eid The Two The Two VirVtuialrstuals
arlor ess
New Media and Composition
Alexander Reid
New Media Theory Series Editor, Byron Hawk
New Media Theory Series Editor, Byron Hawk
Te New Media Teory series investigates bot media and new media as a complex ecological and retorical context. Te merger of media and new media creates a global social spere tat is canging te ways we work, play, write, teac, tink, and connect. Because tis new con-text operates troug evolving arrangements, teories of new media ave yet to establis a retorical and teoretical paradigm tat fully articulates tis emerging digital life.
Te series includes books tat combine social, cultural, political, tex-tual, retorical, aestetic, and material teories in order to understand moments in te lives tat operate in tese emerging contexts. Suc works typically bring retorical and critical teories to bear on media and new media in a way tat elaborates a burgeoning post-disciplinary “medial turn” as one furter development of te retorical and visual turns tat ave already influenced scolarly work.
he Two Virtuals
New Media and Composition
Alexander Reid
Parlor Press West Lafayette, Indiana www.parlorpress.com
Parlor Press LLC, West Lafayette, Indiana 7906
© 007 by Parlor Press Cover Illustration: “Absorbed” © 005 by Eva Serrabassa. Used by permission. All rigts reserved. Printed in te United States of America
S A N: 5 - 8 8 7 9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reid, Alexander, 1969- Te two virtuals : new media and composition / Alexander Reid. p. cm. -- (New media teory) Includes bibliograpical references and index. ISBN 978-1-6035-0-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-6035-03-6 (ardcover : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-6035-0-3 (adobe ebook) 1. Mass media--Tecnological innovations. . Retoric. I. Title. P96.TR5 007 30.3--dc 00706553 Cover design by David Blakesley. Printed on acid-free paper.
Parlor Press, LLC is an independent publiser of scolarly and trade titles in print and multimedia formats. Tis book is available in paper, clot and Adobe eBook formats from Parlor Press on te World Wide Web at ttp://www.parlorpress.com or troug online and brick-and-mortar bookstores. For submission information or to find out about Parlor Press publications, write to Parlor Press, 816 Robinson St., West Lafayette, Indiana, 7906, or e-mail editor@parlorpress.com.
For Ronda, Mirabel, and Jameson
Contents
Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: Te Two Virtuals Cognition, Consciousness, and Subjectivity Learning to Live with New Media Te Evolution of Writing Speech and Gesture The Evolution of Writing 3 Nineteent-Century New Media The Discourse Machine Gun 24 Frames Per Second Cybernetics Homeostasis Autopoiesis AIAL 5 Into New Media Simulation Digital Cinema From Digital to Analog Virtuality 6 Waking Up in te Macine Multiplicities and the Becoming of Thought Cartesian and Topological Spaces Paranoia and Simulation Choice and Free Will Machinic Enslavement Virtually Autonomous 7 Virtual Composition Ripping.Contagion.Mushrooms Mixing Burning
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3 9 13 21 26 31 39 41 48 56 59 66 69 78 79 83 90 96 100 106 110 118 121 125 127 132 135 139
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Electracy: Creative Affects Rhythm Science Burning Copyright 8 Te Pedagogic Event Pedagogic Communication The “Teachable Moment” Inventing New Media Pedagogy 9 Watever Discipline Excellence and Control Whatever Discipline Endit References Index About te Autor
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Acknowledgments
I must begin by tanking my fine colleagues at Parlor Press: Byron Hawk and David Blakesley for teir excellent feedback as I wrote tis book and Marc Santos for is close reading. Certainly I could not ave accomplised tis work witout te support of my friends at SUNY-Cortland. David Franke and Vicki Boynton ave built a Professional Writing program wit me, and I could not ave written tis book witout teir encouragement. Teac-ing and building tat program as served as a necessary toucstone for wat I ave written ere. Tanks also to tose faculty wo played an important role in our writing program and ave been willing to ear me out: Mary Lync Kennedy, Karen Stearns, Ross Borden, Bernie Earley, Tim Emerson, Mario Hernandez, Homer Mitcell, and Jane Ricards. I also tank te students wo ave been open-minded and willing to take on te callenges of tecnology wit me. Of course new media is about more tan writing. Paul van der Veur and Carles Heasley ave elped me understand in practical and local ways wat it means to say tat new media breaks down te boundar-ies between disciplines. Lorraine Berry’s work wit ourNeoVoxproj-ect as increased my appreciation of te international dimensions of networked education. And tere are many oters across our campus, folks wo support our tecnology. If tere is one ting I ave learned about teacing wit tecnology, it is tat I cannot do it alone. In tat respect, it is muc like writing tis book. I must also acknowledge te great value of te community of blog-gers wit wom I ave been fortunate to associate over te last few years. Collin Brooke, Jeff Rice, and many oters ave offered me a genuine appreciation of te broad and lively nature of our field. My tanks to tose people and tose wo ave read and commented on my own blog. Te energy of tis blogospere as kept me going.
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