identity
- what is it?
- what does it mean?
- why it's important
- how do we create/express it?
>description of how culture and time period shape identity
anonymity
- binary oppositions: identity~anonymity
- history of the word
> what is it?
> what does it mean?
> why it's important
(communication revolution:printing press)
identity & anonymity
- discuss relationship between the two & why it's important
- desire to be identified/anonymous reflects the culture @ the time
anonymity as an aesthetic ideal
- when is this applicable?
- what purpose does it serve?
- examples here
cultural anonymity
- when is this applicable?
- why does it happen?
- examples here
So now what? (where we stand today)
- simultaneously seeking anonymity and self-expression
- conflict of interest sets the stage for multiple platforms of expression
both in the anonymous sphere and the celebrity sphere
>>mention few examples of other project pieces here
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
class presentation of research to date...
So if we go back to the beginning, before anonymous had even been coined as a term…
And move towards the present, where anonymity penetrates multiple aspects of our lives…
We see the concept of anonymity bouncing back and forth like a ping pong ball…
It does this in various aspects, including people’s desire to be anonymous as well as how & why people choose to be anonymous.
Regardless of which way the ball bounces, it is an indicator of a cultural shift taking place…a shift significant enough to produce a change in the behavior of the culture.
anon·y·mous
(ə-nä-nə-məs)
Function: adjective
Etymology: Greek anōnymos, a- + onyma name
1 : not named or identified
2 : of unknown authorship or origin
3 : lacking individuality, distinction, or recognizability
Now if we look at the definition of anonymous we find that 1 & 3 are all encompassing, while #2 is more specific, pertaining solely to anonymity as it refers to written works.
This makes sense because written/print media provide ideal conditions for being anonymous…the author’s ideas are able to be present with out them being physically present, therefore concealing their identity.
This focus on authorship emphasizes the importance of the creation of Europe’s first printing press by Gutenberg
We know that print exponentially increased the time and place over which people could share ideas.
We also know that the communication revolution accompanied the creation of the printing press is a reference point for the development of the internet and mass media in general.
Basically, the printing press magnified the aspects of anonymity that already existed & at the same time created A new context for anonymity to be explored in.
We can look at anonymity in three broad categories...
TAG CLOUD: links; politics; views; expression; hierarchy; freedom; culture; identity; norms; importance; value; gender; opinions; associations; rank; biases; ideas; context
Voluntary anonymity is exactly as the definition implies: individuals are choosing to be anonymous for one reason or another.
These reasons provide insight into what is happening within the culture at that time
-If we go back to the 16th century we have people of rank unable to write as poets
-While others seek anonymity because their ideas fall outside the social norm
-Some just feel like the idea is more important than the identity
Voluntary anonymity encompasses a wide range of possibilities, making it one of the most common forms of anonymity.
Humble anonymity is a type of voluntary anonymity that does not receive as much attention.
Similar to the concept that the idea is more important than the identity, some forms of humble anonymity attribute that importance to the teacher.
In his writings, Plato didn’t disclose his name and even took a position that the story he was telling wasn’t his own. Some scholars see this as a type of discipleship towards his teacher, Socrates.
The Pythagoreans, followers of Pythagoras, embraced a worldview that was dominated by mathematics but was also profoundly mystical. They too shed their identities in order to pay homage to those who opened the door to knowledge.
Anonymous financial donors are a non-discipleship example where the cause is more important than the contributor.
Forced anonymity comes about as we approach the industrial revolution…when individuals are becoming just another cog in the machine of mass production.
This strips them of their identity and they receive no recognition for their contributions…
So people are looking for recognition in other places; anonymity is not desired in the same way it once was.
This type of anonymity is apparent now because of the internet…
The ultimate platform for anonymous identity!
Even with profiles you are still creating yourself to be whoever you want to be, giving an anonymous sense.
So not only is this type anonymity forced, if you will, it is often unrecognized.
To re-cap:
We see a desire for anonymity both pre & post printing press both as a freedom of expression and as a means of protection.
We then move into the industrial revolution where there is a desire to be known amidst a cultural collapse of individual identity.
And today, in our “convenience oriented” lives we have time to think & ponder ideas and a desire to speak our minds.
Some situations call for anonymity while others renounce it.
People seek that freedom and protection
that anonymity Initially gave us (ANONYMOUS)
But there is also a strive for individual expression that calls for a burgeoning of our individual identities (MICROCELEBRITIES)
Basically I have identified the soil that is our anonymous history
and planted the seeds for everyone's projects.
These seeds, which are the main concepts within our project,
will sprout into a detailed analysis of how anonymity is manifesting itself in the present and future.
