what we really care about

Blog 3

The Songlines by B. Chatwin, is basically about the ruins of aboriginal rituals and community caused by nomadic travellers. Chatwin’s main idea from the story was to outline the western civilisations down fall and dark future. The reading for this week really made me think about social media in today’s society. In the past majority of magazines and television shows had more important topics rather than topics on celebrities and pointless information. I scrolled down my newsfeed on Instagram and saw A LOT of selfies and pointless photos from those who are supposed to be our role models such as kylie Jenner for example. She is an 18 year old female whom is socially famous, however she abuses that power by taking inappropriate selfies. I don’t know about anyone else but I truly believe that celebrities should use their power over the internet for more important things like charity work, and to help out the younger generation by showing them that image isn’t everything. It’s sad that now days we see rarely those celebrities that actually use their money and fame to helping those in need of food, shelter and water. Here is a good example; the singer, Akon is focusing on bringing electricity to millions of people in Africa, but however at the same time Bruce Jenner was going under the knife to change into a woman. I can understand it being a brave thing, however it’s sad that the social media is focused more towards that, and only a handful of people really know what the singer is trying to do. My point is that media and celebrities are abusing their power in the virtual world.   A survey showed that young people in our generation have abandoned the traditional values and feel less connected to society more than those of older generations. The survey showed that our generation has no interest in politics or anything that has greater importance.

 

Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines. [Class reading]. Retrieved from http://jcu.edu.au 

Barnes, T. (2015). Akon is taking a bold step to bringing electricity to 600 million people in Africa. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/120045/akon-is-taking-a-bold-step-to-bring-electricity-to-600-million-people-in-africa

Ball, J. (2013). Generation self: what do young people really care about? Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/11/generation-self-what-young-care-about

Blog 3, A Grandma's Nightmare

‘Communication has allowed us to share our knowledge, experiences, and map our history’ (Kuttainen, 2015)

Language is a fundamental part of human nature. It is the basis of our being, and from it we have created the world we surround ourselves with. According to Tuan in ‘Languages and the Making of Place’, places are made at the core of human geography. Thus, there is more to the making of a place than a material transformation of nature (Tuan, 1991). These places would not exist if not for speech, as they are spoken and written into existence.

An example of a place completely developed from language is the internet. It would not exist without the language in which developers used to create this cyber space, and the array of languages throughout the internet that create senses of place for individuals. A wide range of situations and cultural contexts (Tuan, 1991) can show how language helps formulate a sense of place online.

When speaking of languages used online, one should never forget about the slang that comes with opening up any internet browser. I am referring to words such as ‘tagging’ and ‘browser’. Our minds instantly connect these words to our online lives. Social networking platforms show us how languages help formulate this sense of place online.

Tumblr is often a very ‘negligent’ website, where the use of formal language is often only seen in certain subcultures. The people on this network connect with each other through similar interests, found through ‘tagging’ and ‘following’. It allows you to virtually surround yourself with like-minded individuals, and get involved in a community you enjoy and can relate to.

There are countless subcultures and ‘fandoms’ on Tumblr that ‘speak their own language’. When saying this, I refer to it in the same context as your grandma would use it when you are trying to explain to her how to send an email. For your grandma, these words are not common tongue for her, so even though she may speak English, her knowledge in this sub-genre of the language is lacking. This is the same in referral to the place one may create on Tumblr. They surround themselves with the ‘language’ and ‘slang’ in which they know. It becomes clear that language is an essential component in the development of place not only geographically, but virtually also. Language is the basis of imaginative creation.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Lecture 5: Stories and Place. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au.

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 81. (No. 4.), pp 684-696. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/256343.

Image Reference:

Ganja Goddess. (2015) Stoner’s Pot Palace [Image]. Retrieved from: http://ganja-goddess-blog.tumblr.com/post/117287891544

What's so good about communication?

