This morning's lecture discussion centered upon the concept of binary thinking - a method widely employed among communications discourse - and how different theorists have applied this paradigm to their analyses of 'community'.
The first, 'Community v Society', is easily demonstrated by the events of the Victorian Bushfires - whereby authorities initially denied members of the affected communities access to their main road, while a special media convoy had been given permission to enter. In this case, while the individual members of Kinglake and the surrounding towns were at odds with the television news & current affairs' networks, whose desire to 'be the first' to report on location actually superceded their regard for the locals who had suffered most dramatically.
Fortunately, the plans for the convoy's priority entry were foiled, but the relationship between community and broader society had been clearly demarcated - quite ostensibly at the expense of the former. However, the residents' ability to stand united under even the most devastating of circumstances, demonstrates the underlying ethos of strength and unity that pervades classical expressions of a tightly-knit community.
Similarly, the second binary, Country v city, establishes a conceptual polarity between those living within rural and urban spaces. This notion is most famously explored in the work of Tonnies, whose essay on 'Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft' essentially treats the two geographic local as individual kinds of societies, whose mentality and values are more or less diametrically opposed. His extreme views serve to romanticise the authentic, ageless ideal of communal interaction that is not corrupted by the superficial modus operandi that takes places within cities (which appear to be more concerned with the proliferation of the self). The contrast between the two is made distinct by the attitudes towards space: that is, sharing the space with others in a meaningful way, as opposed to merely co-habiting it alongside a myriad of strangers - which creates tension.
The third, lastly, which I began to discuss in one of my ealier posts - is the binary between face-to-face and virtual communities. Though this is a much more recent phenomenon, it argues that the absence of chance or haphazard encounters (when one is continually communicating with those already in their social sphere) results in a sense of loss in terms of communal development. Rather than treating technology such as mobile telephony and the internet as being complimentary to already meaningful social relations, the theory argues that such modes of communication are devoid of the emotional and physical gestures that are essential to maintaining positive community ties.
The reading by Harris elaborates on these absences in far more detail, something which I will come back to in one of my next entries (it is lengthy enough to warrant a separate reflection!).
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ideology: restrictive or expansive?
Some of the questions raised in reference to the Week 1 reading, included:
1. Can you have community in the city?
2. How vulnerable is it?
3. Is it 'organic' & anti-structure?
4. Can it be thought of as a safe-haven where individuals are nutured, or an ideal wherein individualism is diminished?
5. Does it subsume the individual? (i.e. in saying "united we stand")
Delanty notes that many of the popular theoretical frameworks surrounding community recognise that it can be defined as a term that sets and identifies clear boundaries between its members and other groups within society. While the late 19th century saw the term being defined as a cultural product rather than a political ideal, the twentieth century focused upon a more moral, rigid, traditional understanding of community, being at odds with the rogue-like influences of technology (and what we have come to understand as user-generated content).
[note: I have the rest of this & other posts saved to my work computer - to be retrieved and updated 20/3/2010]
1. Can you have community in the city?
2. How vulnerable is it?
3. Is it 'organic' & anti-structure?
4. Can it be thought of as a safe-haven where individuals are nutured, or an ideal wherein individualism is diminished?
5. Does it subsume the individual? (i.e. in saying "united we stand")
Delanty notes that many of the popular theoretical frameworks surrounding community recognise that it can be defined as a term that sets and identifies clear boundaries between its members and other groups within society. While the late 19th century saw the term being defined as a cultural product rather than a political ideal, the twentieth century focused upon a more moral, rigid, traditional understanding of community, being at odds with the rogue-like influences of technology (and what we have come to understand as user-generated content).
[note: I have the rest of this & other posts saved to my work computer - to be retrieved and updated 20/3/2010]
Monday, March 8, 2010
Getting the ball rolling
....but, the question is, in which direction??
In going over the requisite learning syllabus last Friday, our first piece of assessment (in the creation of a Community theme-based documentary) shall be a Learning Contract (to be published in yep, you guessed it, none other than this very blog!). After we had introduced ourselves, me being the Honours black sheep, we discussed some of the specific communities we belonged to, and also how/why we considered ourselves to be part of them.