Collectively our projects build upon and support one another and collectively they grow into an abundant garden.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
links for presentation~
my post is acting ridiculous...here are the links I could not add in my previous post:
Platonic Anonymity by Ludwig Edelstein
Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word by Anne Ferry
Review: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Eric J. Leed
Platonic Anonymity by Ludwig Edelstein
Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word by Anne Ferry
Review: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Eric J. Leed
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)
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)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
my proposed research methods (definitley tentaive)
I'm trying hard over here to propose something...it's not working (>o<)/ Let me start with what I know. The articles I have been reading are more than interesting and definitely informative, so I am for sure proposing that I continue to reference them as I form the structure of my final video. It is not as clear, though, how I will use the information I am gathering. To me this indicates that my research needs some serious guidance. I feel like I am at a point now that I can begin to narrow down my focus and come up with some, as Wesch put it "knock your head off" ideas to provide a skeleton for my research. As I move full force into my research I can use this skeleton to build upon and expand the "KYHO" ideas that I come up with resulting in five minutes of aawsumness :D Coming up with the KYHOI's is another story. I think it is super important that I review what direction the rest of the class is moving in to make sure that our video is integrated and streamline. The blog aspect of our class makes this ultra simple and our time spent in class is also very telling of what everyone is thinking. A combination of both these sources will provide me with the aspects that we are focusing on and I can then look back in history to see if, when and under what circumstances these aspects manifested before. This will definitely highlight the common, as well as not-so-common, threads that run through our projects collectively. Once I have a good grasp on my KYHOI's I can start building the musculature for my skeleton. I will primarily do this using the articles I have already read in addition to others that I find relevant to the direction I am heading. I currently have the FABULOUS article by Anne Ferry (Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word) and a review of Elizabeth Eisenstein's AMAZING work (The Printing Press as an Agent of Change). As of right now these two articles are my platform from which I will launch my research. Both articles encapsulate the fundamental ideas that give "anonymity" life and have much to offer in terms of the actual word "anonymity" as well as the cultural conditions that it has existed within and as a result of.
I am also finding articles that refer to anonymity in aspects other than poetry, which is the main focus of Ferry's article. Eisenstein's work focuses more on the conceptual aspects of communication revolutions and not so much on anonymity in and of itself. Therefore, I have found articles spanning throughout the 19th and 20th centuries that talk about anonymity in other forms of literature (i.e. literary criticism, memoirs and religious texts). This variety in content as well as time periods will allow me to spread my research over a wider base of literary aspects to get a better understanding of how people have used anonymity and for what reasons.
The final aspect of my research that I am working on would include a deeper look into uses of anonymity outside of the literary realm. This is not as likely, though, because anonymity outside of the literary realm is a much harder thing to grasp and document. This would be where true participant observation would come in handy. Even if I could find people that lived during the time periods discussed in some of the articles and could obtain a vicarious account of the sense of anonymity often experienced during the climb to industrialization it would never be the same as if I were experiencing it myself. This could be a good thing, though, because I would carry with me my own biases that would cloud my judgment. As of right now I am trying to determine the best approach to moving away from articles as my only source of information. As I continue to read and have discussions about my research I am confident I will come to one conclusion or another about how to broaden my perspective of anonymity.
I am also finding articles that refer to anonymity in aspects other than poetry, which is the main focus of Ferry's article. Eisenstein's work focuses more on the conceptual aspects of communication revolutions and not so much on anonymity in and of itself. Therefore, I have found articles spanning throughout the 19th and 20th centuries that talk about anonymity in other forms of literature (i.e. literary criticism, memoirs and religious texts). This variety in content as well as time periods will allow me to spread my research over a wider base of literary aspects to get a better understanding of how people have used anonymity and for what reasons.
The final aspect of my research that I am working on would include a deeper look into uses of anonymity outside of the literary realm. This is not as likely, though, because anonymity outside of the literary realm is a much harder thing to grasp and document. This would be where true participant observation would come in handy. Even if I could find people that lived during the time periods discussed in some of the articles and could obtain a vicarious account of the sense of anonymity often experienced during the climb to industrialization it would never be the same as if I were experiencing it myself. This could be a good thing, though, because I would carry with me my own biases that would cloud my judgment. As of right now I am trying to determine the best approach to moving away from articles as my only source of information. As I continue to read and have discussions about my research I am confident I will come to one conclusion or another about how to broaden my perspective of anonymity.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
my first literature review :)
It is not an everyday practice of most individuals to immerse themselves in the catalog of symbols that constitutes their being, or to even think about the impacts of their culture and how it shapes their mere existence through this set of symbols. Some may attribute this to our face paced lifestyles and our preoccupation with never-ending responsibilities, but this lack of awareness for what makes us who we are has been present in societies for hundreds of years. And rightfully so! Having the ability to pull back from one's self, and essentially one's own existence, requires a state of mind that must be cultivated differently for each individual. What makes sense to one person does not always resonate with another, which demonstrates that we all have our own individual culture as a subset of the larger culture we are a part of. Every variable that constitutes our culture(s) produces a function that allows us to operate in the context of our own lives. Therefore, it is safe to say that the structure of our culture(s) determines the functions that carry us through our lives.
The idea of structure and function can be seen throughout nature and in numerous disciplines. The human body exemplifies this concept in the purest form. When we look at the intricate processes that take place in order to keep our bodies functioning there is no doubt that it could not be possible without the specific structures that make up the systems carrying out these processes. The same is true of culture. Like a HUGE organism, culture is comprised of hundreds of thousands of structures that work in unison, as well as opposition, to produce functions that carryout in our every day lives. The work of Elizabeth Eisenstein addresses this as a problem in the sense that it is often overlooked, which can be detrimental when trying to assess the impact of cultural change.