Blog three: By Nykita Paroz 

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing." Rollo May

       http://socialmediaofbirmingham.com/free-consultation/

Communication has allowed us to share our knowledge, experiences and map our history. It is a form of narrative that assists in organising and making sense of our space and place (Kuttainen, 2015). Bruce Chatwain explore's the nature of narrative through Aboriginal Songlines; trails created from a journey across the country by totemic ancestors. Whose pathways are still used to organise, navigate and communicate with other kin. Interestingly, the platform of virtual social networks are organised in much the same way. Social media has remained one of the most popular forms of communication, yet how we navigate through this virtual space is reflective of our social connections. For example, a person's news feed on Facebook, will be constructed and organised to reflect previously shared interests between the user and their family and friends. Alternatively, these two forms of communication do shape and reflect our views in different ways. 

The Songlines were the belief or ontology used to explain and make sense of the world, its creation and the relationship with the land. This information passed through verbal communication creating more personal experiences with narrative. While social media creates a less personal experience with our narrative, through  non-verbal communication. However, social media has created a new way for users to present their narratives by both expanding our use of language, yet limiting the space we have to share it. 

Either through Songlines or various forms of social networking, communication is vital in creating and expanding connections. It is how we create and present narratives, that allows us to link and exist within any given place and time. 

References: 

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. [Class reading]. Retrieved from http://jcu.edu.au 

Kuttainen, V. (2015).  BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the making of Place, week 5: Stories and Places. [Power Point slides]. Retrieved from http://jcu.edu,.au 

Image from:

 http://socialmediaofbirmingham.com/free-consultation/  

Pretty Much a Perfect Life

            Narratives are the main way we look at and perceive the past, but how will the “Facebook generation” be perceived by future generations? Images, words and other narrative devices are used by people on Facebook to construct their own reality.  A Facebook user’s timeline can be read as a complete narrative of that person’s online life, showcasing what somebody is doing, and how somebody is feeling, down to the exact time and location.

            The fact that is interesting is that a Facebook user has complete control over what is posted to their timeline, effectively allowing somebody to construct a reality that suits them, over a straight autobiography. This is similar to how travel reviewers portrayed the Pacific in the 1920s. (Kuttainen, 2013) explains how professional writers and artists became travel reviewers and used their skills in creating narratives to portray the Pacific as a fantastical tropical paradise.  This is not unlike how a Facebook user can highlight aspects of their life and make their Facebook timeline look like the perfect life.

            It is important to say that a Facebook user, much like the travel reviewers are most likely not lying about their experiences. They are simply using words to create the reality they want to be seen. If somebody posts about how amazing their day at the park was, they might not want to mention the ball that they lost in the tree or the dog poo they stood on and they don’t have to. It will just be interesting to see how these social media narratives will be interpreted by future generations. Somebody may think that the youth of 2015 lived the best life where people were happy and had a great time, or cynicism may reign supreme and the generation of today may look like liars for not revealing every little detail about their lives. We will just have to wait and see.

References

Kuttainen, V. (2013). Style Modernity and Magazines. Telling Stories: Australian life and Literature 1935-2012. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/Conc-camcontent-bb_bb60/items/getitem.jsp?as_course_code=14-BA1002-TSV-INT-SP2&content_id=_1631889_1&course_id=_60553_1&doc_id=53202

Yasa, D (2015) Retrieved from http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/u-on-sunday-truth-about-facebook-friends-with-perfect-lives/story-fnn8dlfs-1227306603144

Image Reference

http://www.mumreinvented.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/perfect-facebook-life.png

The Power Of Story

The Power In Story.

Narratives are a great way of orientating a person “fundamentally orientating” in time and space, (Kuttainen, 2015). Story is a term synonymous with narrative, and works better for the argument I will be making, so for the remainder of this blog, I will be using it.

Stories have been used since the dawn of time. People use them to communicate ideas, morals, values and lessons throughout generations. Stories often change over time, or are adapted for whichever demographic is being targeted. Stories represent power, and can greatly influence how one lives their own life. One of the best examples of this lies within the multiple religious texts that have been present over the years. These texts tell stories of epic proportion to demonstrate a certain message or point (Tuan, 1991).

Just another brick in the wall? Or a bottle on the shelf?
Artist unknown(2013)Retrieved from http://www.philosophymatters.org/2012/12/guest-post-does-religion-influence-our-decisions/

It could also be said that these stories represent power. The ability to modify a story or tell it from a one sided perspective can be used to justify action and avoid responsibility. For example, it could be argued that the Australian Government has deliberately tried to justify and minimize the negative outcomes for race relations in regard to the Stolen Generation. Up until recently, the topic was never discussed, nor taught in schools, with the dark chapter of history meant to remain in the restricted section of the library, so to speak.

