Questions & Responses on Chapter 6: Refashioned Diaglogues
The sixth chapter of the book, "Refashioned Dialogues," posed the interesting question as to whether the culture of conversation has evolved dramatically since the advent of technology and of communication in technology. Bolter writes that text through technology creates an easier to understand hierarchy of literature that assists the reader in their organization of the various levels of meaning and description.Technological essays or hypertext essays are considered avant-guard to Bolter, and as such serves as an experimentational form of publication. Hypertext then represents a way to write and a way to publish unlike ever before, allowing reader and writer to inter-create their ideas and interpretations of ideas: "A hypertextual essay in the computer could in fact be fashioned as a dialogue between the writer and her readers, and the reader could be asked to share the responsibility for the outcome. Instead of one linear argument, the hypertext could present many, possibly conflicting arguments. Hypertext could therefore redefine scholarship" (Bolter, 112). Bolter finds that this definition of how technology aids in the swift interpretation of literature and aids in the re-creation of literature helps expand the culture of literature overall. The dialogue between the reader and the author as well as between the dialogue between other readers about the content of the text in order to make any interaction with the text more dynamic. Aaron
I think it is interesting how the chapter begins by saying “writing turns time into space” and then goes on to compare writing to a musical score. Another thing that the author says is that the listeners let the words come to them, while the readers make the words move. I like reading how books and reading have transformed over the centuries. Ultimately I think electronic books and hypertext is just another extension of this process. I do not think that the latter will completely take over the way we read, after all, people still go in darkrooms and develop photos even though digital cameras are widely popular. I think that the web is an important tool and as technology evolves many aspects of society, including writing, can benefit from this. With the internet chat rooms and instant messaging popularity growing, and creating new slang, abbreviations, and internet “lingo,” do you think this harms students vocabulary and academic performance in essays and other writings? Carrie
This chapter focused on how people read, form thoughts and how that translates into text on the web. The first part of the chapter focuses and gives examples of Plato and Socrates. It spoke about the difference between the oral tradition in which one has to memorize versus the other in which one can read all the information on the page and truly not "know" what one has read. The author goes into detail on linear writing and the reconstructionists. He argues about the hierarchial structure along with the linear structure. He talks about this for a while I got kind of confused on some of his points but I basically think the gist of it is the internet has re constructed the words on the page with links and such but by doing that has that ruined the hiearchial structure of writing do we even need one? The author speaks exclusively about essays on the web. He claims that most academics are leary about putting their work out there which is understandable. When I look at most searches in the library I find that a lot of academic journals are online and I think, unlike the author, that more proffesors are accepting reputable journals that are online. When the author spoke about the reconstructionists and about Glas I thought of various personal websites. An example of this non linear structure that I see a lot of is online websites, that generally are written for an audience yet have no concept of who that audience is. I also see this non linear style in online blogs. Blogs are peoples personal ramblings, I wonder what the author would think of online blogs. Hannah
There is strong historical background in this chapter in the discussions of primitive type and written history before it comes full round to direct relevance to the web. But simultaneously the web is just the latest of the type and written history that's all available to our fingertips whether we choose PC or Mac. The only difference is the method of delivery. so to semi-retract my earlier statement all is directly relevant to the web for all info comprehended in the book could be found and even expanded upon on the web. Bolter makes univocal points that all can agree upon in that reader's of a book can backtrack to read again to let the information permeate as a pose to an orator (if your not taking notes) you hear it once and then it's gone. This portrays the invaluable merit of written history. Yes dialogue has been refashioned both in delivery and technologically. Jay
The author mentions the educational authority of print over web. A very high majority of textbooks are in print form--not digital form. It seems that universities would have the resources and capabilities to organize digital textbooks. They would be cheaper and easier to update than typical textbooks. Why haven't more schools and universities switched to digital textbooks? What is it about print that still makes it authoritative? —Jim
It is quite amazing to me how much the web has affected our lives. It is allowing us to find articles that we would not have access to. It is giving us a space to express our feelings. I find the comments Bolter makes about teachers using the World Wide Web interesting. I do agree that the web is becoming a useful place for students to interact about a variety of subjects in a way they were not able to before such as using discussion boards that are provided by Blackboard. There are still limitations to the web. I don't believe that English teachers will just be able to use the web to teach their class. Students must still learn how to write and synthesize essays as they did before. The web has advantages, but we still remind ourselves that not all students are able to access the internet. It is a good idea to let the web be a resource for teachers and students, but we can't let it take over our classrooms. Interaction within an actual classroom and teaching students how to write on paper is still important. Megan
I think this entire chapter the author is worried about nothing. When he's looking back at Plato's era his writing was meant for an entirely different purpose. Nowadays authors are specialized in specific areas of writing. Some are meant to allow to reader his own interpretation of the text while others state a view point and the reader makes a decision off of the text. This issue of control is in the author's hands. The book the author produces has a specific goal in mind for the read to grasp. I believe its much hard to misinterpret the author's intentions in this day in age. As far as the dialogue goes in text, that is another area in which the author must make that decision. Most texts don't require the reader to interact with the text in that way. The book is set out to make a statement. When you veer off the path with other discusions to overall main idea will get lost. A book should ignite dialogue to search for answers that where created. Hopefully, that will be found in another book. And are legos, the toy, derived from the same latin root word (to gather, to collect)? —Russell
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