In Eisenstein's most famous work, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change and the Structure of Communications Revolutions, we are brought to the roots of fundamental change via a handy little contraption known as the printing press; brought into use in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg in approximately 1439. This was the first movable type printing device in Western Europe and was responsible for the wide spread dissemination of knowledge. During the Renaissance period knowledge spread across greater distances because of the "fixity" print gave it, making it easier to share work on a standardized basis. As Eisenstein puts it, "print institutionalized this classical revival, fixing it and making it a Europe-wide phenomenon."
Being able to fix knowledge allows for all types of advancements. The structural features of oral communication which serve to obscure the details of tradition are diminished by writing and utterly effaced by print (Leed 1982). By having standardized text to refer to, scientists, historians and the like were able to add to the database of intellectual findings in a manner that contributed to the preexisting works as opposed to merely replicating it. For one of the first times in European history there was a concrete method to "distinguish between the reproduction of their culture and those alterations of the basic motifs and schemata which constitute a personal addition, an "original" contribution to that culture." (Leed 1982)
Where though, does this leave us in terms of identity. In a review of the literature there is little to be found regarding how individual's felt about having their identity associated with their contributions. It is easy to assume a few things: 1) people will be proud of their contribution, feeling as though they must be correct in their findings, and hope to be noted in print so they may be recognized even after their departure 2) people will take a more humble stance and want their ideas to prosper, not their identity, and therefore want to suppress their identity all together 3) being unsure of their works or possibly afraid of being persecuted for their findings/beliefs, people will want to remain anonymous for the sake of their dignity. In either scenario the importance of identity is not mentioned here (i.e. within the review of Eisenstein's work), and it is worth further research to find the links between the era of "fixity" and identity in relation to the specific ideas Eisenstein presents in her work.
As I continue through various literary sources, though, there is more talk about a concern for identity in general during the Renaissance era. Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word, written by Anne Ferry, gives us insight into how identity was approached over a vast time period (i.e. 16th century - 20th century) and their is time spent discussing the cultural "why's" that lead to the variance we see throughout history. In the late 16th century the word anonymous is brought into English from Greek indicating that the idea was in existence and being employed to some extent regardless of whether or not the actual word "anonymous" was being attached to it.
It is well known that in this period it was thought of as improper for "gentlemen and persons of rank to appear in print as poets..." and because these individuals were forced to employ anonymity for sake of their dignity, "...others who wanted to display their wit as a way of advancing themselves in courtly circles were driven to publish verse unsigned but under fancy disguises that could be seen through." (Ferry 2003) Politics is another instance where embracing anonymity could prove beneficial. But as we move into the late 17th century we start to see the word being employed as a means of "fashion, publishing tactics, or private caution." The use of the adjective "anonymous" does not abruptly change, rather it transforms slowly in relation to the cultural changes that are taking place.
Coming into the 19th century we see poetry becoming a form of personal expression as opposed to a "skillfully made object fashion according to formal conventions." The led to the birth of the actual noun "anonymity" from it's parent adjective "anonymous" born a couple hundred years earlier. The need for protection takes a different form here, as authors are concerned about how people will view the personal inner workings of the mind. This continues on throughout the 19th century in the midst of a growing concern for poetry as a form of personal expression & a desire of some for a "return to the literary past", that E.M. Forster describes as a time when "writers and readers...did not make a cult of expression as we do today. Surely they were right, and modern critics go too far in their insistence on personality."
What strikes me as even more interesting is the ping-pong effect that is beginning to take place. Amongst the shifts in perception of what poetry should be used for there is also a shift in how anonymity is used within poetry. As we approach the mid-1900's there is an ever growing feel for anonymity for what Ferry calls a cultural motif. Henry Seidel Canby addresses it in "Anon is Dead" written in 1926. He talks about how city life sets the stage for the desire to "escape from the deadly anonymity of modern life," generating the "passion for nonanonymity" in the "general man who feel shis personality sinking lower and lower into the whirl of indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization." So here we have people wanting to move out of the idea of anonymity based on what is happening culturally. Essentially this brings us back to where I ended with Eisenstein's work.
All the talk of anonymity based on Ferry's article refers to poetry in particular. I am interested to know where people in the Renaissance era stood in terms of identity and publishing academic works. During this time period we have theologians and scientists adding to the commonwealth of knowledge in the most influential of ways and it would be fascinating to determine how anonymity was viewed in light of these subjects outside of the literary arts. I realize that my review of the literature is minuscule in comparison to what is available, so this is definitely accounted for as I write this, and it does not mean my search is over...it has only just begun!
Because printed media is so appropriate for the use of anonymity I would also like to look into different cases where anonymity is used. Aside from the poetic approach that Ferry embraces I have found some literature that may direct me towards the use of anonymity in religious works, which would take us back before the Renaissance (woohoo!) as well as the use of anonymity by Plato found in Platonic Anonymity by Ludwig Edelstein, which would also take us back farther. Other, more recent, literary works that address the different uses of anonymity include memoirs of Holocaust survivors (e.g. The Psychological Impact of War Trauma on Civilians: An International Perspective by Stanley Krippner and Teresa M. McIntyr), Curiosities of Criticism by Henry J. Jennings (1881) and The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers, referenced in the previous blog post.
In addition to looking at how and why people have used anonymity in past literary works and delving deeper into the cultural shifts that cause the ping-pong effect regarding the use of anonymity, I am interested in finding a common thread that runs through history right up to the point where my fellow ethnographers take over...the digital age. This will be exciting to meet up with them and, through their work, follow the thread that has run throughout history.
