Bad Artists Copy. Good Artists Steal.*

Singing Celara brings out the message in Jamie O'Neil's video, "The Medium is the Mix," saying: "...O'Neil makes the statement that no idea is unique, we simply mix other people's ideas into our own words and situations" (Singing Celara). In addition, I think blogger Writing Moves makes an excellent point in her newest blog post, "Reading Response 4: Language Altering Media," by talking about the use of HTML and coding as a new form of writing. She says, "Writing in our digital age can still mean words, but it can also mean programming" (Writing Moves).

I would argue that these two ideas are contradictory. O'Neil's suggestion that no idea is unique simply because we employ a mix of mediums is obsolete in the eyes of the digital age. Writing Move's blog post pulls in the example from Kenneth Goldsmith's "Revenge of the Text," where the author disrupts an image of Shakespeare by inserting a sonnet into the HTML coding. Here are the before and after images:

By inserting the "word language" (the sonnet) into the "coding language" (the HTML), Goldsmith has managed to create something completely new. It did not exist before he conceived and produced it, and I think that O'Neil's argument is weak in light Goldsmith's work. In addition, mixing mediums to create new art is not a concept exclusive to the digital age. Pablo Picasso's "Guitar" is considered a renowned, unique piece of artwork and it is made from a mix of preexisting material. Here it is if you've never seen it: 

I think that Goldsmith's ideas, as well as the concept of mash-ups as art form, may have taken a page from Picasso's book. By doing so, another layer of artistry has been added to the production of the written word (coding and non-coding). 

*This is a quote from Pablo Picasso, which you can find here.

Works Cited: 

Nunweiler, Alexandria. "Writing Moves" 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. 

Singing Celara. "Singing Celara: An Assignment Blog" 24 Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Sept. 2014. 

Two Warring Mediums in One Literary Body

"It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of alway's looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity" (DuBois 3). Paul Miller, aka DJ Spooky, quotes W.E.B. DuBois in his article "DJing Is Writing/Writing Is DJing." I've been exploring DuBois' seminal work in one of my other classes and I would have never thought to integrate DuBois' concept into our Cyber Rhetoric class. If you've never encountered double consciousness before, or need a refresher, the Wikipedia article is quite informing and in lay language. It includes the quote that I've used above and explains it more in depth.

In my consideration of the connection between this literary critical idea and our study of the cyber sphere I have come to the conclusion that the juxtaposition between electronic and print texts may call for an examination of the way we critically approach texts in different mediums in the digital age.

Stephen Ramsay suggests in his book, "Reading Machines: Towards an Algorithmic Criticism," that computers should be considered viable resources in the field of literary criticism. He says, "If algorithmic criticism is to have a central hermeneutical tenet, it is this: that the narrowing constraints of computational logic -- the irreducible tendency of the computer toward enumeration, measurement, and verification -- is fully comparable with the goals of criticism..." (Ramsay 16). I think that Ramsay makes a valid point, but I think the issue regarding the integration of electronics and criticism lies not in the technological tools but in the literary theory. I would ask if there needs to be a different lens through which we view electronic words and texts, or can we examine them in the same  way as their print predecessors?

To clarify, I am not asking if we should only use computers to explore electronic texts; instead, I'm suggesting that the critical approach we apply to electronic text may need to be different from printed texts. A parallel can be drawn from preexisting literary criticism and its evolution over the last century as the coinage of 'double consciousness' by W.E.B. DuBois led to a revolutionary recognition of the separate existence of multiple consciousnesses.

His ideas in "The Souls of Black Folks" then gave way to African American criticism. By defining a line between the white and black consciousnesses, DuBois then created an argument for the validity of a separate consideration of the African American lens.

Electronic texts are becoming increasingly validated through their integration in the academic sphere. However, their integration does not signify assimilation. Kenneth Goldsmith points out the differences between printed texts and electronic texts by defining the differences between the purpose of their words. He says, "Words very well might not only written to be read [as is the case for printed texts] but rather to be shared, moved, and manipulated, sometimes by humans, more often by machines [in the case of electronic texts..." (Goldsmith 15).

