Virtual Identity &
Virtual Community
Concepts& History
RHET334 Spring 2011
Who studies Virtual
Identity and Virtual
Community?
Scholars of the Virtual
•
Sociologists
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Psychologists
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Philosophers
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Literary Scholars
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Scholars of Cultural Studies
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Scholars of New Media/Digital Humanities, etc.
Emergence
We have computer technologies for decades
before we have the emergence of theories of
virtual identity.
Virtual community precedes virtual identity as a
concept.
Emergence
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network) developed in the late 60’s
and early 70’s by members of the defense
research branch of the US military (DARPA) in
collaboration with MIT scientists.
ARPANET pioneered packet-switching and
paved the way for the 1982 standardization of
Internet Protocol Suite, TCP/IP, the basis for
the Internet as we know it today.
Emergence
The combination of the emergence of the
Internet and the popularization of desk-top
computing enables the wider emergence of the
concepts of virtual identity and virtual
community in the 1980’s.
Emergence
WWW: 1989, following a proposal by Tim
Berners-Lee a research scientist at CERN
(Conseil Européen pour la Recherche
Nucléaire, or European)
The first “virtual community” was the WWW
constructed by scientists, for scientists to
exchange information on the Internet in a
standardized format.
Emergence
In the general literature on identity,
scholarship, work on virtual identity begins
appearing in the 80’s particularly in sociology &
psychology (Cerulo 397)
The concept of VI does not yet exist--but
scholars focus on the changing relationship
between self and others/self and
environment/self and technology
Meyrowitz (1985/1987)
Looks at NCT’s (new communication
technologies) and how they affect identity as
they transform the “sites of social interaction”
and “reconfigure the boundaries that
distinguish collectives.”
Altheide (1995)
NCT’s reshape social activity & create new
environments for self development and self
identification.
Focuses on the keyboard as a technology
which opens new interactions but again blurs
boundaries between traditionally divided “sites”
like work and play.
Beniger 1987
The impact of NCTs on community formation
and resulting collective identity
Media generated communities provide a
“psuedo-gemeinschaft” experience.
The power in these communities in unevenly
distributed/
Cerulo, et al 1992
Later work describes technologically generated
communities as more “real” and tangible,
creating a feeling of “we-ness”
And tracks various types of “techno-links” that
bring together diverse and disparate
participants
Postman 1992 &
Schlesinger 1993
Others are critical of and skeptical of NCT’s
ability to bring people together in positive or
productive ways.
Haraway, 1985,1991
“A Cyborg Manifesto, “ and Simians, Cyborgs
and Women .
Dibbell, 1993
“A Rape In Cyberspace, “ on of the first major
articulations of the issues related to virtual
identity.
Precipitated in the text-based virtual reality
environment, Lamda Moo--big focus on Virtual
Community.
Can there be rape when there are no real
bodies?
Big focus on issues of community as the
Lamda Moo Moo community is ripped
Reid, 1994
“Cultural Formations in Text-based Virtual
Reality.” (MA Thesis)
Focuses on: 1. Methods of textualizing nonverbal aspects of communication
2. The problematizing of the nature of the body
& sexuality (lots of discussion of gender
switching.)
Turkle, 1995
Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the
Internet is one of the first comprehensive
studies of Virtual Identity and Virtual
Community.
Impact of computers on identity. Includes many
interviews with people who are spending time
in MUDS.
Turkle,1995
Self is multiple, fluid, and constituted in
interaction with machine connections; it is
made and transformed by language.
Blurring of boundaries between human and
machines. Early instance of citing the shift from
“machines are like people” to “people are like
machines.”
Turkle, 1995
Much on the psychology of online life, the
possible psychological benefits of virtual
identities and the risks
Reeves & Nass, 1996
Approach NCT’s as objects relevant to identity
building. Technology becomes a “viable other”
in the building of the self. Human to machine
relationships can mirror purely human
relationships.
Suggest that the human brain needs to
“evolve” in relationship to technologies rapid
advancement.
Porter, 1997
Internet Culture, an edited collection, focuses
issues pertaining to virtual worlds, virtual
community and virtual bodies
Identity is cyberspace is more fluid, allows for
experimentation with selves, may allow us to
break out of the dominant social order and
construct truer identities
Hayles, 1999
How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in
Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics.
Develops a new theory of the “posthuman”:
computers have compelled us to redefine our
individual identies and our understanding of
what a human is.
Presence Vs Absence, gives way to pattern
and randomness
Hayles, 1999
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Draws on cybernetic and information theory
rather than sociology or psychology or cultural
studies
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Norbert Weiner (Cyberneticist) Draws
similarities between living systems and digital
systems
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Information loses its body Becomes a quantity
separate from the materials that carry it
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Bodies are “information” (such as DNA)
Smith & Kelleman,
2001
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“Community and its ‘Virtual'
Promises: a Critique of
Cyberlibertarian Rhetoric”
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Cyberlibertarians have
misinterpreted the idea of
community emphasizing too much
the “disembodied individual.”
Smith & Keleman,
2001 (cont.)
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Cyberlibertarian rhetoric (Turkle, for
example) emphasizes liberation from
earthly and embodied constraints.
•
Says that it encourages new forms of
self expression, democracy, etc.
Smith & Keleman,
2001 (cont.)
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Critique: this perspective is technologically
over-determined. Emphasizes too much the
“cyber-alternative” to a society in decline.
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“‘Virtual community’ is constructed (like any
other ‘community’) through individuals’
(temporal and partial) engagement in the
production and the consumption of a sense of
sharedness and belonging.”
Miller, 2004
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“Blogging as Social Action”
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The Kairos of self-exposure
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The development of the blogging
genre as a venue for self expression
and community building
Jordan, 2005
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“ A Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma:
Identity, trust, and community in
cyberspace.”
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Virtual identity in Virtual Communities
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Issues of anonymity and trust
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Identity construction & RL/VL
Brabman, 2008
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Crowdsourcing as a Model for
Problem Solving: An Introduction and
Cases (Human Intelligence)
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“Outsourcing” of work related tasks
(usually data collection) to an outside
group or community
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Amazon “Mechanical Turk”
Konsa, 2008
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“Artificialisation Of Culture: Challenges to and
from Posthumanism.”
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Technology has moved from the reorganization
of the physical environment to man’s biological
body, genome and consciousness.
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This article focuses on the ways that culture
has been artificialized. The loss of boundaries
between artificial & natural.
Davis, 2010
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Social Networking Sites as Virtual
Communities of Practice.
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Connectedness and learning are
important factors in creating a sense of
community. Learning and trust may
develop when community exists and is
essential in sustaining VCoPs.
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Knowledge transfer to workplace
Davidson, Zappen &
Halloran, 2011
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“On the Formation of Democratic Citizens:
Rethinking the Rhetorical Tradition in a Digital
Age.”
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The role of new media technologies in the
construction of citizenship