We will spend the first part of today's (9/16) class discussing what Rettberg and Miller/Shepherd argue about blogs as genre. I will be especially interested to know where their claims may rub against or conflict with how you understand "blogging" or "citizen journalism." Our goal will be to recognize the take-away concepts in each article, and to consider the possibilities and limitations of those concepts.
After our discussion, I will provide you with a short list of blogs to examine in a guided fashion, and then I'll ask you and your partner(s) to respond to one of the following questions in some depth. You can choose to respond as an editor or a writer, since you will be playing both roles in the construction of your sci/tech blog. Whichever role you decide to play, please remember that this is more than just a class analysis activity; as you compose your response to the question below, I need you to formulate a real sense of what questions or concerns you have about your own sci/tech blog, and let your response begin to address them:
- How does Miller and Shepherd's discussion of genre reflect other genre theories you may have studied, in English, EWM, or media studies classes? Or, if you're new to to the idea of genre, then try to unpack the quote by Berkenkotter and Huckin that they use in the third paragraph of their article. In a way, that quote -- and that paragraph -- holds the genealogy of Miller and Shepherd's genre theory. Do you think the assumptions they make about genre generally hold up when applied to blogs -- to the blog you just examined? What must you keep in mind, practically and concretely, as you construct your blog for next week?
- What is "kairos" in Miller and Shepherd's argument? How is it significant? What does it mean that subjectivity is a product of time and place, formed in interaction with a kairos (second paragraph in final section of the article)? Do you think the assumptions they make about kairos generally hold up when applied to blogs -- to the blog you just examined? What must you keep in mind, practically and concretely, as you construct your blog for next week?
- Consider Liebling's 1960 statement about free speech, or free press (Rettberg quotes it in the beginning of her chapter on "Citizen Journalism"). Unpack it, for its assumptions and implications. Why do you think Rettberg opens her chapter with it? Does it apply today, and if so, how does it apply -- especially in light of the notes we compiled as a result of our Jonah Lehrer case analysis? If it does apply, what assumptions do you think Rettberg needs you (or exhorts you) to keep in mind in the construction of your own sci/tech blog?
- What do you see as the principal justifications or main reasons why Rettberg compares the "blogger" to a "citizen journalist"? And then, what are the main reasons or principal justifications for why this could be a tricky comparison? If it helps, try answer this question by using one of the specific examples Rettberg provides, e.g., Columbine, Baghdad, etc.
- What is "symbiosis" in Rettberg's argument? (This term appears near the end of her chapter on "Citizen Journalism," but the concept is implied all the way through her book.) How is it significant? Do you think the assumptions she makes about generally hold up when applied to blogs -- to the blog you just examined? What must you keep in mind, practically and concretely, as you construct your blog for next week?
Feel free to compose your group response by adding an in-depth "comment" to this post.
-Prof. Graban
"Kairos" in Miller and Shepherd's argument is the importance of the moment in which an action is taken. The author is writing in an opportune moment. The blog is a unique revolutionary communication medium of our generation. That's why Miller and Shepherd felt the need to define it as a genre.
ReplyDelete"Subjectivity is a product of time and place" means the reader's experience with the blog is defined by his or her own experiences and knowledge. The same applies to the author and how he or she shapes their message and how it shapes and influences the reader.
We're analyzing The World is Squared in the Crooked Timbers blog. The writer Daniel discusses the danger of climbing Mount Blanc. He says the danger to do with the height of the mountain, but rather the perils of weather and the environment, which is why it's still as dangerous today as it was long ago. The kairos of his blog is that he takes notice that people may have the perception that climbing the mountain with modern tools and gear makes it less dangerous. He addresses this by comparing climbing the mountain now to climbing it in the past.
The assumptions made about kairos do hold up in the blog we examined because the reader may not be fully aware of the history of mountain climbing, but the author gives background information to give the reader a sense of what he is talking about. The author makes the historical background of mountain relevant to modern climbing.