The idea of structure and function can be seen throughout nature and in numerous disciplines. The human body exemplifies this concept in the purest form. When we look at the intricate processes that take place in order to keep our bodies functioning there is no doubt that it could not be possible without the specific structures that make up the systems carrying out these processes. The same is true of culture. Like a HUGE organism, culture is comprised of hundreds of thousands of structures that work in unison, as well as opposition, to produce functions that carryout in our every day lives. The work of Elizabeth Eisenstein addresses this as a problem in the sense that it is often overlooked, which can be detrimental when trying to assess the impact of cultural change.
In Eisenstein's most famous work, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change and the Structure of Communications Revolutions, we are brought to the roots of fundamental change via a handy little contraption known as the printing press; brought into use in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg in approximately 1439. This was the first movable type printing device in Western Europe and was responsible for the wide spread dissemination of knowledge. During the Renaissance period knowledge spread across greater distances because of the "fixity" print gave it, making it easier to share work on a standardized basis. As Eisenstein puts it, "print institutionalized this classical revival, fixing it and making it a Europe-wide phenomenon."
Being able to fix knowledge allows for all types of advancements. The structural features of oral communication which serve to obscure the details of tradition are diminished by writing and utterly effaced by print (Leed 1982). By having standardized text to refer to, scientists, historians and the like were able to add to the database of intellectual findings in a manner that contributed to the preexisting works as opposed to merely replicating it. For one of the first times in European history there was a concrete method to "distinguish between the reproduction of their culture and those alterations of the basic motifs and schemata which constitute a personal addition, an "original" contribution to that culture." (Leed 1982)
Where though, does this leave us in terms of identity. In a review of the literature there is little to be found regarding how individual's felt about having their identity associated with their contributions. It is easy to assume a few things: 1) people will be proud of their contribution, feeling as though they must be correct in their findings, and hope to be noted in print so they may be recognized even after their departure 2) people will take a more humble stance and want their ideas to prosper, not their identity, and therefore want to suppress their identity all together 3) being unsure of their works or possibly afraid of being persecuted for their findings/beliefs, people will want to remain anonymous for the sake of their dignity. In either scenario the importance of identity is not mentioned here (i.e. within the review of Eisenstein's work), and it is worth further research to find the links between the era of "fixity" and identity in relation to the specific ideas Eisenstein presents in her work.
As I continue through various literary sources, though, there is more talk about a concern for identity in general during the Renaissance era. Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word, written by Anne Ferry, gives us insight into how identity was approached over a vast time period (i.e. 16th century - 20th century) and their is time spent discussing the cultural "why's" that lead to the variance we see throughout history. In the late 16th century the word anonymous is brought into English from Greek indicating that the idea was in existence and being employed to some extent regardless of whether or not the actual word "anonymous" was being attached to it.
It is well known that in this period it was thought of as improper for "gentlemen and persons of rank to appear in print as poets..." and because these individuals were forced to employ anonymity for sake of their dignity, "...others who wanted to display their wit as a way of advancing themselves in courtly circles were driven to publish verse unsigned but under fancy disguises that could be seen through." (Ferry 2003) Politics is another instance where embracing anonymity could prove beneficial. But as we move into the late 17th century we start to see the word being employed as a means of "fashion, publishing tactics, or private caution." The use of the adjective "anonymous" does not abruptly change, rather it transforms slowly in relation to the cultural changes that are taking place.
Coming into the 19th century we see poetry becoming a form of personal expression as opposed to a "skillfully made object fashion according to formal conventions." The led to the birth of the actual noun "anonymity" from it's parent adjective "anonymous" born a couple hundred years earlier. The need for protection takes a different form here, as authors are concerned about how people will view the personal inner workings of the mind. This continues on throughout the 19th century in the midst of a growing concern for poetry as a form of personal expression & a desire of some for a "return to the literary past", that E.M. Forster describes as a time when "writers and readers...did not make a cult of expression as we do today. Surely they were right, and modern critics go too far in their insistence on personality."
What strikes me as even more interesting is the ping-pong effect that is beginning to take place. Amongst the shifts in perception of what poetry should be used for there is also a shift in how anonymity is used within poetry. As we approach the mid-1900's there is an ever growing feel for anonymity for what Ferry calls a cultural motif. Henry Seidel Canby addresses it in "Anon is Dead" written in 1926. He talks about how city life sets the stage for the desire to "escape from the deadly anonymity of modern life," generating the "passion for nonanonymity" in the "general man who feel shis personality sinking lower and lower into the whirl of indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization." So here we have people wanting to move out of the idea of anonymity based on what is happening culturally. Essentially this brings us back to where I ended with Eisenstein's work.
All the talk of anonymity based on Ferry's article refers to poetry in particular. I am interested to know where people in the Renaissance era stood in terms of identity and publishing academic works. During this time period we have theologians and scientists adding to the commonwealth of knowledge in the most influential of ways and it would be fascinating to determine how anonymity was viewed in light of these subjects outside of the literary arts. I realize that my review of the literature is minuscule in comparison to what is available, so this is definitely accounted for as I write this, and it does not mean my search is over...it has only just begun!
