[Air-l] What is a discipline.

Annette Markham amarkham at uic.edu
Tue Nov 5 19:05:17 PST 2002


>Denise writes:
>Internet studies will continue to have 'border
>disputes' with cultural studies, new media studies,
>and most recently, cyberculture studies.

Hmmm....perhaps I take your words out of context, but I'm compelled leap 
into this conversation; these are not borders, these areas constitute (with 
others) the very midst of what many of us do in what we call Internet Studies.

To respond to Matt's question:

>if there is value in shifting the debate
>away from the noun, discipline, to the verb 'to discipline' (obviously
>following Foucault here)? I think that disciplines are defined, mostly, by
>the processes and actions which maintain and perpetuate them, rather than by
>the boundaries or terrain which they enclose.

I would say, YES, there is value in this shift.  It is a vital reminder 
that the way we conceptualize any term will influence the way we think 
about it and respond to it.  There is much value in considering the extent 
to which our language in defining Internet Studies will influence how we 
eventually see the reality of it....of course, even as I say this, I wonder 
if it's just inevitable that we'll be framed, encapsulated, and disciplined 
by any term we choose.

Still, there's merit in giving careful consideration to how we might frame 
our endeavors, so that we may choose rather than simply fall into 
preconceived terms and metaphors.

Terms are pragmatic entities, as Christian Nelson reminds us.  But they are 
also spaces for resistance, change, evolution, etc.

We are in the unique position of enacting something different, reshaping 
what it means to work together in a community of 
not-necessarily-like-minded scholars in a truly global sense.  What we 
actually do seems to transcend the bounds of the term "discipline" (as a 
containment metaphor).  Considering "discipline" as Foucault does certainly 
brings a different and very useful set of issues to our discussion.

Cheers,

annette

      ******************
Annette N. Markham, Ph.D.
Department of Communication
University of Illinois at Chicago
1007 W. Harrison St. (m/c 132)
Chicago, IL  60607-7137

Tel:  312-413-2124
amarkham at uic.edu

<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/books/0761990313/glance/104-0668328-2787956>Life 
Online:  Researching Real Experiences in Virtual Space
      ******************
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