Face-off: Hesse v Selfe

I hate to take the Midwestern and mom-like position of "You're both right!" However...

Selfe's argument is well-thought out and compelling. In Eng. 501, we just read about some of the English department's history in the university, and as a Communication Studies major, it saddens me that most of my classmates have never had the joy (and terror and apprehension) of taking a class in public address. I found that the best speeches I gave started extemporaneously, with me just talking to myself, leaving the writing process until dead-last. While my background in learning how to formulate a written argument played a role, the students who struggled the most in public speaking are those who don't adapt their content to their presentation's form. It's true that aurality has taken a backseat to writing, and students (including us current grad students) may be handicapped for that. Learning about as many different modes of communication as possible would serve to enrich our students' lives - along with giving them tangible, real-world composing skills that all sorts of companies would love to have.

However, Hesse also makes a good point. What Selfe is calling for is a drastic re-thinking of composition. While this new definition might fly within English departments and Rhetoric and Composition, it would be necessary to sell this idea to not only other departments, but the administration and students as well. It certainly runs the risk of being seen as taking away from the "serious" work of writing. Another point on which I agree with Hesse is his questioning of just how much composing (not just writing, but creating videos, web pages, sound clips, etc.) students are actually doing outside the classroom. Personally, and before this class, I had a Twitter, Blogger, and Facebook account, and in all three I spent much more time consuming than composing. Sure, I tweeted and blogged every once in a while, and commented or changed my status once a day - but I wouldn't say that I (or most people I know of) are really utilizing all these modes. Perhaps Selfe might respond by saying that is all the more opportunity to teach these kids how to engage more fully in their world - a point I'd be inclined to agree with.

In the end, I side more with Selfe, but I like the cautionary approach of Hesse. He brings up practical problems that would need to be addressed for these changes to be implemented fully, things that can be easy to ignore when caught up in the frenzy of academic theory.

My long-term commitment to computer technology (and some new media thoughts)

In nearly every developed facet of my life, computer technology is nearly essential. I'd like to think that I could get by without it, but who am I kidding - I'm in love. I imagine in that regard that I'm not much different from many of my fellow children of the digital age. I use my laptop to check the weather, read the news, keep in contact with old friends and keep tabs on "friends" I haven't spoken to in years. I use it to store all of my music, photos, and writings. My laptop lets me do everything from look at terrible photos of celebrities to sending my grandma pictures of my new apartment.

As a student, my relationship with computer technology is even closer. I don't just want access to e-mail, a word processor, and the library's online catalog - I need it to get my work done. Look at this blog post; I needed my laptop in order to complete a simple class assignment. I don't yet know how technology will affect my teaching, but if the classes I'm taking now are any indication, I'll at least need e-mail and some sort of site in which I can organize my class.

Computer technology is necessary for me, and at times it can be a hindrance. I have some friends and relatives who are upset when I don't respond immediately to a message from them - but these are mostly the people I know who have smart phones or other mobile Internet gadgets. They're expecting me to always be available like they are. And the thing is, I could go on and on about how personally inconvenient it would be for my mom to have a really good reason to think I'm ignoring her, but I know I'll eventually jump on the bandwagon. Otherwise, I'll get left behind.

However, I'm not entirely onboard with Wysocki's definition of new media, so I'm having a hard time linking it to how I might run my own classroom. Although she tries (a couple times) to state what it clearly is, she manages to illustrate more clearly what it isn't ("...we probably ought not give up our own agency by acting as though technologies come out of nowhere and are autonomous in causing effects" 19). One section I found confusing or troublesome was, "Under the definition I offer not just any computer-screen text counts as 'new media': just because a newly published textbook (for example) has an online component does not mean that what is online is 'new media'" (18-19). She goes on to state that these new media (cell phones, scanners, etc.) don't cause us to interact with them differently. Wysocki is very concerned with people staying in charge of technology - not the other way around. I don't understand why this issue gets so much play (nearly a full page of the book). It seems like an implicit argument.

Ok, so in my head this wanting-stay-in-control-of-technology thing looks a lot more like Terminator, but another point I wonder about is why Wysocki feels that if new media is going to be used effectively it has to be so loud about it? She stresses new media "as texts where we keep their materiality visibly, both as we work to make them and as we hold them before us" (19). When writing a good reflective essay, one of the things a writer tries to do is not call attention to the fact that someone will be reading this essay. Isn't that why we tell writers to stay away from cliches and overused phrases like "My next point is. In conclusion"?

This section also had me constantly thinking about advertising. Maybe it's because I'm really missing watching "Mad Men" right now, but it seems like advertising companies have been all over new media since someone realized you could sell it. And then sell space on/in it. Anyway, good commercials don't call attention to the fact that they're commercials - instead they use anything they can find to hook you into wanting to know more. When I think about all the other people and businesses who have been using new media in really effective and interesting ways, it seems as though composition teachers aren't so much standing in front of a golden opportunity as chasing a missed bus.