Week 4: More about hypertext (Sydney)

      "A Manifesto for Cyborgs: Science, Technology, and Socialist Feminism in the 1980s" by Donna Haraway

    Haraway's essay is "an effort to build an ironic political myth faithful to feminism, socialism, and materialism", or in other words, an attempt to use a rhetorical symbol to critique the "essentializing" of contradictory identities (such as womanhood) in the post-modern world (65). She uses the cyborg, or "cybernetic organism", to represent both literally and symbolically the intersection of collective social reality and the political construction of reality (65). She uses the cyborg's role as a hybrid of machine and organism to represent the Western world's constructions of competing identities, where intersectional identity directly conflicts with historical and contemporary dominant social forces such as capitalism. She uses the cyborg to make a comment on the fragmentation of identity that followed the post-modern structure of society and the third wave of feminism, and she points out that there was no "other time in history when there was a greater need for political unity to confront the denominations" of multi-faceted identity (75). She questions whether collective unity in society could actually be reached by letting go of the social "stakes" which have been raised in the post-modern world-- these stakes being the competing imagery of majorities/minorities, sexuality, gender, pro & anti-Marxsist views of labor, or other "appropriation[s] of powers" (67). She also claims that we "are excruciatingly conscious of what it means to have a historically constituted body" (75). She asks her audience to imagine an apocalyptic world without gender, sexuality, class, or other sociological developments; the same world which is plagued with fragmentation of identity. She goes on to state that "modern machines are everywhere and they are invisible," signifying new technological developments as "simulation[s] of consciousness"-- possibly fake ones (70). The reader comes to understand that the world's current culture is "about transgressed boundaries", but that these boundaries will shatter when they are constantly being tugged at (71). If we push "the limits of identification" so far, then, that they are broken entirely, what would our world look like (75)? Could we survive with "permanently unclosed constructions of [our] personal and collective selves", or would it push us, as a collective society, even farther away from one another (75)? 

    "Entre Ville" by J.R. Carpenter

    I really enjoyed exploring this piece of e-lit; it felt like reading my best friend's diary, but in a non-invasive, non-offensive way. Carpenter's piece of hypertext was pleasing both aesthetically and narratively, and one aspect I appreciated was how the text was structured. It was more linear than some of our other hypertext examples, which is a personal preference of mine. Alternatively, although it was structured in a more linear fashion, the viewer could also choose to jump around anywhere in the narrative. It was a nice middle-ground which gave the reader some freedom. On another note, it was super cool to get a detailed look at a place that I might not otherwise get to, and I think this piece is very special because of its idea that "intimacy [can be] born [out] of proximity." Personally, I love the concept of people connecting with those that are physically close to them, despite them being strangers. I'd like to think that most people enjoy being in a friendly community with those around them. Even though the piece was about a place which is very much foreign to me, meaning that I don't know the area or those who live around it, I felt like I still got to experience some of the slices of life that make it unique. All in all, I think this piece is nice and wholesome.