Postmodernism & New Media

In Writing New Media, Wysocki, et. al., address how our postmodern technological culture demands new literacies and new ways of teaching. The authors consider the intersection of composition studies and postmodern theory, calling for activism. Compositionists must realize the instability, the fluidity, the relational nature of composition in its myriad forms. As an act, composing is, and never can be, neutral.

Selfe's essay, "Students Who Teach Us: A Case Study of a New Media Text Designer," argues that information technologies affect our culture, whether or not students have access to new media creation--the software and hardware required; that is, students are surrounded by new media creations even if they are cut off from the means to create. Because of its ubiquity, new media must be taught, particularly visual literacy.

Selfe argues against the traditional privileging of alphabetic texts, but one of the inevitable problems I see is the expectations of the academy--the burden placed on English departments. Because of our use as the labor force to support all types of writing at the university, we often aren't supported in teaching new media, as it might not, according to skeptics, help students pass a writing requirement. Of course, we wouldn't agree...

I can't easily separate my thoughts about the expectations placed on English departments from a video I watched earlier this week. I'm digressing from my post about the book, but I'm working out how all this is related...It's a disturbing commentary on the state of our profession. Click below to watch: