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.

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:

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