Because printed media is so appropriate for the use of anonymity I would also like to look into different cases where anonymity is used. Aside from the poetic approach that Ferry embraces I have found some literature that may direct me towards the use of anonymity in religious works, which would take us back before the Renaissance (woohoo!) as well as the use of anonymity by Plato found in Platonic Anonymity by Ludwig Edelstein, which would also take us back farther. Other, more recent, literary works that address the different uses of anonymity include memoirs of Holocaust survivors (e.g. The Psychological Impact of War Trauma on Civilians: An International Perspective by Stanley Krippner and Teresa M. McIntyr), Curiosities of Criticism by Henry J. Jennings (1881) and The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers, referenced in the previous blog post.
In addition to looking at how and why people have used anonymity in past literary works and delving deeper into the cultural shifts that cause the ping-pong effect regarding the use of anonymity, I am interested in finding a common thread that runs through history right up to the point where my fellow ethnographers take over...the digital age. This will be exciting to meet up with them and, through their work, follow the thread that has run throughout history.
Monday, February 23, 2009
building blocks of a literature review:
Due to the historical approach I am taking for this project I have pulled from multiple sources throughout time, focusing on works that are pre-1950's. As I delve deeper into my research I find that bouncing back and forth between more recent literature and those previously mentioned, is quite helpful in providing direction and focus. By starting in the present and working my way back I am able to identify certain literary aspects that may not be as apparent otherwise. For example, once I learned more about media ecology I have found indirect reference to the power of the medium that might have been overlooked without this background knowledge. Below I have included brief reflections on what I believe to be pertinent information regarding our project, particularly for my section on the historical background of anonymity.
What I have come to realize is that the whole idea of being anonymous relies on intricacies we attribute to presuppositions on the subject. In this day and age the opportunities for anonymity are endless because of a convenient little thing we like to call the internet. Prior to the internet, though, anonymity is largely recognized as a tool used by writers of novels, poems and the like. This is exactly where we get stuck. Unless pondering the idea of what it means to be anonymous, it is not common practice to abstract the definition to determine where else the word might apply. This is of particular interest to me but it is important that I start with the largest application of the word in context and tease out the details from there. This is where Anne Ferry lends a helping hand with her article Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word.
Ferry provides an amazing amount of linguistic history starting with the adjective anonymos as it first entered the English language from Greek. Giving us a clear time line of its whereabouts, we are able to trace its journey through the centuries and following along closely with what is happening culturally as well. I can't help but call this article one of my favorites due to Ferry's thoroughness. From the beginning she discusses what it means for the adjective to undergo lexicalization resulting in the noun anonymity. Here she discusses the cultural implications of vocabulary construction of this sort and develops a platform for the rest of the article to take off from. This idea that nouns are formed from parent adjectives represents something new that "has come into existence which did not exist before" (Ferry 2002) is intriguing and exemplifies the direction I would like to take with my research; specifically regarding what Ferry refers to as the "pressures in the culture that produces and is produced by them".
In order to determine what these cultural pressures are, Ferry takes us through time following the great poets (and sometimes authors of other sorts) in order to see where culture begins to shift and give rise to the need for the noun anonymity. I cannot stop thinking about what it actually means to be anonymous, though, and I am having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that without text, whether it be manuscript or print, it is difficult to achieve anonymity...assuming it is even something to be achieved. Determining the use for the adjective anonymous prior to manuscript is a daunting task, which is why we begin precisely there, with manuscripts.
Although, the actual adjective didn't exist yet there is evidence of its concept amongst authors. This puts us at about mid-16th century where it was not acceptable for "gentlemen or people of rank" to appear as poets. The cultural pressures leading to the concept of being anonymous are more apparent here than they are as we move forward in time and they continue on this way until the mid-17th century. By this time being anonymous carried with it "significantly charged" assumptions for similar reasons regarding persons of rank to publish poems. This is straightforward and I'm glad we have a clean cut place to move out from as we continue on our journey towards the noun anonymity.
The end of the 17th century is when we see many poets publishing works at one time or another using some form of anonymity; whether it be initials, pseudonyms, or just plain nothing following a piece of their writing(s). It is in the 18th and 19th centuries we begin to see anonymous taking on a different role. Ferry mentions that "it is tempting to attribute their unacknowledged appearances more to fashion, publishing tactics, or private caution than to the conventions then being largely emptied of their meanings by the pressures of many social changes." This part grabs my attention because we are starting to explore the roots of cultural change and how it manifests in language.
As we move into these two centuries we have to consider two main possibilities for the fate of anonymity. Some poets are adamant about poems being "skillfully made objects fashioned according to formal conventions, rather than as a personal expression of its author"
(Ferry 2002). This continues to be a theme that pervades the literature regarding the state of being anonymous. E.M. Forster sheds light on this in a 1925 publication entitled "Anonyimty: An Enquiry". Here he poses an argument for return to literary traditions when "writer and readers...did not make a cult of expression as we do today. Surely they were right, and modern critics go too far in their insistence on personality." Here anonymity becomes " almost an antonym for personality" (Ferry 2002). Concerns about reputation are still at hand, though, and this is a great example of how the cultural dynamics increase over time. We no longer have one or two variables changing at once but rather an amalgam of options that are possible, which can make deciphering meaning and origin much more difficult.
