MT: Academic writing is expected so ppl can skim!
291B Week 10 Class Notes
what phenomena are drawn out in the text
“transversal approach to idea evolution”
tracing the idea, rather than
information as historical phenomenon
pre- and post-Shannon split
subjective to measurable
nature of information linked to code and meaning
Bateson – double binds; conflicting; schizophrenia is the appropriate response to this; damned if you do, damned if you don’t
Structural contradictions in MP3? Commercial versus engineering concerns
(i.e., inside Sony)
MT: these are the tensions I identified
User tension
Standardization
Legal (piracy)
Why did sterne highlight
MT:
Because he’s showing how the format evolved – why it ended up one way or another
Different conceptions of the ideal – like the atlases
Just like objectivity
Mechanical versus natural
Ideal versus variability and realistic
Empirical observations in the self schizophrenic tension because have to deny your subjectivity
How can it circulate?
Who is the text written for? How are arguments and evident in the text shaped to address particular audiences?
The text is written for the general public, as well as academics. There are very relatable examples of experiences that cut through a lot of technical detail to drive points home. However, the details are available for the scholar who wishes to delve deeper.
Examples such as this make the content particularly digestible, as most readers 1) know what communication, skyscrapers, telegraphs, and couriers are, and 2) have never thought about a correlation between communication and skyscrapers. It is an example that demonstrates the physical consequences of communications technology—today and from the beginning of time—in an extremely memorable and relatable way.
What all audiences can you imagine for the text, given its empirical and conceptual scope?
Barnes & Noble sales rank: Sales Rank: 129,478
What does this mean? Barnes & Noble.com ranks books daily based on rolling six months of sales data. Sales ranking will change as new books are added to the database. If there are no sales during a particular amount of time, or if other titles have more sales, a title can lose its ranking.
Amazon sales rank: Amazon.com Sales Rank: 11,418
While the Amazon Best Sellers list is a good indicator of how well a product is selling overall, it doesn't always indicate how well an item is selling among other similar items. Category and subcategory best seller lists were created to highlight an item's rank in the categories or subcategories where it really stands out.
We choose a few of the most popular subcategories in which the item has a high ranking in relation to other items in that subcategory, and showcase the item's rank on the product page. As with the main Amazon Best Sellers list, these category rankings are based on Amazon.com sales and are updated hourly.
#1 bestseller in LIS (before Chicago manual of style)
Top 100 in Books
Hardcover: Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2011:
• • #10 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Library & Information Science
• #24 in Books > Computers & Technology > Business & Management > History
Why will this book be recommend or taught? What kinds of courses, and at what level, would it be an appropriate text?
Yes, the book is being taught, particularly as an overview or background text. I would be interested to know how it is being used in other departments. It’s being taught in the following departments:
- Information studies
- Information science
- english
- education
- media studiers
- media arts
- digital humanities
- history
- library science
- information technology
- STS
- Computers and computing/computer applications
- Architecture/Architecture, Design, and Planning
- History
- Journalism
- Communication theory
- Economics
- Feminist, Gender, and Queer Theory
- Photo Communications and Art
- Sociology
What new knowledge does this text put into circulation? What does this text have to say that otherwise is not obvious?
How generalizable is the main argument? How does this text lay the groundwork for further research?
What kind of “action” is suggested by the main argument of the text imply?