I believe it is limiting to only view electronic texts through the eyes of printed text and measure their worth against their paper peers. If we create a separate type of criticism, that takes into account the intricacies of the cyber sphere, I believe it will lead to more in-depth research and understanding as well as more authentic research. As I wrote last week in my post about possibly creating a separate kind of Reader-Response Criticism that incorporates hypertext, I believe that the electronic literary world merits both incorporation into the preexisting literary field and separate recognition of its own literary worth.

Works Cited:

DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folks. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1961. Print.

Goldsmith, Kenneth. "Revenge of the Text." Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age. New York: Columbia UP, 2011.

Ramsay, Stephen. Reading Machines: Toward An Algorithmic Criticism. Urbana: U of Illinois, 2011. Print.

You're Hot and You're Cold, You're Yes and You're No

As I was delving into the concepts of hot and cold media presented by McLuhan I couldn't help but think of the hit 2008 song "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry. While one really has nothing to do with the other, the song helped me contemplate how the hot and cold theory is possibly a misnomer. As MissDeeZee pointed out, McLuhan's theory "...is not a binary. It is not a dichotomy" (MissDeeZee). I would agree with her. The terms hot and cold suggest that media can be categorized into two opposing sides; however, media exists on McLuhan's continuum instead within his binary. 

A question that McLuhan's spectrum forces me to raise this week, in light of the readings on hypertexts and electronic editions that we've been doing, is would the incorporation of hypertext and electronic editions push reading towards being hotter or colder?

I think that blogger realblueivy makes a good point when she says, "Although many teachers are resistant to the idea of e-readers in class or online textbooks, I believe that they may have the ability to change our entire learning process" (realblueivy). By using hypertext, I would argue that reading becomes more immersive (like movies) and therefore is hotter; but, at the same time it requires more active participation (like traditional reading) so it is cooler in that aspect.

The increasing use of hypertext and e-readers may call for an overhaul of McLuhan's hot and cold theory and how we explain it or use it as everything blurs together due to the mesh of traditional literary texts with new-age media and digital technology.

Works Cited:

Hot N Cold. Perf. Katy Perry. YouTube. N.p., 13. Oct. 2008 Web 19 Sept. 2014

MissDeeZee93. "Untitled." Cyber Rhetoric - Writ 502. N.P., 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014

realblueivy. "Reading Response 3." realblueivy. N.p., 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014

To Tweet, or Not to Tweet?

Last spring I waded my way through the text-laden and theory-heavy course known as English 300, or Approaches to Literature. Throughout the class we learned the main literary criticism and theory necessary to succeed as an English major, and one of the ones that interested me the most was Reader-Response Criticism (called RRC from here on for brevity). For those of you who are unfamiliar with RRC, here is a detailed explanation and overview of the criticism and its history.

Earlier in the week, I raised the question in our participation forums about the interconnectedness of RRC and the use of hypertexts. As I've been working on annotated bibliographies and research papers for other classes, I can't help but wonder how different the experience would be if I were reading electronic editions of these scholarly articles with hypertext annotations. Landlow says this about the use of hypertext in scholarly works: "Although you cannot change my text, you can write a response and then link it to my document" (Landlow).

I would question whether or not this creates an entirely different type of RRC by incorporating the reader's experience with the collective audience's opinions in an interaction with the main text. As we progress farther into the digital age, I would argue that developing a system for incorporating scholarly electronic editions with hypertext into the traditional research and learning process is only beneficial. By allowing students to read and incorporate other perspectives they will be able to form more well-rounded opinions.

Over the last few years, the humanities world has seen several changes to accommodate the growing integration of electronic media into scholarly research. An example of this is the incorporation of Twitter and 'tweets' into MLA's citable resources. An article published in 2012 briefly discusses the benefits and drawbacks to this decision, but overall commends the MLA for considering Twitter as part of the scholarly discussion. In my opinion, the further we integrate electronic resources into our research, the more information we (as scholars) can incorporate and use to produce phenomenal papers and presentations.

