the importance of ideal-types

I'm intrigued by the rhetorical function of ideal-types in creating convincing theoretical arguments. Ideal-types are some kind of game of pretending: let's pretend things are black and white, let's pretend the extreme case. Just came to think of it as I'm struggling to make my own personal/mass media argument convincing. I can inform my old readers that I'm still, or rather again, working on thesis-article #1 in order to resubmit it taking my reviewers points into consideration.

Oh, googling ideal-type gives you quite a few interesting results.

digital arenas and subjectivity: changing rhetorics of the self

I have almost finished a draft of my fourth thesis-article. I stress draft as there are quite a few things which could be improved. Significantly one of those things is, surprise, a narrower focus. I'm rather satisfied with how I manage to discuss the subject as reflexive and social as well as the individual in relation to the discourses of society. All within a few pages (and definitely to be discussed in more depth elsewhere). I've ended up with three interrelated research questions: 1) How does digital network technology change our possibilities to express our own subjectivity? 2) How do individuals create convincing representations of their selves online? 3) Where are the borders between the private and public digital subject, and what is conceived as normal online practice?

Initially I had this idea of the late-modern subject as attention-seeking and happy to show off online. My informants have a substantial presence online. However, they cannot really be described as assertive attention-seekers, and they are very aware of the public character of their online presence. Their practices are consequently very reflexive, yet always reflecting real characteristics and values. "I am myself" is a mantra of late-modern societies isn't it?

The article will be part of a Norwegian anthology about personal media that I'm editing together with Terje and Lin. Exciting! And it felt good to write in my own language. I will have it translated to English though as my thesis will be all-English.

publicly private

One of my informants at one point said: "The Internet isn't more public that the world outside. Or I don't mind that a stranger who sits next to my table at a China-restaurant can listen to me talking to my friends."

Of course, the Internet is public in ways that the physical world isn't but my informant has a point and he reminded me of how annoying I find it that people criticise private telephone conversations on the bus, at a restaurant or wherever public. I have mentioned this before, but I now remembered it to be Kenneth Gergen's complaint. I ended up googling for my own name and "he says this thing" to find the post. It's kind of weird to remember part of a previously written sentence, yet mixing Gergen with Rule, isn't it.

ultimate communication breakdown

Every morning I listen to experts explaining the immense complexity of the Israel-Hezbollah war. There are additionally too many opinions published in the newspapers. I don't even intend to look at the reader-discussions following articles in Aftenposten and Dagbladet. Or keep track of the multitude of weblogs and youtube-users from Lebanon. A week ago Aftenposten's youth-opinions page Si-D published a well written and interesting comment from 16-year old Rafia who argued that the Israel-Hezbollah war must be seen within a broader context and cannot be explained merely with reference to the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers. The next morning a researcher from the University of Oslo (didn't get her name) basically said the same things on NRK's news-morning. Their opinions were in fact strikingly similar. I don't pretend to know the right answers, but I notice how I find some opinions and arguments more convincing. I guess war is communication in a way, but it is simultaneously the ultimate sign of communication breakdown.

I just know that my favourite veggie meat-substitute products from Nutana do not taste as good as they used to. Nutana's products are produced in Israel. I didn't even know until this summer.