This week has been shaped by a desperate attempt to identify a topic suitable for the digital essay assignment.
The initial choice was based on L. Grieves article on ‘How material are cyberbodies’ but unfortunately after some further probing for content it did not yield (at least in my view) sufficient material of substance.
In general I found several of the primary articles in our reading list not only hard to read but virtually incomprehensible, as exemplified by D. Haraway’s ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’.
It found it heavily politicised and abstract, which did not go well together with my rational fact-based way of thinking.
I do accept that it is one of the genre’s key articles, but unless one has a sociological/ philosophical mindset this paper is at such an advanced level that for a novice (immigrant) into this area it is beyond reasonable comprehension (and my wife can certify to this).
Kathryn Hayles’ way of writing, whilst still hard, was easier to follow and if at all I will try to centre my digital essay around one of her themes, the Cybersphere. Whether it will come to anything only time will tell.
The Cybersphere Project
#1 by Sarah Payne on November 23rd, 2009
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Hi Henry
I agree with you on both fronts:
1) Haraway is too hard to read and I felt deviated from the concept of the course. Her take on cyborgs struck me as too politicized to really be relevant to this module. I found Hayles much more interesting.
2) I too am struggling to find an essay topic. A couple of thoughts have sprung to the surface, only to find themselves lost and too insubstantial.
Good luck with your continuing quest!
#2 by Sian on November 23rd, 2009
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Henry, further to my email earlier today, please bear in mind that your essay doesn’t have to be focused on the conceptually difficult material we’ve covered in the last two weeks. If there are ideas from earlier in the course that connect better with your own concerns and ways of thinking then please follow up on these for your final assignment.
I’ll make a blog posting now clarifying expectations for this.