Giving endless examples of poets and samples of their works allows the reader to grasp the many facets Ferry is trying to cover. It seems to be that the concept and need for anonymity ping pongs back and forth as we move through time. In the early 20th century we start to see that anonymously published writings are much less than the previous centuries. Henry Seidel Canby addresses this in his 1926 article, "Anon is Dead" where he attributes it to industrialization and the idea that the "general man who feels his personality sinking lower and lower into the whirl of indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization," longs for a "vicarious experience" that can be found in the writings of "rich glaring personalities". Not only this but the authors themselves feel a need for recognition as they experience a longing to "escape from the daily anonymity of modern life". This cultural motif proves relevant and makes sense of why authors would want to discard the cloak but anonymity begins to take on a new form as well, reiterating what was proposed in the early/mid-19th century by William Blake and William Wordsworth.
Both poets write of the days of "city life", London in particular, in the same sense that Canby referenced the "indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization" nearly 100 years later. What is interesting here in not that Blake and Wordsworth necessarily used anonymity themselves but how, as Ferry puts it, "pressed toward the institution of anonymity in the cultural sense that Canby used it for automatically." These authors recognized something that later was assumed; "using 'anonymity' in this proposition, where it has nothing whatever to do with a piece of writing lacking the author's name, shows that his generalization though heated, are not personal discoveries, but packaged phrases that by the 1920's expressed assumptions so deeply and commonly held they could be accepted without being questioned" (Ferry 2002). It is particularly interesting for my research to examine how this idea of anonymity as a "cultural motif" existed long before the noun to describe it. Not only that, but I want to know what allowed writers like Henry Seidel Canby to take the parent adjective anonymous and extract it from its original attachment to written work and use it as a noun to describe a "cultural phenomenon".
As modernist like T.S. Eliot came on the scene there was appreciation for anonymity's link with "city life" and Eliot pulled from the works of James Thomson and John Davidson as he looked for needed material. During the modernist period Eliot produced poems that mirrored his "impersonal theory of poetry" set forth in his most famous essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent"; which can be summarized in the stanza "progress of an artist is...a continual extinction of personality". This was far from what Wordsworth dubbed poetry to be, "emotion recollected in tranquility", and made this known by never mentioning Wordsworth even though he used this exact quote. Eliot was adamant about bringing back anonymity as it was once prevalently used in literary works and showed this through his modernist works.
It is obvious to see how this article is my new best friend. It is presenting the ground work for what I am trying to describe through my video project. There is much information to be assimilated from the article itself as well as numerous paths to take that are introduced here and discussed in other literature. As I continue with my research I will reference this article for what it offers both as concrete evidence and as spring boards for cultural inquiry relating to anonymity.
Ferry, Anne. (2002). "Anonymity": The Literary History of a Word. New Literary History, 33(2), 193-214. Retrieved from The Johns Hopkins University Press via JSTOR.
In terms of anonymity there is much ground to explore. The word, as we have seen from above, can be employed in various fashions both literally and figuratively. Because of this the word pops up in part of many literary works regarding one topic or another. The following are snippets of where and how the term shows up.
Curiosities of Criticism
Henry J. Jennings (1881)
Maintaining its connection to description of literary works anonymity appears here but not in terms of the author themselves, rather in terms of those who criticize the works of these authors. The argument is that anonymous criticism is somewhat unfair because the author feels that a critics identity carries with it their biases and grounds for criticism. As with criticism of any type this is a valid point. What one person loves another may despise and it is important to know the identity of the critic if one is to have an understanding of the background from which they are operating.
In rebuttal the author states, "Entire responsibility for whatever is written is assumed by the editor or conductors of the paper in which the criticism appears." Therefore it is not solely on the critic for what is said about the work; there are other monitoring forces that would, ideally, not allow unjust criticisms to be published about the work itself. At the same time, though, the author states that "the idea that critics themselves are afraid of putting their names to their work is simply absurd" and must be "conscious of their inability to deal with the subject entrusted to them."
What I found most interesting is the idea that is encapsulated by the anonymous system. By even having to write about the "curiosities of criticism", particularly anonymity in our case, the importance of individual opinion is magnified. Here we move into cultural phenomenon once again and many questions can be drawn from this aspect in and of itself. Why do some people prefer to criticize anonymously? What difference does it make when one criticizes anonymously? How does it deter/benefit the outcome of what is being criticized? With so much emphasis placed on anonymity in terms of written works it is refreshing to approach it from a different perspective, that of the critic and not the author themselves.
The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers
Volume XIII January-December 1900
William H. Hills, Editor
Following with the theme of anonymity as it relates to written work The Writer takes the perspective of the publisher themselves. Discussing why anonymous works can be controversial for the newspapers and presses that choose to release them we begin to see implication of anonymity outside of the author. By publishing anonymous works the publisher is taking responsibility for what is being published. This brings into question whether or not human beings have a natural tendency to relate objects to one another. Is there some intrinsic need that drives us to make a connection between a written work and its author? Do we feel some sort of relief when the author is known? What information is it providing us when we do know the author and how does that change the interpretation of the message?
