presentation!

A brief outline of my presentation follows and the materials I used are included at the end *:D

A game of ping pong:As we follow anonymity throughout time we see these ideas existing,falling from the fore, then resurfacing again...

• desire to be anonymous
• how people are anonymous
• why people are anonymous

Definition of anonymity: #'s 1 & 3 are more general, yet #2 is more commonplace...why?

anon·y·mous
1 : not named or identified
2 : of unknown authorship or origin
3 : lacking individuality, distinction, or recognizability

~ emphasis on #2 indicates that anonymity and script/print go hand in hand, which
demonstrates the impact of the printing press on an already existing phenomenon

The Printing Press:

~ magnifies the concepts (i.e. desire, how, why) encompassed within anonymity 100x's because print exponentially increases the vastness of time and place when it comes to sharing ideas, knowledge and the like

3 Perspectives of Anonymity:

~ "voluntary anonymity": choosing to be anonymous for one reason or another

• freedom of expression

• opinions & ideas spill outside of cultural norms
• rank and gender limit people on what they can “say”

(don’t want to be associated with their works for these reasons)

• some feel the idea is more important than their recognition

~ "humble anonymity":

* Plato
* Pythagoreans
* Anonymous $$$ donors

“to stamp out self-love…to share everything with others…
is the highest aim of moral life”
- Plato

~ "forced anonymity": exactly like it says ;P

* first apparent as we approach industrial revolution and people become cogs in the machine of mass production, seeking recognition where they can because of this forced anonymity

* apparent now because of the internet and its inclination towards anonymity

>are people in either of these situations even aware this is happening?

So where has our ping-pong game taken us?

* pre/post-Gutenberg: a desire for anonymity as freedom for expression as well
as protection
* industrial revolution: a desire to be known amidst a cultural collapse of
identity
* present: a desire for both


Planting the seeds:

I have identified the soil that is our anonymous history and planted the seeds for the projects that are to follow. With their watering cans of research, my classmates will hydrate these seeds so they sprout to reveal the various perspectives that constitute our garden of anonymous possibilities.


Resources:

Anonymity by Ludwig Edelstein (1961)
Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word by Anne Ferry (2002)
Review: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Eric J. Leed (1982)
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