Monday, September 21, 2009

bricolage....


In response to Li's question....sort of....

Li's Blog

Currently, I find myself still troubled by and attempting to negotiate my position on an issue that was brought up in the previous class: whether or not that one example of spoken word or free verse should be accepted as "academic writing." And in thinking this through, two of the questions that Rhonda has posted comes to mind: is writing in text symbols an acceptable linguistic form for scholarly work and information professionals?; how does your reaction position you from a young person's perspective, and where do you fit within the normative social narrative on new media?

I believe that both of these questions will be recurring themes that I will need to address throughout this course. From a standpoint of an academic, I can easily argue that the writing example shown, and all that are similar to it, cannot and should not be accepted as academic writing. Simply, it does not conform to, and in fact, openly challenges the traditional form of academic English writing by its form and the author's choice of words. For if we begin to accept and legitimize this type of writing, where do we draw the line? Will this trigger a slippery slope towards a completely illiterate society?

On the other hand, being a punk rocker, I can easily identify with the use of bricolage, not to mention the clear challenge authority and institutions. In this particular case, bricolage functions thusly: by creating new forms/words and purposefully "bastardizing" the language, in essence, the writer is creating new meanings for the words he chooses to use.

Moreover, it can also be argued that the English language, and any language for that matter, is continually in flux. A quick look at the etymology of countless English words display a different original spelling than that which we recognize and accept as being correct today (ex. the word "sir" originated from "sire" and "syre"). So, who is to say that the way this author chose to spell his words is not akin to Chaucer's methodology or rationale back in the day?

So I remain conflicted, but I do believe that normative social narratives, for the most part, suck ass anyways!!! :)

Peace!

R

Sunday, September 20, 2009

intro....again....

Hey y'all!

My name is Rhon and I'm a PhD student at the ISchool. Prior to U of T, I did my Master's in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory at McMaster University, a Bachelor's in education at Brock University, and my undergraduate honours degree at York University - a double major in English and Communication & Culture. So, one could say that I'm doing a grand tour of a buncha unis in southern Ontario.

The reason I'm doing my PhD is because I have to become a professor/academic/scholar on account of hating everything else, save for music, which I'll get into a bit later. I'm also really hoping not to have to utilize my BEd 'cause that would simply mean that I crapped out with this whole doctoral thing....YIKES!

Holding on tightly to my punk-rock ideology, I despise most everything that is corporate and although the university is becoming more and more commercialized, I still envision it as being one of the last remaining bastions of refuge from the "real world" - which is why you'll find me wandering the hallowed halls (mostly) with a big-ass smile on my face! I simply adore the ivory tower and NEVER wanna leave!!!

My research deals with the effects of media and new technologies on culture. Specifically, I will be conducting a two-year case study at an inner-city school to investigate how the children's online activities help inform their identities. As you can see, this class ties in perfectly with the research that I am undertaking, which is why I'm here. Plus, Rhonda's a pretty chill gal! :)

Previously, I was involved with the Canadian music industry for a number of years performing with a plethora of indie bands. And from that realm, I would have to list playing with the Beastie Boys at a showcase in NYC as one of the highlights of my career.

So, let's do this shizznit up right and have a ball this sem, yo! Booyah!

Peace!