While there are other obstacles standing in the way of a full-on electronic incorporation, such as equitable and unrestricted access to the Internet globally, I believe that classes like these are creating the building blocks for a successful argument for the integration of electronic media and tools into the classroom, academic sphere, and beyond.

Works Cited:

Byford, Sam. "Modern Language Association Standardizes Format for Citing Tweets." The Verge. N.p., 8 March 2012. Web. 17 September 2014.

Landlow, George P. "Reading and Writing in a Hypertext Environment." Reading and Writing in a Hypertext Environment. Johns Hopkins University Press, n.d. Web. 17 September 2014.

A Nod to Mr. Spock and Master Yoda

In "Star Trek: The Original Series," Spock is quoted as saying: "Change is the essential process of all existence." For those of you who are unfamiliar with Star Trek, Spock is famous for his ability to combine Vulcan logic (a trademark of his race) with human compassion in order to become one of the wisest, and I would argue most relatable, characters in the Star Trek universe. I would have to agree with Mr. Spock; however, the inevitability of change in the humanities during the digital age raises a few questions for me.

How can the change be most effective? As this shift occurs, what damage is it going to bring to authors/writers and readers/audiences? How is this change going to irreversibly alter the humanities field? All of these are big questions, but I'd like to try and address them with some help by the points raised in both MermaidGhost's and lemonlewis's blog posts.

MermaidGhost states her opinion regarding change early on in her post: "My issue with the ever changing world of print is that no one is willing to accept when it's time to change... Just change with the times, there's nothing to fear" (MermaidGhost). I agree that the static air surrounding printed texts can be overwhelming for those of who grew up with Google at the tip of our fingertips; however, I wholeheartedly disagree that there is nothing to fear in this digital shift. As I talked about in my own response post this week, plagiarism is on the rise in the digital age and authorship is constantly under fire in a world where anonymity is king.

In addition to the issues with authorship and intellectual property rights in regards to electronic material I would argue that the Internet as a medium is imperfect and potentially unaccessible. As we've been considering the digital age this week the cyber-sphere has been in an uproar about Net Neutrality. If you don't know what that is here's a nifty primer from The Wall Street Journal by Gauthem Nagesh. Here's a quick definition of net neutrality if you don't have time to read the whole thing: "Net neutrality is the principle that all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally -- broadband providers shouldn't be able to choose which websites consumers can access" (Nagesh).

If net neutrality is lost, and Internet providers are able to control (via money) what websites you can access, then how can we use the Internet to its full potential? What is to stop a certain company (for example, Comporium in Rock Hill) to not offer a package that includes Wikipedia? All of the sudden, Wikipedia is gone from your computer with no way to access it. Issues such as these are what make me fear for the shift from print to digital. I've witnessed controlled book censorship, I don't want the same to happen to the cyber-world.

However, not all is lost. I would definitely agree with lemonlewis that McLuhan's book helps gain "at least an inkling of what it might be like to look around the next corner of history" (lemonlewis). As of right now, we can not know how the Internet will be shaped in ten or twenty years. Looking back to the late 90's and early 2000's, no one could have predicted the enormity of changes that have occurred in the digital world in our lifetime. I think there is a great chance for the humanities to step up and call for a truly neutral net in order to provide a more perfect community that enables a wider spread of literature and education.

As I said at the beginning of this post, these are all big questions, and I hope I've addressed them adequately. Since "Star Trek" does not have a monopoly on sage characters I would like to quote to quote Master Yoda in all of his infinite wisdom: "Impossible to see the future is."

I firmly believe that until today turns into tomorrow we will not understand the gravity and reach of the digital shift, and I'm becomingly increasingly okay with that.

Works Cited:

lemonlewis. "Reading Response 2" lemonlewis. Web. 12 September 2014.

MermaidGhost. "Response to Lecture 5 In The Medium is The Massage and This Week's Lecture" mermaidghost. Web. 12 September 2014.

Nagesh, Gautham. "Baffled by 'Net Neutrality'? Read This, a WSJ Primer." The Wall Street Journal. N.p. 12 May 2014. Web 12 Sept. 2014.