Back to the idea of a publisher taking responsibility for the written work and possibly jeopardizing their reputation, we have a view that opposes the one mentioned above in Curiosities of Criticism. The author here states that in order to compile written works, in our case a newspaper, of any value criticism has to be frank. He argues that, "Anonymity in criticism does not imply cheapness of enmity. Anonymity encourages frankness. In the case of an ordinary book review anonymity may raise the standard of criticism...because he, the editor must bare the responsibility alone."
So here we have a similar perspective as mention above, yet it contributes differently to the body of literature on the subject. Not only does it take an opposing view from other literature I have found, it also provides aspects not yet considered in other literature I have read. Again, I am overwhelmed with the many aspects of anonymity, but only in the most positive ways. It is encouraging when I am able to find works that both support and oppose each other so that I can remove some of my own biases regarding the subject.
The Psychological Impact of War Trauma on Civilians: An International Perspective
Stanley Krippner, Teresa M. McIntyre (2003)
The life of Holocaust survivors places a whole other spin on the concept of anonymity. Robert Antelme and Viktor Frankl were Holocaust survivors who wrote memoirs of their experiences. Their stories from the concentration camps give us a definition of anonymity that was partially demonstrated by William Wordsworth and William Blake in their poems of "city life" with a sinister twist. An excerpt from Antelme's memoir (1992) reads:
Our face had, for us, finally become absent from our life. For even in our relations with other prisoners our life remained burdened by this absence; our life had almost become that absence. Of the same striped outfits, of the same shaved heads, of our progressive emaciation, of the rhythm of our lifer here, for each of us what finally appeared generally amounted to a collective, anonymous face.
Frankl (1984) reflects on what it means to publish something anonymously and shares his reasoning of why he didn't choose to do so with his memoir:
I had intended to write this book anonymously, using my prison number only. But when the manuscript was completed, I saw that as an anonymous publication it would lose half its value, and that I must have the courage to state my convictions openly.
What this brings to my research, besides how anonymity is used in context, is yet for me to put my finger on. Obviously in this situation we are dealing with a finite culture that, thankfully, no longer exists to this extent. I feel that there is something here within the cultural phenomenon that can be linked to the other cultural motifs that encompass anonymity. Possibly looking at the common threads that run through such cultural situations (e.g. large masses of people, monotony, lack of individuality, etc.) could be telling. Combining all the snippets I find from books of this sort will begin to form an amalgam of amazing breadth that I am more than excited to piece together to form the beginning of our digital ethnography.
What I have come to realize is that the whole idea of being anonymous relies on intricacies we attribute to presuppositions on the subject. In this day and age the opportunities for anonymity are endless because of a convenient little thing we like to call the internet. Prior to the internet, though, anonymity is largely recognized as a tool used by writers of novels, poems and the like. This is exactly where we get stuck. Unless pondering the idea of what it means to be anonymous, it is not common practice to abstract the definition to determine where else the word might apply. This is of particular interest to me but it is important that I start with the largest application of the word in context and tease out the details from there. This is where Anne Ferry lends a helping hand with her article Anonymity: The Literary History of a Word.
Ferry provides an amazing amount of linguistic history starting with the adjective anonymos as it first entered the English language from Greek. Giving us a clear time line of its whereabouts, we are able to trace its journey through the centuries and following along closely with what is happening culturally as well. I can't help but call this article one of my favorites due to Ferry's thoroughness. From the beginning she discusses what it means for the adjective to undergo lexicalization resulting in the noun anonymity. Here she discusses the cultural implications of vocabulary construction of this sort and develops a platform for the rest of the article to take off from. This idea that nouns are formed from parent adjectives represents something new that "has come into existence which did not exist before" (Ferry 2002) is intriguing and exemplifies the direction I would like to take with my research; specifically regarding what Ferry refers to as the "pressures in the culture that produces and is produced by them".
In order to determine what these cultural pressures are, Ferry takes us through time following the great poets (and sometimes authors of other sorts) in order to see where culture begins to shift and give rise to the need for the noun anonymity. I cannot stop thinking about what it actually means to be anonymous, though, and I am having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that without text, whether it be manuscript or print, it is difficult to achieve anonymity...assuming it is even something to be achieved. Determining the use for the adjective anonymous prior to manuscript is a daunting task, which is why we begin precisely there, with manuscripts.
Although, the actual adjective didn't exist yet there is evidence of its concept amongst authors. This puts us at about mid-16th century where it was not acceptable for "gentlemen or people of rank" to appear as poets. The cultural pressures leading to the concept of being anonymous are more apparent here than they are as we move forward in time and they continue on this way until the mid-17th century. By this time being anonymous carried with it "significantly charged" assumptions for similar reasons regarding persons of rank to publish poems. This is straightforward and I'm glad we have a clean cut place to move out from as we continue on our journey towards the noun anonymity.
The end of the 17th century is when we see many poets publishing works at one time or another using some form of anonymity; whether it be initials, pseudonyms, or just plain nothing following a piece of their writing(s). It is in the 18th and 19th centuries we begin to see anonymous taking on a different role. Ferry mentions that "it is tempting to attribute their unacknowledged appearances more to fashion, publishing tactics, or private caution than to the conventions then being largely emptied of their meanings by the pressures of many social changes." This part grabs my attention because we are starting to explore the roots of cultural change and how it manifests in language.