The first one that sprung to mind was obvious: The RMIT Community. In the institution of Higher Learning, we - both students and staff - are distinct from our tertiary counterparts at Melbourne Uni, Monash, La Trobe, Deakin or Vic Uni. Though we have a separate TAFE division, much of our cultural heritage is rooted in the slogan 'The working man's college' - which I believe still carries forth throughout many of our degree programs, at least in the Media & Communications stream (as compared with other universities, our emphasis on the practical as well as the theoretical aspects of learning is thought to be significantly greater). Our cultural makeup is diverse and rich, with many of our students (and indeed, a number of the students enrolled in the Masters stream) here to study from abroad.
Several other communities were also brought up: shires, regions of Melbourne (i.e. North, South, East, West or inner/CBD), sporting club memberships, religious groups, mothers clubs, work groups, gym memberships, charities, volunteer groups, ethnic congregations - etc.
The ones I could come up with for myself were:
The Cinema Nova members' community
The Palace Cinemas members' community
The Aussie Farmers Direct staff community
The Jonathan Cainer Internet members' community
The astro.com subscribers' community (and forum)
and to some extent, the live music/hospitality community (I have my security licence - have worked at numerous live venues such as The Espy, The Hifi, The Corner and The Palace).
I have included some of my online memberships because I consider them to be pretty integral to my developed sense of community. I've been a member of several music and band forums in my time, as well as many Australian discussion forums. My interactions with other members on these sites have been nothing but valuable, as it is not always in real life that we can have all the sorts of discussions we'd like with other like-minded individuals! For the more specialised areas of interest, the internet is a very good vehicle for generating discussion and debate among individuals who are not confined to the same space - but rather, are scattered across the globe. And there is nothing more stimulating in the context of intellectual conversation, than the poly-sided views of other people, whose living arrangements and upbringings are at times radically different from my own.
In discussing the purpose of documentary last week, Jenny identified the genre as one that addresses the world in which we live. That is, it offers a tangible representation of the aspects of the world we inhabit and share, in a distinctive sort of way. The fascinating thing about the increased number of cyber and game-based communities is that they are a) increasingly prevalent among the younger generation, and b) experienced in an increasingly subjective manner. Still, sufficient attention must be paid to their many manifestations, as their proliferation can only offer some extraordinarily valuable insight on present-day appropriations of notional 'communities'. In preparation for this week's class, I'll be doing some more thought in regards to this and what possible avenues I could take to explore these ideas.
In going over the requisite learning syllabus last Friday, our first piece of assessment (in the creation of a Community theme-based documentary) shall be a Learning Contract (to be published in yep, you guessed it, none other than this very blog!). After we had introduced ourselves, me being the Honours black sheep, we discussed some of the specific communities we belonged to, and also how/why we considered ourselves to be part of them.
The first one that sprung to mind was obvious: The RMIT Community. In the institution of Higher Learning, we - both students and staff - are distinct from our tertiary counterparts at Melbourne Uni, Monash, La Trobe, Deakin or Vic Uni. Though we have a separate TAFE division, much of our cultural heritage is rooted in the slogan 'The working man's college' - which I believe still carries forth throughout many of our degree programs, at least in the Media & Communications stream (as compared with other universities, our emphasis on the practical as well as the theoretical aspects of learning is thought to be significantly greater). Our cultural makeup is diverse and rich, with many of our students (and indeed, a number of the students enrolled in the Masters stream) here to study from abroad.
Several other communities were also brought up: shires, regions of Melbourne (i.e. North, South, East, West or inner/CBD), sporting club memberships, religious groups, mothers clubs, work groups, gym memberships, charities, volunteer groups, ethnic congregations - etc.
The ones I could come up with for myself were:
The Cinema Nova members' community
The Palace Cinemas members' community
The Aussie Farmers Direct staff community
The Jonathan Cainer Internet members' community
The astro.com subscribers' community (and forum)
and to some extent, the live music/hospitality community (I have my security licence - have worked at numerous live venues such as The Espy, The Hifi, The Corner and The Palace).