Plagiarism is Not the Cat's Meow

I've been running through a list of my favorite authors all night trying to pick the perfect sounding name for my new kitten. One of my favorite professors at Winthrop has a cat named Oscar (after Oscar Wilde) and a dog, named Dora (after Eudora Welty), and I thought it was a clever way to pick names. As I read over some of the lectures on the class blog this week the most recent one, regarding authorship in the digital age, I began to consider the implications of publishing in the digital age and its effect on authors. Would James Joyce, Isabel Allende, and Flannery O'Connor still be my favorites if I read their texts on a screen under a pseudonym? Would I still consider them credible if I didn't consume their printed texts?

McLuhan summarizes the impact of printed text on authorship in "The Message is the Massage" when he says: "The invention of printing did away with anonymity, fostering ideas of literary fame and the habit of considering intellectual effort as private property" (McLuhan 122). Throughout the history of printed text, we as readers have given credence to these authors' intellectual effort and acknowledged their ownership of these words through warnings against plagiarism and repeatedly re-printing and selling these texts with their names on the spine.

However, all of this raises questions, in my mind, for coming-to-fame authors in the digital age: will they have the same ownership over their words as their predecessors? Will the cyber sphere create a space void of authorship? Will readers be able to give credence to these digital texts if they're not protected as private property?

In an article by Trip Gabriel in the New York Times, titled "Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in the Digital Age,"  one of the biggest problems for writers in the digital age comes to light. Students are becoming unable to grasp the concept that literature, articles, and essays on the internet belong to the writers who penned them. The article states that this phenomenon is due to the digital era, saying, "It is a disconnect that is growing in the Internet age as concepts of intellectual property, copyright and originality are under assault in the unbridled exchange of online information..." (Gabriel).

Obviously, it's not just novels and fiction that are under attack. PDF's of textbooks, digital newspaper articles, Wikipedia pages, and Sparknotes entries are all eligible for pick-and-choose plagiarism so prevalent today. In addition to the students lack of respect for these texts, faculty and academic institutions insisting that Wikipedia and other online articles (besides those from online academic databases) are not credible sources is constructing the framework that just because a text is online it doesn't deserve the same respect we pay to printed authors.

I am all for being able to read "Dubliners," "The House of the Spirits," and "Wise Blood" on my Nook, but it isn't without concern for the perceived decrease of respect for authors in a cyber-centric world.

Works Cited:

Gabriel, Trip. "Lines on Plagiarism Blur for Students in Digital Age." The New York Times. N.p., 1

     Aug. 2010. Web. 9 Sept. 2014. 

McLuhan, Marshall, Quentin Fiore, and Jerome Agel. The Medium Is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. San Francisco, CA: HardWired, 1996. Print.

Analysis of Literacy Practices

All of my papers, hypothetical or written, begin with contemplating the topic and potential thesis. I tend to use paper and pencil to sketch out my initial thoughts, but do the majority of my research and writing on the computer. I think Borges’ treatment of and interest in juxtaposed or warring communities (such as the Japanese/German characters in “The Garden of Forking Paths” or the Hasidic Jews/Hispanic communities in “Death and the Compass”) would make an interesting topic for a paper and lend itself to an effective thesis, so that’s what my paper would focus on.

As an English major I’ve done a number of annotated bibliographies, but don’t tend to use them unless they’re assigned. However, since beginning my academic career as an undergraduate I’ve become increasingly aware of the importance of varied research, and so my approach to beginning this paper would start with collecting as many relevant sources as possible from different places. In the past, I’ve relied on the books from Winthrop’s Dacus library in addition to online databases such as JSTOR, Ebscoe, and the International MLA Bibliography, and so that’s where I would get the majority of my peer-reviewed articles and essays.

