دانلود رایگان مقاله ابدی و یا فانی؟ افسانه ثبات در آنلاین رایتینگ

abstract

For many, the permanence of online texts is an unquestionable fact. Though the assumption of permanence does hold a degree of truth, this article asserts that it is not necessarily the default mode we believe it to be within the digital era. Through an analysis of various digital media, this article will illuminate a number of cracks and fissures within the veneer of permanence. These gaps manifest in three primary forms: incompatibility and obsolescence; insecurity and deletion; and obscurity. As many composition instructors move to increasingly digital pedagogies, these digital gaps and losses become ever more alarming. Instead of urging writers away from digital texts, this analysis prompts one central question: Is longevity in the digital realm desirable? Rather than answering this question ourselves, this article pushes for an increased focus on temporality within the composition classroom so that we can engage in these conversations not for our students, but with them. Urging students to consider these questions of temporality is a first step towards more responsible and informed digital composition practices.

3. Reassessing Goals in the Digital Age

These issues of obsolescence and evanescence leave us with an initial question: how to ensure future viability in digital texts? In a world that is increasingly making the move to the realm of the digital, how does one protect his or her intellectual work? Perhaps the very realization that digital texts are not immune to issues of obsolescence, insecurity, or obscurity is an important step. Amongst and against rampant myths of permanence, it is absolutely vital that we note the inherent flaws and fallibilities of digital compositions. As they say, the first step is admitting that you have a problem. We officially have a problem. We are faced with a choice. We may continue to venture into the realm of the digital, cognizant of the fact that our students’ texts may one day (perhaps in the very near future) become inaccessible and/or outdated. Or, we may choose to carry on in the safe space of the print tradition, sticking to our guns. . .or, in this case, our No. 2 pencils and our spiral bound notebooks. It would seem, at least according to Cynthia Selfe (1999) in her CCCC address titled “Technology and Literacy: A Story About the Perils of Not Paying Attention,” that there really isn’t an option, “As composition teachers, deciding whether or not to use technology in our classes is simply not the point—we have to pay attention to technology. When we fail to do so, we share in the responsibility for sustaining and reproducing an unfair system that. . enacts social violence and ensures continuing illiteracy under the aegis of education” (emphasis original, p. 415). Selfe spoke these words well over a decade ago, yet they hold true today more than ever. According to Selfe, we must tech up. With this assertion that we must go digital or bust, we are confronted with a barrage of problems and questions. How can we ensure permanence in our digital texts? Must we save everything in multiple formats and multiple locations? Eschew emerging technologies in favor of Stolley’s “Lo-Fi” approach? What about social media and other mediums that discourage personal archiving? Must we painstakingly screenshot every page, post, and interaction? What islost in the transition from dynamic social media site to static screenshot image? Can we do anything to remedy this loss? The questions are seemingly endless and unanswerable, leading many to become discouraged at the prospect of preserving their digital media compositions.