I have included some of my online memberships because I consider them to be pretty integral to my developed sense of community. I've been a member of several music and band forums in my time, as well as many Australian discussion forums. My interactions with other members on these sites have been nothing but valuable, as it is not always in real life that we can have all the sorts of discussions we'd like with other like-minded individuals! For the more specialised areas of interest, the internet is a very good vehicle for generating discussion and debate among individuals who are not confined to the same space - but rather, are scattered across the globe. And there is nothing more stimulating in the context of intellectual conversation, than the poly-sided views of other people, whose living arrangements and upbringings are at times radically different from my own.
In discussing the purpose of documentary last week, Jenny identified the genre as one that addresses the world in which we live. That is, it offers a tangible representation of the aspects of the world we inhabit and share, in a distinctive sort of way. The fascinating thing about the increased number of cyber and game-based communities is that they are a) increasingly prevalent among the younger generation, and b) experienced in an increasingly subjective manner. Still, sufficient attention must be paid to their many manifestations, as their proliferation can only offer some extraordinarily valuable insight on present-day appropriations of notional 'communities'. In preparation for this week's class, I'll be doing some more thought in regards to this and what possible avenues I could take to explore these ideas.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
In the beginning...
So, yesterday marked the first week of classes for 2010; in fact, the only face-to-face contact time I have for this entire semester. Lucky me!
After a rather traumatic experience with an elective subject last year, I have to say that even though taking this was basically my only option (being semester one), I am actually really glad that I have! For the simple reason being that after four long (albeit, non-consecutive) years as an undergrad student, everything I have learnt so far has finally come together! to form a glorious whole. In other words, all of the material we covered today made perfect sense to me - and I have been able to form easy linkages with some of the key theoretical ideas, to the frameworks and concepts hammered into my skull over the years.
So much for my belief that my head was a total sieve!!
To me, the interpretation of the term 'transient spaces' can be thought of as somewhat of an open-ended void; wherein the user/consumer brings forth their own subjective experiences and beliefs to synthesise meanings from various forms of media content. These 'spaces' are essentially in a constant state of change, much like society is forever evolving, shifting... and not to mention the complex human mind, which - via its interaction with the mediated realm - is also in a state of flux. It therefore is to be expected that at any given time (such as in the event of a national crisis), that the media and its inextricable communities could easily adapt and co-operate with one-another in a way that engendered clear and concise communication.
Though unfortunate in its devastatingly annihilating effects, The 2009 Victorian Bushfires did illustrate arguably the most effective interaction between Community and Media in recent times. It is also particularly fascinating and pertinent to examine, because of the proximity factor between country and city, and how these two geographic locales can be likened to traditional and emerging views about the nature of community itself.
Following the overwhelming response of human generosity that ensued from last year's events, one thing, we know, is certain: the inextinguishable spirit of 'community' itself has yet proven to withstand the ire of mother nature.
After a rather traumatic experience with an elective subject last year, I have to say that even though taking this was basically my only option (being semester one), I am actually really glad that I have! For the simple reason being that after four long (albeit, non-consecutive) years as an undergrad student, everything I have learnt so far has finally come together! to form a glorious whole. In other words, all of the material we covered today made perfect sense to me - and I have been able to form easy linkages with some of the key theoretical ideas, to the frameworks and concepts hammered into my skull over the years.
So much for my belief that my head was a total sieve!!
To me, the interpretation of the term 'transient spaces' can be thought of as somewhat of an open-ended void; wherein the user/consumer brings forth their own subjective experiences and beliefs to synthesise meanings from various forms of media content. These 'spaces' are essentially in a constant state of change, much like society is forever evolving, shifting... and not to mention the complex human mind, which - via its interaction with the mediated realm - is also in a state of flux. It therefore is to be expected that at any given time (such as in the event of a national crisis), that the media and its inextricable communities could easily adapt and co-operate with one-another in a way that engendered clear and concise communication.
Though unfortunate in its devastatingly annihilating effects, The 2009 Victorian Bushfires did illustrate arguably the most effective interaction between Community and Media in recent times. It is also particularly fascinating and pertinent to examine, because of the proximity factor between country and city, and how these two geographic locales can be likened to traditional and emerging views about the nature of community itself.
Following the overwhelming response of human generosity that ensued from last year's events, one thing, we know, is certain: the inextinguishable spirit of 'community' itself has yet proven to withstand the ire of mother nature.
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