From a writing standpoint, it is imperative in my process to have a working thesis and outline before I begin heavy research. I take the preliminary notes that I’ve written by hand, and transfer them to a word document. After accomplishing those goals, I would move on to focusing on the research aspect of the paper. I tend to enjoy gathering materials through online resources because of the ease of accessibility. I would use one of the previously mentioned databases and implement a variety of Boolean searches in order to narrow down the criticism into a manageable selection of relevant articles. Some search terms I would use would be the following: Borges AND New Historicism, World War II AND The Garden of Forking Paths, symbolism AND (Borges AND The Garden of Forking Paths). After I have a small pool of fifteen to twenty articles, I would go through and read the abstracts and the first few pages in order to determine which arguments would lend themselves most effectively to my thesis. Once I’ve narrowed it down to five or seven I would most likely print them out, because I enjoy being able to highlight and annotate on a physical text. I would repeat the Boolean search process with the database of books at the Dacus library, and I typically use two to three books for an eight to ten page paper.

After I’ve got my two to three books and my five to seven relevant articles, I would go through each and pull out quotes that would be useful in supporting my argument and add them to an outline of my paper. While I do prefer to annotate by hand, I would add these quotes to an electronic outline in a pre-existing word document. By doing this, it’s easier for me to know how I can incorporate quotes and sources into my paper so I’m using the resources effectively. From this point onward, I would be working on developing my outline into a full-fledged paper that uses my research in a way that is supportive.

Up until this point, I’ve thought that my process was similar to most of my peers, if not a bit more focused. However, after reading Nicholas Carr’s article, I realized that my version of “collecting” was actually in line with what his article describes as “bouncing around.”  In addition, I can remember from previous research papers counting out how many pages I had left to read, and looking for the shortest scholarly articles possible. I don't think that my wandering attention stems from a lack of interest, but instead from an increasing reliance on instant gratification in the form of Wikipedia, Google, and Yahoo! Answers when I'm desperate.
I would agree that research (at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional level) is being influenced by the changes mentioned by Carr. As a current undergraduate student, I worry that my papers won’t be able to compete with others around me because of my lack of focus or tendency to rush through searches and sources. From a teaching perspective, since I plan on going into academia and teaching at the collegiate level, I worry that these changes will effect the overall integrity of research by progressively decreasing a student’s ability to put focused time and energy into a final product (in this case, a paper). 

Construction and Deconstruction

I am struck by the ability to construct and deconstruct that stems from the use of writing as technology. As I read over our blogs for this week, two of them resonated with me because of their explanation of the role of writing in such different capacities.

Blogger Chris Davis shows in his blogpost, "Cavemen Probably Didn't Have Newspapers," Marshall McLuhan's argument "that written language was the primary catalyst for the development of civilization and advanced social structure in human beings" (Davis" is supported by the development of recorded information and tradable data that gave way to economies that would support an advanced civilization and structure like we have today. 

However, blogger Gabriel Vega points out the power of writing as technology in his blogpost "Reading Response 1: Writing as Technology." He uses the revolt in Egypt during 2011 as an example of how writing, as both technology and skill, can be a part of a revolution in which "Egyptian citizens marched the streets, held events, though not devoid of violence, and they occupied major government infrastructures as well as city squares" (Vega). Technology and writing were joined together across the globe to give a voice to these citizens as they tore down the pre-existing structure. 

I think that when you combine these two ideas, that writing can be both a constructive and destructive technology within a society, it helps support that idea that digitization may be cyclical. 

Walter Ong explains in his article, "Digitization Ancient and Modern: Beginnings of Writings and Today's Computers," how the progression of writing occurred in the Sumerian, the Chinese, and the Mayan systems (4). The discovery of ancient Sumerian hand-made clay markers indicate a system that can be crudely related to digital binary, as they are both "numerically discrete units used to process data for reckoning purposes" (4).

We are seeing now, through historical evidence, that ideas we've incorporated into the twenty-first century technological world also appeared, at a rudimentary level, thousands of years ago through the Sumerians. Each of those systems (Sumerian, Chinese, and Mayan) used each subsequent writing progression to tear down the old structures and construct new technologies and innovations. However, I would raise this question: is the deconstruction always positive? Does it always lead to a better, more innovative outcome, or are there examples of damage?