Social media represents one of the greatest stories this century will tell. On the personal perspective, sites such as Facebook or Instagram can represent someone’s lifestory, showing the way one changes, both mentally – through posts, and physically – through photos. I know my account could definitely be a good starting point to create a lifestory. Of course, the particular platform is always changing – remember Bebo? Yeah me neither.  From a much broader perspective, Facebook and other similar sites will be part of the story of social media and the internet, another brick in the wall (or a bottle on the shelf?) .


References.

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved fromhttps://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1991). Language and the making of place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Vol. 81, No. 4. pp. 684-696. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au 

Songlines and Social Networks

In this week’s lecture we learned Songlines. The Songlines are part of the indigenous Australians culture and are essentially huge invisible paths across the continent that form a large connected network of stories and songs. In the book “The Songlines” Bruce Chatwain talks with an indigenous Australian who tells him that before colonization by Europeans the Songlines were used as a way of navigation for many indigenous Australians as they moved around or went on “walkabout”. A person was allowed to travel through territory that was not their own so long as they stayed on the Songline and they knew that everyone they met upon the Songline would be  their spiritual brother and could expect hospitality of them and vice versa (Chatwain, B. 1987).

These narrative of these Songlines can be compared to the networked narrative of virtual social networks like, for example, Facebook. Both are used for communication and navigation within communities, though the Songlines offer more practical navigation as well as communication while Facebook allows more communication over navigation. Another similarity between the Songlines and Virtual social networks is that the can be severed. India has recently cut mobile internet usage to 63 million people in order to prevent use of social media to organise planned protests and the picture below is an example of how the Songlines were physically cut off by development of the “canning stock route”, one of the examples of how settlement was not the heroic conquest told by the European points of view(Kuttainen, V. 2015). In both instances the capacity for communication and navigation is removed to benefit the dominant power in the area. There are however some large differences between Songlines and networks like Facebook. The biggest one perhaps being that one holds thousands of years of cultural significance and the other has been around for less than a quarter of a century. Will social networking exist in thousands of years? This remains to be seen.   

Map of Dreaming tracks crossing the northern end of the Canning Stock Route, imposed over Alfred Canning's own map.

References

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd.

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Vijay. (2015). India Blocks Mobile Internet for 63 Million Citizens Amid Protests in Ahmedabad. Retrieved from http://www.techworm.net/2015/08/india-blocks-mobile-internet-for-63-million-citizens-amid-protests-in-ahmedabad.html

Image credit

Lawford, P. T. et al. (2009). Map of Dreaming tracks crossing the northern end of the Canning Stock Route. Retrieved from http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/yiwarra_kuju/essays/listening_to_country/protecting_aboriginal_knowledge

The Social Songline

by Aydan Johnstone

The 'Songline' is a dreamtime concept that was used to shape the reality of our ancestors. Social networking is the modern adaptation of the songline, in which our networked narratives are shaped through social media. The traditional format of the songline made it possible for an ancestor to be directed across the entire country, providing they knew the song. This was clear with their firm belief that a song was both a map and a direction-finder (Chatwain, 1987). This belief was based on the premise that perception was a crucial part of a songline, and that staying on the familiar track will connect you with people who share the same dream. The concept of social networking being a modern adaptation of the songline through our networked narratives has much in common with the traditional concept of the songline, but also differs.

There are many similarities and differences between the songlines and the networked narrative of Facebook. Chatwain outlined the basic concept of the songlines and had an overarching focus on perception and existence: “to exist is to be perceived”. This suggests that an ancestor would only exist to the songline of a totemic ancestor provided they know the song, or are able to perceive it. To exist on Facebook is similar to a songline, given that we exist in social groups that we perceive as beneficial in shaping our networked narrative. This meant that we are able to find our way across the social network (country) providing that we know the people we interact with (song). The songline does differ from the modern networked narrative as Facebook is able to be explored outside our social songline, whereas a songline to the aboriginal people is mostly unrecognizable to a member of another totemic ancestral descent. This shows that narrative is fundamentally orienting (Kuttainen, 2015), whether relating to the traditional songline of the aboriginal people or the modern networked narratives, the social songlines.

