Song of MytechnoSelf

What is the relationship between self and music? How might music offer a model of making meaning that is outside a narrative structure? How might music relate or mediate between the bodily self and the self of the soul, between Nature and the self?

Initially, DJ Meagan, MC Jack and I were interested in remixing Whitman in terms of Whitman's relationship to music. After playing a few tracks on the Walt Whitman Archive I found the notion of memory and its role in constructing self or identity particularly fascinating especially in terms of Song.

Does Walt dance to remember or dance to forget?

According to Token X the words forget, forgot, memory, and remember were used increasingly as each version of Leaves of Grass was published. The only word that decreased in occurrence is remembrance as shown in this chart:

word	1855	1856	1860	1867	1871-72	1881-82	1891-92	TOTAL
forget	4	5	13	15	17	18	21	93
forgot	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
memory	0	0	2	3	4	4	9	22
remember	5	13	19	15	16	17	17	102
remembrance	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	9

Because remembrance is the anomaly in this search I chose to follow the little white rabbit. In the 1855 version of "Song of Myself" Whitman uses this word in the following lines:

...but always his encouragement and support. The outset and remembrance are there...there the arms that lifted him first...

...and reflectors and the polite float off and leave no remembrance. America prepares with composure and goodwill for the visitors...

...had not work to give her but she gave remembrance and fondness...

Yet the only line that lasts beyond the 1855 version according to Token X is the third line. I speculate that as time passes and Whitman grows older and wiser he finds less encouragement and support from others and becomes a little disillusioned by America's so called kindness to others. After all, it is within the next ten years after this first publication that George, Walt's brother enlists in the military and President Lincoln is assassinated.

As I was trying to explore these occurrences in further context than what Token X provides, I discovered the 1855 version of Leaves of Grass actually has 5 occurrences of the word remembrance, however the two occurrences Token X left out can be explained by the slight deviations of the word to remembrancer and remembrancers. The entire 1855 manuscript is posted online and my Mac's "Command F" allowed me to search for the word and its deviations myself.

The two lines that were not found by Token X are the following:

A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped, Bearing the ownder’s name someway in the corners, that we may remark, and say Whose?

Not too exclusive toward the reachers of my remembrancers,

word	1855	1856	1860	1867	1871-72	1881-82	1891-92	TOTAL
remembrancer	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	7
remembrancers	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	7

According to Token X these words remain through each of the different publications of Whitman's text but they do not occur more than once in any version. Though I chose to follow the white rabbit of remembrance I was even more intrigued by the increase in the other words I searched for pertaining to memory and forgetting. What is so incredible about the Archive hosting each version of Whitman's published Leaves of Grass is that we can see when and where the increases happen.

We can cross reference these occurrences with Whitman's biographical information also provided by the Archive. This is where I paralleled the removal of the pseudo patriotic line with Whitman's possible disillusionment due to his brother George and President Lincoln. While George is at war, he writes letters cataloged by the Archive under Correspondence. At one time George tells Walt, "I have been away on Court Martial you know" and though it might be a stretch to associate an event in Walt Whitman's chronology as a cause that produces a direct effect on the different renditions of Leaves of Grass the proof is in the pudding. All the evidence is available right there on the archive.

As you can tell, this blog follows a rather schizophrenic thought process that deviates quite far from our original questions regarding music and Whitman. This is a virtue of the Archive. Research is unpredictable and this is method caters to exactly that.

Maybe the Diigo Ate Your Baby??

For the past few years, I have thought about how great it would be if we could toilet paper someone’s Myspace. I never thought I'd see the day until God invented Diigo. Since toilet papering a house could be seen by all the neighbors or anyone who drives down the street, it would be nice if ANYONE visiting a person’s page could witness the Diigo activity. Unfortunately, Diigo is highly exclusive like most academic collaborative web-tools we encounter. Just imagine the possibilities, Oh what beautiful chaos we could create...

On the real, clean cut web pages would be messy and unorganized if this Diigo power came into the wrong hands. Right now, we pretend to be both academic and professional and we use Diigo while exercising our refined techno etiquette. It has potential, though I'm not sure the application has the tenacity it needs for us to harness the potential in the classroom. Mainly because Diigo crashes our operating systems if we look at it funny. Something tells me Diigo should work on toilet papering the hard to reach spots like the top of the trees that way it could really be a nuisance and at least last a little longer.

Criminalizing the Classroom

We first started discussing Backward Design in the classroom but because I have recently become an avid watcher of Criminal Minds, I cannot help but draw the astonishing parallel between Profilers and Professors.

Profilers of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI have the crime first. If the desired result is to understand who committed the crime then the assessment is an intimate attempt to reach inside the criminal’s mind. There are bigger and broader questions that begin their assessment like is this a crime of vengeance, passion, or prank, or is it a crime of terror? Next they assess the evidence and question whether the criminal is organized or disorganized. The BAU studies the victimology of those involved looking for a common thread or theme. They ask themselves what role each victim plays in the bigger picture and how they are connected to the criminal. Sometimes this leads to a deeper understanding of the criminal’s motivation for his crime. Rather than merely collecting the hard evidence and fact-based knowledge they seek to understand the ins and outs of the crime by studying the criminal. Quite often, the criminal will inject himself into the investigation in order to gain a sense of power or deter the police. Once the BAU has their criminal, they entertain the possible types of mental illnesses or specific influences and stressors in the criminal’s life. These events and possible stressors will only make sense in the grand scheme of things if all the other avenues of the crime are explored and understood. Profilers are to investigate the details of the crime and must make them relevant to the investigation in order to obtain a warrant for the arrest of the criminal.