Donald DeBevoise
DeleteLindsey Marcus
Samantha Ennis
Alex Keel and Aubrey Burrough:
ReplyDeleteKairos is a rhetorical device that plays with the timeliness of a specific situation and uses the situation to influence a belief. The benefit and hinderance of kairos is how, in time, effectiveness can only be most critical in one specific moment in time: too soon and the argument either doesn't make sense or dilutes the argument over current feelings, too late in the argument creates irrelevancy and the argument may have already been responded to. In a Wired blogpost, Vijith Assar wrote about the recent incident involving mega-band U2 and their decision to release their new album to the public by downloading their songs to every device connected to the iTunes cloud service. This article showcases two topics influenced by kairos: U2's use of an innovative failure delivering their music to the masses, and the article itself writing about the incident a week after it happened. The instance was attempting to utilize kairos by creating a new means of music distribution to pave way to more artists following suit, but in turn was rejected for its own innnovation as an invasion of privacy the itunes users and the article considered "spam". Also influenced by kairos, the article comments on the more recent instructions issued by apple to delete the album, which was previously impossible to delete. By delivering new information while still commenting on a recent event, Wired capitalized on the rhetorical tool of kairos.
In general, kairos is taken to mean the right or opportune time for a speech to be made. In Miller and Shepherd, kairos is used to mean a the appropriateness of a medium or text within the bounds of socially-perceived space time. In my group, we agreed that this can be interpreted in two possible ways: one meaning, we all collectively agree that a month is a month, and on that basis texts/new information/articles can be considered “relevant” if they emerge during the past year, and another meaning that we all collectively agree that something is significant to people today.
ReplyDeleteIn Psychology Today, kairos is represented by the relative quickness with which the articles are produced following the publication of the initial scientific study. A quick scan over the first page shows that the gap between the former and the latter is generally between one and three months, so the publication could be considered to keep the armchair scientist fairly up to date. To go a step further, the real kairos that should be examined here is a) what articles Psychology Today doesn’t consider important enough to deliver in layman’s terms (literally too many to count), or b) what leads the authors of the study to produce that study, right now? The second I can’t speak to, since that no doubt relies on the political and educational climate at the studies’ universities of origin. However, what I do notice is that, regarding point A, what is published by PT tends not to be too esoteric or too far removed from your average clickbait reader. There’s a lot about brain chemistry and structure, but nothing that can’t be understood in relationship to the lowest common denominator- how profile pictures lead a viewer to make certain assumptions versus, say, the state of mental awareness in various coma patients.
-Summer & Melissa
According to Rettberg, symbiosis is the relationship between mainstream media and blogs. It is significant because a blogpost can become a news source eventually. Blogs also become common on social media; many people posts their blogs on social media.
ReplyDeleteCities to Take Center Stage During Climate week in NatGeo's blog is an example of symbiosis because it that's a common theme that would be reported on mainstream media. It's a topic that can bounce back and fourth between blog posts and news channels. A blog post can reference or even synthesize a news report, the difference being that a blog post attempts to present a new narrative or opinion, rather than a factual report.
Considering the symbiosis between different outlets of medias calls for consideration of those caught in the stream of information. When trying to synthesize information in a highly mediated culture it is important to consider what an audience may have already read or heard. It is not necessarily a matter of remediating information that already exist in media but rather foreseeing the future remediation that may occur just by the act of the information being published in your voice from your specific outlet. Symbiosis is something that should be consider before writing ones blog, however, it is also a a natural product of speaking in the mediated sphere of information, especially when you hope to claim some authority.
-Jordy, Cailtin, Sawyer
A "journalist" seen as an authority, someone who actually knows what they're talking about—credibility. Blogger vs. citizen journalist because literally anyone who has internet access can be a blogger and most bloggers are making personal opinions when a journalist is trying to be objective about events, trying to maintain particular ethical behaviors. Journalists are supposed to/are believed to operate under certain parameters as far as the way they present information. The problem with considering a blogger any type of journalist is the potential for misinformation, as with the Columbine.
ReplyDeleteCrooked Timber is a left wing blogging hub for numerous individual bloggers. As such, this source cannot be considered a credible source—the very essence of a blog is based in opinions, commentary on current events. The moderators are very precise about how they want their blog to appear. They have a very explicit comments policy that does not feel like it is conducive to a hospitable and open public forum. There hardly appears to be a dissenting voice to be found anywhere on the blog. There hardly seems to be an incentive to follow the blog.
-Kaylah Jackson, Katherine Cornelison
Kairos is socially perceived space-time wherein “discourse is understood as fitting and timely” (Miller and Shepherd). It also makes media relevant. For instance, if a rhetor were to participate in a rhetorical conversation at the wrong time or in the wrong place, the setting would impact the way in which the discourse is perceived and responded to.
ReplyDeleteWe believe that kairos is an inherent part of blogging in terms of the credibility of the rhetor(s), the ability of individual blog posts to adhere to the overarching theme of the blog and the aesthetic appeal of the blog itself. These three factors are interdependent and together ensure the blog achieves the most effective rhetorical conversation. In the Savage Minds blog, the appearance of the blog, while not specifically pertaining to anthropology, does not make us think that the blog could not possibly be about anthropology. It’s aesthetically pleasing and invites curiosity from possible readers. The rhetors are described as professionals to some degree or merit (i.e. some are acclaimed anthropologists, all are highly educated); this provides the credibility needed to properly author an anthropological blog. Looking through the individual blog posts, the topics are clearly relevant to the overarching theme. This lends itself to further credibility and perpetuates the idea that Miller and Shepherd’s concept of kairos is being used efficiently.
For our Sci-Tech blogs, we have to keep in mind that we must create an aesthetic fitting a blog of an intellectual and scientific nature. We must also establish credibility by way of research and effective utilization of recent resources. Given that we’re only posting once, it isn’t possible to have a consistent adherence to the overarching theme. Therefore, our blogs’ appearances and credibility will have to suffice.
-Christina Morgan; Emily Burns
In her book, Blogging, Rettberg describes a citizen journalist as someone who is living in the moment, they are reporting information with the sole purpose of getting it to the public, as opposed to reporting for a specific publication while getting paid to do so. So, based on this definition, the people who write for wired.com are not considered “citizen journalist,” these people are hired to blog about scientific information that their publishers find to be significant to the public. They do not get to necessarily choose any given subject to write about as “citizen journalist” have the freedom to do. Rettberg also describes another set of public writers as “bloggers,” these people write and publish with a “push of a button.” In other words, they write knowing they are instantaneously publishing their content to the public. In comparison to “citizen journalist,” “bloggers” are also able to publish with the freedom of choosing their own content. That being said, there is a fine line that differs “citizen journalists” from “bloggers,” however, writers for wired.com fall under the category of bloggers since they do publish with a “push of a button.” Although they are considered bloggers, they do so under their terms of traditional journalists; since, they are writing for a publication as opposed to writing on their own accord. The fact that they write for a publication constrains them from the immediate publication of their work; since their content must go through a professional process before being made readily available to the public.
ReplyDelete-Gabriella Rosales
- Jana Haith
- Katherine Ruggiero
Rettberg opens with this statement because it's still relevant today, but now everybody has acess to a 'press'-in this case, the internet. However, when we all have access to presses and use them regularly, we must be aware of what we write. An example would be the Poynter Institute's article on how different news organizations approached the video and 140 page manifesto of Elliot Rogers, the Isla Vista shooter. Some, such as the Washington Post, showed how Rogers' reasoning was reflected in Mens Rights Activisit groups and how this thinking hurt women. Others, such as the user Mooby on Rapgenius, uploaded the manifesto and made irrelevant comments, such as how 'smokin hot' Rogers' sister would be, or his favorite childhood film. Reflected in Jonah Lehrer's case, it was noted by our group that Lehrer would lack clarity and skirt around this issue so well through his use of misinformation that he created a veneer of intelligence.
ReplyDeleteAllyn Farach
Mary Alice