As the big day to the "official" beginning of this projects looms ever closer, I find myself getting a little nervous about whether or not I'll be able to pull it off.  But I have faith and confidence that I'll find a way.

I decided I might as well get one, maybe two, more Pre-Project Post in before the official day, so I read the introduction to Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice: Communities, Pedagogies, and Social Action, edited by Kristine Blair, Radhika Gajjala, and Christine Tulley with the introduction by them as well.  First, let me admit that I struggle with terms like "web cyberfeminist practice" (3).  I'm not sure that it is a flaw in my understanding or knowledge, just that terms like these can have multiple meanings or even have a fluidity to them that can be elusive.  I will say, however, that my knowledge in this area of inquiry is quite limited.  With that said, the text has a LOT to offer. 

The book is laid out in three themes: 1) Forming Virtual Kinships, 2) Redrawing Academic Borders, and 3) Resisting Gendered Hierarchy.  Each of these section has a wide range of essays. 

There were a couple of phrases, comments, statements, that I thought were interesting.  In the first section, the editors state that "this emphasis on how the personal is a necessary part of cyberfeminism practice is a theme . . ." in the essays here (4).  Is that true?  Do I have to divulge something personal about myself in order to participate in "web cyberfeminist practice"?  Not sure I buy into that theory.  Can I not perform feminist practices on the web without also being personal?  I think about this blog, and I believe all I have written about are things of a professional nature, except maybe the little bit of biography that discusses some pretty vague hobbies.  Are those considered personal?  I don't know that they really add to what I am doing here. 

That leads me to question exactly what I am doing here.  I believe I'm chiseling out a place for me in cyberspace.  A place where my voice can be heard.  Not that it will be, people would have to read it for that be true, but it CAN be.

Another quote, dealing with an essay in the second session, argues that "gendering of cyberspace occurs at the moment when boys become the makers of technology and girls aspire to be but its users" (8).  What constitutes the making of technology?  Do I have to go out and invent something?  Maybe I just need to be a programmer?  Maybe making this site on Weebly counts as being a technology maker?  To be fair, the article being discussed here is arguing that it's about education and literacy.  Hard to argue with that.

The final section, about hierarchies, deals with JUST that.  In the beginning of the information highway, there were pipe dreams and ideals of utopia when it came to how the internet would create a true democracy.  What we have learned is that hierarchies can be recreated on the web just as they are offline.  Therefore, we have to aware of these hierarchies and find ways to overcome them.

I will definitely be interested in reading several of the articles in this text.  There are a couple that I will probably bypass, like the one dealing with women who have lost children and the bonds they create online, but I think the collection, overall, will be fascinating for me.

Even though I have not been posting, I have been reading.  However, because of what I am reading, I do not feel I can comment on the them because they are not officially in print yet.  I am a reviewer for an edited collection that a colleague is publishing.  The collection is on higher Ed, emerging technologies, and community partnerships and how the three connect. I am reading some amazing stuff that people have written, and I'll be glad when I can comment on these articles because I believe they have merit for a lot of the work many of us are currently doing or are attempting to do.  I will hopefully be able to read something that I can comment on before the weekend is out. 

It is, however, the end of the semester and things are completely crazy right now for me.  I know that anyone who is in the "end of semester" throes knows exactly what I am talking about.  I have spent all day today grading and will spend tomorrow grading revisions and averaging grades so my students know where they are at before they turn in their final essays this Thursday.  YAY!!!!

Today I read the introduction/first chapter to Radan Martinec and Theo van Leeuwen's text The Language of New Media Design: Theory and Practice.  First, I'm not afraid to admit that this is one of those texts I ended up reading out loud.  Some times that is about the only way I can focus and take in what I'm actually reading (and even that doesn't always work).  Unlike some books where you can read the intro and get a general idea of what the book is about and then fill in the blanks as you read, I have the distinct impression that with this book you had better understand this first chapter completely before proceeding or else you will be lost.

The authors discuss New Media Design in terms of semantics or semiotics.  The authors state that the purpose of the book "is that new media are, or should be, structured by invisible underlying patterns that connect image, sound and text into meaningful wholes" (1).  They then get into a brief but interesting discussion of systemic linguistics (about here was when I decided reading out loud might be beneficial), move to a discussion of non-linear models such as the part-whole tree and star, and then talk about strategies for employing models and methods, all based on semantics.

Even though I had difficulties at times staying focused, this is definitely a book that I am interested in jumping right into.  The intro was only 14 pages and yet I have notes scribbled all over the margins.  I was definitely immersing myself into this text and interacting with it in a meaningful way (the marginal comments are not snarky).  One thing the authors note toward the end of the intro is that "the intention of the text, as realized by its lexical and grammatical patterns, needs to be respected when translating it into a non-linear model.  Domains (and texts) of any complexity tend to require more than one simple non-linear model to map out their semantic structure" (13).  I think that this is often over looked when new, and maybe even some seasoned, designers take on the task of designing new media products.

This introduction even got me to thinking about the purpose of this new media site and whether or not I am reaching my intended audience.  When a text immediately gets me thinking about things I am doing, then I am interested.  While I am not a huge fan of semiotics, and have picked up and sat down the Introduction to Semiotics a million times (well, maybe only three or four, then I lost it), I like the way these guys are employing semantics to drive home the point that the design of a site has to connect to the meaning!!

Ok, enough said by me.  Feel free to blast away or simply comment if you'd like.

If this month has been any indication of what my success will be like when the project officially begins...... I think I'm screwed.

But, I refuse to give into those feelings.  I knew when I thought of this project that it would be a HUGE challenge.  The thing about me is that I LOVE a good challenge.  So, as I said in the last post, I had hoped to read the introductions to all of the books that I listed and post on them.  Even though this is proving much more difficult right now than I expected, I am still moving forward.  One step at a time, right.  So, the first intro has been read and here are my thoughts.

I read the foreword, preface, and introduction to Digital Literacy For Technical Communication: 21st Century Theory and Practice Edited by Rachel Spilka.  I'll start with a comment on the Foreword by JoAnn T. Hackos.  She discusses the fact that she recently purchased a Kindle for reading, especially autobiographies.  Apparently, some of her friends can't believe she has "abandoned . . . real book[s] . . . ."  She then goes on to say "Does using an intrusive technology somehow degrade the experience of immersing oneself in a text?" (vii).  I wrote in the margin, "Intrusive technology, really?"  Can someone explain to me exactly what an intrusive technology is?  Using a Kindle or an iPhone or a Nook somehow intrudes on the reading experience?  It seems to me like a book is more intrusive than these techno gadgets because its more cumbersome and hard to handle.  Seems to me like a copy of Stephen King's Under the Dome would be much more intrusive than reading it on a Kindle.  But perhaps I'm more of a digital native (even though I'm not) than most.  As Hackos points out concerning information-development management, "They are suspicious of innovations that might lead to the demise of their departments" (ix).  I think this could be true of so much of the fear that exists at any level and in any department.  Will all of these innovations do away with life as we know it, or more importantly, our jobs.

So, that was just the foreword.  I'll skip ahead to the introduction now.  I guess what intrigued me the most was Spilka's decision to approach this volume not from an angle of "adapt or die", a survivalist mentality, but rather from an "evolution" perspective.  Everything evolves: some things faster than others.  She also discusses how technical communication has had a tendency in the past to isolate themselves in the past and that now is the time to blur the boundaries and work in teams and with other fields.

It appears that the collection will look at three main areas:  Transformation of the field, New foundational knowledge, and New directions.  I think the first section will give the reader some history and background, but the third section is the most interesting to me.  Some of the quotes are intriguing for me.  One such remark is that Thatcher (one of the contributors) states that "digital media simply do not fit all communicative and cultural traditions the same way" (15).  Given some of the comments I heard today from grad students at MSU, I think this is extremely important.  Digital media do not fit ALL cultural traditions, but I would venture to leave it at that.  I don't know that digital media can find a place in ALL cultural traditions period.  I look forward to reading that chapter.

Based on the introduction to this text, I do not believe I will begin my project with this particular book.  Not because it doesn't sound interesting, but because I'm not sure it fits with what I want to be doing right now.  Not that I particularly know what that is, but I know it's not technical communication.  At least not right now.

I still can't get over the concept of intrusive technology.

I have decided that over the next couple of weeks I am going to read the introductions to ten books that I ordered or bought while at CCCCs in Louisville Last month.  This will be good practice for me and help me to decided where I want to begin this project.  I had originally said I would finish reading Hamlet on the Holodeck, but I think I want something newer, more cutting edge, something that is current and not two decades old already.  So, while I fully intend on finishing Janet Murray's seminal piece, I don't believe I'll start there.

So, the books I'll be reading the intro's too and making comments are

1. The Language of New Media Design: Theory and Practice by Radan Martinec and Theo van Leeuwen
   
2. Exploring English Grammar: From Formal to Functional by Caroline Coffin, Jim Donohue, and Sarah North
   
3. Multimodality: A Social Semiotic Approach to Contemporary Communication by Gunther Kress
   
4. Digital Literacy for Technical Communication: 21st Century Theory and Practice Ed Rachel Spilka
   
5. Producing for Web 2.0: A Student Guide by Jason Whittaker
   
6. Rhetorically Rethinking Usabiliby: Theories, Practices, and Methodologies Ed Susan Miller-Cochran and Rochelle L. Rodrigo
   
7. Lingua Fracta: Towards a Rhetoric of New Media by Collin Gifford Brooke
   
8. Going Wireless: A Critical Exploration of Wireless and Mobile Technologies for Composition Teachers and Researchers (wow, what a title) Ed Amy C. Kimme Hea
   
9. Digital Tools in Composition Studies: Critical Dimensions and Implication Eds Ollie O. Oviedo, Joyce R. Walker, and Byron Hawk
   
10. Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice: Communities, Pedagogies, and Social Action Eds Kristine Blair, Radhika Gajjala, and Christine Tulley

So, I will begin reading the intros to these this week.  I am excited about officially beginning this project and hope that reading these intros will lead me to a good start.