Is a reaction to the post-human condition as having so much convenience in terms of technology but les and less time to do things

- This artwork is difficult to describe BUT please watch this video, it is really, really cool! It illustrates what nØtime is.

So, my questions for discussion are;

1. In response to “traces,” resisting the idea that post-humanism will liberate us from our human mortality, what do you think? Do you think that the evolution of technology and humans into the Post-Human Era will disembody us, and allow us to escape mortality? Do you think we can become superhuman and evolve into almost immortal superior intelligences?

2. In relation to the idea that identities will, or could, change in response to the post-human movement, what is identity to you? Is it bodied, is it embodiment? Is identity Mindbody? Or is identity something else altogether? What is identity to you?