One episode of Criminal Minds was oriented toward the concept that the profile is a greater weapon than even a gun. This logic suggests that when the professor approaches their curriculum like a crime scene then Backward Design, just like the profile ought to be the weapon of choice. The profilers and the professors alike must learn to empathize with the criminals and the students in order to understand their particular process toward acquiring victims or knowledge. Once the professor can assess how a student thinks and the ways they organize knowledge then their course design will be both stimulating and fruitful and dare I say...deadly.

Interrogating Archives

Lewis Carroll Scrapbook

PhilSci Archive

Classics Archive

How is the archive portal designed? Text-based? Image-based?

Predominately text-based for both the PhilSci Archive and the Classics Archive though the Lewis Carroll Scrapbook includes both text and images.

What kind of use and users does it seem to invite? Those who already know what they're looking for? Those who are just exploring?

Each archive is designed for those who have a particular interest in that specific area of expertise. Once on the archive though, the user may open up an abstract that discusses a general overview of what each topic has to offer.

How easy is it to search the archive? How flexible are the search tools?

The PhilSci archive is separated into topics. The archive is very particular to areas where philosophy and science intersect- a combination that is academically fruitful. The user approaches the archive with an inquiring mind, clicking and cross referencing various topics in order to dig deeper and deeper into their particular interest.

How structured or open is the archive interface? Does it guide the user through the collection? Does it offer few guided paths for the user?

The interface of each archive is structured and organized very well. For the topic based Archives like PhilSci Archive or the Classics Archive, it is up to the user to navigate their way through the particulars of the collection because I don't think the entire archive is meant to be used by each individual. Among the different topics, various articles and books are listed as sources of further research. Once I clicked on a topic of interest, I searched the page for the keyword that was relevant to what I was interested in. For the Lewis Carroll Scrapbook on the other hand, it is very likely a single scholar who is interested in Lewis Carroll's work will explore the entire archive in the span of their research.

How are the primary (archival) materials presented? With lots of context? Without any context? Are the primary materials manipulable? i.e. zoom in and out? With and without frames?

The Lewis Carroll archive was able to take the 1866 illustrations by Robbert Tenniel and include them on the archive. There is also a portrait gallery that includes many old photos taken by Dodgson. If you click on the photo, the user is taken to a slightly larger and secluded version of the photo but the user cannot zoom in or out.

Call for Papers on RSS

Many of us are familiar with the Call for Papers website that University of Pennsylvania hosts but what I found really helpful is to subscribe to my particular area of interest via the RSS feed on google reader. Now as I am scrolling down through various blogs and whatnot I can also sift through the different topics as soon as they are posted on the website. I found this really convenient and thought others might too.

iCame, iSaw, iLearn, iConquer

Like most, my experience with ilearn and other CMS websites range from quality learning to very little productivity. My most beneficial online classroom experience was actually with iLearn. In the Spring semester of 2008 I took Professor Hackenberg's 755: Victorian Afterlife. I can see various reasons ilearn was so successful with one large downfall. 

The following aspects of this particular CMS are reasons for the success story: 

1. All of the supplemental readings and the syllabus were centrally located on one website. There was never any confusion as to the required reading and students never needed to locate articles from any other database. If there were videos or links we were to watch for class then they would be posted under the appropriate unit--the most recent being at the top. The key to online learning success is consistency. No matter what, students need to know what is expected of them and when the online expectations are articulated very clearly then they are much more willing to be vulnerable to the learning process.  

2. Participation was mandatory. From day one, we were made aware of what our Professor expected of us. After or while we complete the required reading for each week, we are to contribute at least one question or post to the discussion board. This discussion was far from sterile. Students interacted with one another with a certain edge that was competitive yet professional. If there was a disagreement, one student would call out another providing textual evidence and support for their argument. Inevitably, this kind of participation sharpened each contributor. 

3. iLearn was supplemental to the classroom not separate. Each week the professor would choose a couple different student questions or contributions to highlight in class and that would spark further discussion. If there was anything left unsaid or more to contribute, students would go back to the question posted on the discussion board and that took place over the following week between classes. 

Overall, the success of iLearn or any other CMS is to make the site a central destination for the classroom assignments and discussion, make participation mandatory, and continually bring ilearn back into the classroom. One of the greatest benefits of online discussion boards that I don't always see exercised is peer to peer interaction. Once we post, I think it would be most fruitful if feedback was mandatory. Because students are very accustomed to commenting on pictures, notes, and profiles on Facebook or Myspace students are inclined to provide feedback to one another. One of the greatest benefits of online learning is to mandate that kind of feedback on whichever CMS sight is being used. This would perpetuate thoughtful posting and the kind of connection making associations which are so important in the learning process.

The biggest downfall of iLearn is that professors do not choose to keep the sight activated after the semester is over. The entire semester's work has the potential to be a rich resource in teaching and research long after the semester grades are in and it's unfortunate that this potential is not recognized. The site is closed off and the class becomes a vapor in the students' minds and notebooks. 

   

    

(RS(S)OS)

I am struggling with my RSS feed to change the settings so that all of the most recent blogs are displayed first. I have a little "Tips and Tricks" window for exactly that on the right hand side of my feed but the folder settings I need to change are nowhere to be found. Pending I figure out the nuts and bolts of my feed, I look forward to the possibilities that this kind of feed will open up. Not only will I have access to what my New Media classmates find interesting and what they choose to blog about but I added a few feeds on other New Media blogs myself. I also found a blog on AntiOedipus which is a little abstract but I look forward to watching it progress nonetheless. Cheers to RSS...