References:

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd. 

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/

Unknown, A. (2015). The Dreamtime. Retrieved from: http://aboriginalart.com.au/culture/dreamtime2.html

Wood, B. (2012). What Is A Songline. Retrieved from: http://www.barbarawood.com/blog/archive/2012/06/20/what-is-a-songline

Image Reference:

Mick, J. (1994). Painting of Seven Sisters Songline. Retrieved from: http://sevensisterssongline.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SevenSistersSongline_JosephineMick-Pipalyatjara-1994.gif

The Evolution of Narratives

By Eloise Preston

"The different ways by which language contributes toward the making of place may be shown by exploring a wide range of situations and cultural contexts” (Tuan, 1991). The statement that Tuan makes is a perfect example of how culture and place play a large role in the development of language. Day by day, we as a society are evolving and trends come and go, our generation experiences this first hand as we are known as a very tech savvy oriented generation. Just like fashion, interior design, multi media, communication networks and electronic goods our current social media platforms are destined to either advance into something better or made redundant. But the real underlying questions are where does it all go? Do our photos, statuses  and tweets simply disappear? Are they stored away as an archive somewhere online? Or will they be transformed into products of entertainment for future generations? 

 “Even fictional stories can reflect the ways the author sees and experiences the world” ( Kuttainen, 2015),  this statement is illustrates how much power the author holds, and that based on their own personal experiences, cultures and morals they can easily influence the audience's perspective. An example of how narratives evolve is the stories told the Grimm Brothers, before these tales were modernised, they were a story that had a underpinning historical representation of the culture of that certain time and place. In our today's time and place they have been altered and are now an entertainment source for children, this gives us a clear indication of how language can easily be manipulated in order to satisfy the current culture. 

Nowadays, social media receives lots of criticism claiming it is negatively influencing our lives. Arguably, one could say that social media is simply another contemporary platform for creating personalised narratives similarly to the way the Grimm Brothers produced their stories. I definitely believe that over time, the images we upload on Instagram, the statuses we share on Facebook and the tweets we post on Twitter will inevitably be changed by our future generations to merge with their new cultures whilst still having an underlying reference to our own time and place. 

References: 

Kuttainen, V (2015) Week 5 Lecture Slides, Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au 

Tuan, Y,(1991) Language and the making of place: A narrative descriptive approach. Retrieved from: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/Conc-camcontent-bb_bb60/items/getitem.jsp?as_course_code=14-BA1002-TSV-INT-SP2&content_id=_1631890_1&course_id=_60553_1&doc_id=30163 

Image Credit:

B, Grimm (2012) Fairy Tales from Brothers Grimm, Retrieved from:https://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780141343075/fairy-tales-brothers-grimm

Can Facebook Shape Our Views?

By Kirralee Stover

As we learned in this week's lecture, "Greeks understood that the way we tell a story shapes the way we see the world" (Kuttainen, 2015). This has carried over into today's day and age with many people telling their stories in a way that they can interpret it into a story they wish others to view. With many people altering their narratives into a different style, they can also alter the way their narrative is viewed, leading to the way the world is shaped.

Retrieved From: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/facebook-launches-new-facebook-stories-website-video-03-08-2012/

An argument can be made that Facebook can tell a person's story. Facebook has a mass number of posts being uploaded daily, a mix of a user's statuses, their photos, as well as posts by news programs and other sources uploading information they believe is relevant. People help shape the way the world is viewed by how they express themselves. Social media is a huge space for expression to form and Facebook is a perfect example of this. "Neglected is the explicit recognition of the crucial role
of language" (Tuan, 1991). Words have such a crucial role in portraying the perception of narratives and the language and writing styles are sometimes not appreciated in their truest form. The words used within one's story can dictate the overall opinion a reader may have.