Works Cited: 

davisc47 [Chris Davis]. "Reading Response One: Cavemen Probably Didn't Have Newspapers" Chris Davis Elite Blog. Web. 4 September 2014. 

digitizerhetoric [Gabriel Vega]. "Reading Response 1: Writing as Technology" Digitize Rhetoric. Web. 4 September 2014

Ong, Walter J. "Digitization Ancient and Modern: Beginnings of Writing and Today's Computers."  Communication Research Trends 18.2 (1998): 4-21. 

A Not-So-Egg-celent Breakfast

An egg shouldn’t make you feel anxious and uncomfortable, but I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the printed egg shown on the first page of Marshall McLuhan’s “The Message is the Massage.” During the lecture on the first ten pages, we were led to the back of the book in order to read this statement: “Page 1: A trademark is printed on a raw egg yolk by a no-contact, no-pressure printing technique. Imagine the possibilities to which this device will give birth!” (McLuhan 158).

            At first, the egg seemed like a novelty item placed under an auspicious “Good Morning!” designed to entice the reader into the graphically interesting book. However, when I read the quote on page one hundred and fifty eight, I began imagining the possibilities. Could Pepsi start putting their ads inside of eggs, too? Would presidential candidates start investing in farms so that all of our dairy and egg products could come pre-stamped with a logo? It’s disturbing to think of all the possibilities for advertisement once a technique like this is invented. However, I don’t think it’s something in the future to worry about- I think it’s here now.

            It struck me that while my eggs do not have conspicuous trademarks on them I am still assaulted by advertisements, campaigns, and logos much like the man in the wind tunnel on page three of McLuhan’s book. When I wake up in the morning, my phone is usually close to my head, and I have checked my Facebook, Yik Yak, email, messages, and Instagram all before I climb out of bed. I feel disorganized if I don’t, but McLuhan’s book has created an uneasy sense of awareness inside of me that I didn’t have before. The advertisements on the side of my Facebook newsfeed show college textbooks at discounted prices and pretty vintage engagement rings- reflections of my search patterns for my near and far future. My email is hounded by various companies and retail stores that I’ve foolishly given my account information to in order to score a discount at one time or another.

            Ninety percent of this information I could live without. They have no bearing on my life, and usually end up unread, discarded, or scrolled through without a second thought. However, I religiously come back to their medium. Michael Wesch’s video “The Machine is Us/ing Us FinalVersion”  shows the interconnectedness of society and the Internet. From 3:15 to 3:45 he makes this point: “Think of the 100 billion times per day humans click on a Web page” (Wesch). Wesch makes several good points that support McLuhan’s claim that “[S]ocieties have always been shaped ore by the nature of the media…than by the content of the communication” (McLuhan 8). I don’t click on various websites or apps hundred of times during the day because their content is so riveting, but because their medium has shaped the way I interact electronically. I would argue that the case is similar for humans all over the world. As Wesch has put it, the machine (my iPhone) is using me and in turn, I am inevitably a part of the machine.

I think that Aristotle was on to something when he said, as quoted in our lecture, that rhetoric is “the art of discovering the available means of persuasion in the given case” (Walter). Companies, conglomerates, and networking sites have discovered that their rhetoric lies in the whirling vortex of cyberspace. By flooding our inboxes, newsfeeds, and timelines with logos, trademarks, and information, we are consuming enormous amounts of data without realizing it. Through our addiction to the medium (Facebook, Instagram, email, the Internet) we are paying the companies who keep our plate of digital information overflowing to continue to feed us.

            An egg should not make me feel anxious or uncomfortable, but the striking similarities between the not-so-subliminal message on the yolk and on my iPhone screen has left me without any appetite.

Works Cited:

McLuhan, Marshall, Quentin Fiore, and Jerome Agel. The Medium Is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. San Francisco, CA: HardWired, 1996. Print.

Walter, John. (2014, September 1). Introductory lecture. Lecture retrieved from     http://www.othinn.com/cyber-rhetoric/?page_id=61.

Wesch, Michael. “The Machine is Us/ing Us Final Version.” Digital Ethnography. 8 March 2007.