Stories may be slightly or extremely altered, however if the words used are persuading or interesting, many can believe it is true. With options such as typing on Facebook, no one can tell if the narrator is telling the whole truth, or if the way they wrote their story is their normal writing style, it may just be a way of expression that can alter one's views. With the option to post basically whatever and whenever, Facebook becomes a big narrative that can be transformed in any way we wish possible.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Tuan, Y. (1991). Annals of the Association of American Geographers [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2563430.pdf

Image Credits:

Horsey, J. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/facebook-launches-new-facebook-stories-website-video-03-08-2012/

Power at the Tip of Your Pen

Blog Three

They say that the pen is mightier than the sword but is this really always the case? Tuan (1991) seemed to think so, stating that ‘words alone… can have the power to render objects… visible’. Words, when written by the right people, certainly do have a certain power to them, swaying people to their opinion; opening someone else’s mind to a new idea; or justifying another’s views. However, justifying one’s own views is perhaps the most common of these acts. We are much more likely to search out narratives that match with viewpoints that we already agree with, cementing that image of the world in our own minds.

Even historically this can be seen to be the case as the Greeks also used narrative in public speeches to shape opinion and used their words to persuade (Kuttainen, 2015). In modern day, this pastime has also advanced, available for all eyes via the internet. Words every which way, meant to sway us are behind every click of a link. As such it can be said that the internet, and our place in it, has also empowered us. With the ability to say pretty much anything we believe in to such a public forum gives us leave to find likeminded individuals and create our own communities. In turn, the collective voice that these communities present become stronger and creates a sense of empowerment in each member of the group.

The most obvious example of this would be political protestations online through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, from both government and protesters. One such instance was when Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk used Twitter to decline negotiations with the president of Ukraine during a time of civil upheaval to try calm the public (Yatsenyuk, 2014). His use of English enlarged his audience, allowing for more people to be aware of the situation. Which worked as within a few days he received responses from other governments, notably America.

References: 

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002 week 5 lecture slides. 

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696

Yatsenyuk, A. [Yatsenyuk_AP] (2014, January 25) No deal @ua_yanukovych, we're finishing what we started. The people decide our leaders, not you. #Євромайдан [Tweet]. Retrieved https://twitter.com/Yatsenyuk_AP/status/427179503291342848

Image Reference

Pen with Sword [Image] (2015). Retrieved from http://englishbookgeorgia.com/blogebg/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-sword-300x199.jpg

Human Place

By Jaymi Quincey 

People use narrative to make a space a place. “Speech is a component of the total force that transforms nature into a human place” (Tuan, 1991). I also believe social media allows people to use narrative in order to make the internet into a ‘human place’. Supporting Tuan’s argument, The Indigenous Australian people would use narrative to explain existence as mentioned by Chatwin (1987). Narratives like this for Indigenous people told history, explained the world, as well as mapping the country though songs, impartially song lines (Chatwin, 1987). The first Australians used narrative not only through speech, but through song and dance arguably making nature into a human place. 

http://www.digitaltrends.com/

Even though the internet is a man-made creation, people use narrative to make it their place, human place. “Our sense of our self, comes most from the narratives we tell ourselves” (Kuttainen, 2015). Facebook impartially gives the ability to self-narrate, sharing our experiences not only for ourselves but for the people we connect with, making this space a place, a place to share. Facebook allows people to share more than personal written narratives, also we can share and view “Style, modernity and popular magazines” (Kuttainen, 2013) although these are shared differently to the way they were published in the early 1900’s. All these aspects involved in narratives whether it be the paradise described in magazines (Kuttainen, 2013) or our lives we have described on our Facebook, they are describing and creating our place in nature or in virtuality through narrative written and visually.

Similarly to the indigenous people or the paradise Islands, the space we make a human place is shared. The place we create on social media is also defined by the users who can participate in your place. Commenting on your opinions, your pictures, your narrative. My place isn’t just mine, but also the people I allow to share it. 

Reference:

Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd.

Indigenous Australians. (2015). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians

Kuttainen, V. (2013). Telling Stories: Australian life and literature. 1940: Style, modernity and popular magazines: Writing Pacific travel. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Tuan, Yi-Fu. (1991). Language and the making of place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Vol. 81, No. 4. pp. 684-696. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Image:

Hahn, J. (2014). Etree, Solar Tree (Image) .Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/solar-powered-trees-planted-israel-charge-smartphones-cool-water-offer-free-wi-fi/

A Single Story Of Place

By Tyler Leese

This week’s readings discussed in great detail, the values and significance in which words, speech and descriptions can create place and a literary picture of meaning through narrative.

Instagram is among a plethora of virtual networks where users can show, describe and tell stories with words of significance and meaning which encapsulate their photos or videos, into moments. I am lucky enough to follow and be followed by great people on Instagram who share their experiences and place my mind into their moments. Each user embarks on a journey to share their daily life with the digital world and capture the imaginations of their followers and friends through their words. Reading is a great form literary visualization, in which the author takes the reader on a journey or ethnographical experience and uses words to form understanding and meaning for the reader. Recently, a friend on Instagram and also offline, went abroad to photograph and film houses in Beverly Hills, and neighboring regions, for his Australian television program on channel 7. His montage of images posted on Instagram, along with vivid descriptions and stories, created a clear narrative of his travels, which assisted in the building of his social capital with new connections and a wider audience.

Image From: http://www.coveringcommunities.org/images/master%20narratives.png

Virtual networks provide the user with the opportunity to create a narrative on life, this may be fictional in its entirety, but tells a story which orients the reader. Instagram, along with mainly all social networks, is a platform for which users can create a sense of one’s self, using the narratives we tell our followers (Kuttainen, 2015). These narratives can be told through the depiction of multimedia and words, which complement each other. Speaking from a metaphorical perspective, the reading by Tuan gives mention to the concept that speech is a component of the process which transforms space into place (Tuan, 1991). The same principle applies in narratives, however this time, the words are giving place and meaning to the reader. In conclusion, virtual networks are an ever evolving story of one’s life, just as magazines such as The Home and The Queenslander in the 1930’s were a growing publication, virtual networks are also a publication, however the future will depend on if these publications will continue to grow.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au

Tuan, Y. (1991). Annals of the Association of American Geographers [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2563430.pdf

Image Reference:

The Harwood Institute Of Public Innovation. Covering Communities [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.coveringcommunities.org/images/master%20narratives.png

The Power of the Pen

Lauren Wun-Hym

Arguably, narrative is one of the most essential elements of the world, as it allows us to grasp our reality and to orient us. (Kuttainen, 2015) Yet, narrative, in its basic form of a novel, also contributes to our understanding of the world. The use of masterly placed words is a powerful tool to wield, enabling authors to enhance any reaction them deem necessary, aspect they feel is important or simply to inconspicuously provide historical references. Tuan (1991, p. 685) states, “the right to speak and be heard, the right to name and have that name ‘stick’ – is empowerment”, and the same goes for the power of the pen. 

Image from: http://www.thepencompany.com/

Sometimes works of fiction have historical references ingrained in the story, folk tales are prime examples, but modern novels also tell of the times without stating it in bold letters. Running from 1929 until 1932, the Great Depression was a major historic event but there are many narratives that provide a different insight into this period. Take F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, it questions the ‘American dream’, portraying a lavish and decadent image, of the Jazz Age, or, the Roaring Twenties. Yet, Aldous Huxley’s 1932 Brave New World deals with the Great Depression in another way, producing a dystopic world under totalitarian rule, reflecting a darker, more despairing image of the world, while addressing fears that were present during the 30s. These authors both had the power of the pen to portray their narrative of the world, and although the two views vary, they are both insightful views upon the world in the 1920s and 1930s.

The power of the pen is still influential in modern day society, yet its power has changed to the power of the Internet, as there is no longer a need to write detailed novels that portray various events as everything is at our fingertips thanks to the Internet. Narratives are being created everyday through social medias like Tumblr, alerting and bringing awareness through virtual space, history can be told through words on a blog which is spread through the network and being read by those all over, in a matter of minutes. While social media does not require a pen to empower it, the words themselves are empowering, leaving a narrative of our history as much as the novel.

References:

American Dream. (2015). In Wikipedia. Retrieved August 27th, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream.

Scott Fitzgerald, F. (1925). The Great Gatsby. New York, USA: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Huxley, A. (1932). Brave New World. UK: Chatto & Windus.

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Image Reference:

The Pen Company. (n.d.) Fall Back on a Pen. [Image]. Retrieved from: http://www.thepencompany.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/fall-back-on-a-pen.jpg