As we move into these two centuries we have to consider two main possibilities for the fate of anonymity. Some poets are adamant about poems being "skillfully made objects fashioned according to formal conventions, rather than as a personal expression of its author"
(Ferry 2002). This continues to be a theme that pervades the literature regarding the state of being anonymous. E.M. Forster sheds light on this in a 1925 publication entitled "Anonyimty: An Enquiry". Here he poses an argument for return to literary traditions when "writer and readers...did not make a cult of expression as we do today. Surely they were right, and modern critics go too far in their insistence on personality." Here anonymity becomes " almost an antonym for personality" (Ferry 2002). Concerns about reputation are still at hand, though, and this is a great example of how the cultural dynamics increase over time. We no longer have one or two variables changing at once but rather an amalgam of options that are possible, which can make deciphering meaning and origin much more difficult.
Giving endless examples of poets and samples of their works allows the reader to grasp the many facets Ferry is trying to cover. It seems to be that the concept and need for anonymity ping pongs back and forth as we move through time. In the early 20th century we start to see that anonymously published writings are much less than the previous centuries. Henry Seidel Canby addresses this in his 1926 article, "Anon is Dead" where he attributes it to industrialization and the idea that the "general man who feels his personality sinking lower and lower into the whirl of indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization," longs for a "vicarious experience" that can be found in the writings of "rich glaring personalities". Not only this but the authors themselves feel a need for recognition as they experience a longing to "escape from the daily anonymity of modern life". This cultural motif proves relevant and makes sense of why authors would want to discard the cloak but anonymity begins to take on a new form as well, reiterating what was proposed in the early/mid-19th century by William Blake and William Wordsworth.
Both poets write of the days of "city life", London in particular, in the same sense that Canby referenced the "indistinguishable atoms to be lost in a mass civilization" nearly 100 years later. What is interesting here in not that Blake and Wordsworth necessarily used anonymity themselves but how, as Ferry puts it, "pressed toward the institution of anonymity in the cultural sense that Canby used it for automatically." These authors recognized something that later was assumed; "using 'anonymity' in this proposition, where it has nothing whatever to do with a piece of writing lacking the author's name, shows that his generalization though heated, are not personal discoveries, but packaged phrases that by the 1920's expressed assumptions so deeply and commonly held they could be accepted without being questioned" (Ferry 2002). It is particularly interesting for my research to examine how this idea of anonymity as a "cultural motif" existed long before the noun to describe it. Not only that, but I want to know what allowed writers like Henry Seidel Canby to take the parent adjective anonymous and extract it from its original attachment to written work and use it as a noun to describe a "cultural phenomenon".
As modernist like T.S. Eliot came on the scene there was appreciation for anonymity's link with "city life" and Eliot pulled from the works of James Thomson and John Davidson as he looked for needed material. During the modernist period Eliot produced poems that mirrored his "impersonal theory of poetry" set forth in his most famous essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent"; which can be summarized in the stanza "progress of an artist is...a continual extinction of personality". This was far from what Wordsworth dubbed poetry to be, "emotion recollected in tranquility", and made this known by never mentioning Wordsworth even though he used this exact quote. Eliot was adamant about bringing back anonymity as it was once prevalently used in literary works and showed this through his modernist works.
It is obvious to see how this article is my new best friend. It is presenting the ground work for what I am trying to describe through my video project. There is much information to be assimilated from the article itself as well as numerous paths to take that are introduced here and discussed in other literature. As I continue with my research I will reference this article for what it offers both as concrete evidence and as spring boards for cultural inquiry relating to anonymity.
Ferry, Anne. (2002). "Anonymity": The Literary History of a Word. New Literary History, 33(2), 193-214. Retrieved from The Johns Hopkins University Press via JSTOR.
In terms of anonymity there is much ground to explore. The word, as we have seen from above, can be employed in various fashions both literally and figuratively. Because of this the word pops up in part of many literary works regarding one topic or another. The following are snippets of where and how the term shows up.
Curiosities of Criticism
Henry J. Jennings (1881)
Maintaining its connection to description of literary works anonymity appears here but not in terms of the author themselves, rather in terms of those who criticize the works of these authors. The argument is that anonymous criticism is somewhat unfair because the author feels that a critics identity carries with it their biases and grounds for criticism. As with criticism of any type this is a valid point. What one person loves another may despise and it is important to know the identity of the critic if one is to have an understanding of the background from which they are operating.
In rebuttal the author states, "Entire responsibility for whatever is written is assumed by the editor or conductors of the paper in which the criticism appears." Therefore it is not solely on the critic for what is said about the work; there are other monitoring forces that would, ideally, not allow unjust criticisms to be published about the work itself. At the same time, though, the author states that "the idea that critics themselves are afraid of putting their names to their work is simply absurd" and must be "conscious of their inability to deal with the subject entrusted to them."
What I found most interesting is the idea that is encapsulated by the anonymous system. By even having to write about the "curiosities of criticism", particularly anonymity in our case, the importance of individual opinion is magnified. Here we move into cultural phenomenon once again and many questions can be drawn from this aspect in and of itself. Why do some people prefer to criticize anonymously? What difference does it make when one criticizes anonymously? How does it deter/benefit the outcome of what is being criticized? With so much emphasis placed on anonymity in terms of written works it is refreshing to approach it from a different perspective, that of the critic and not the author themselves.
The Writer: A Monthly Magazine for Literary Workers
Volume XIII January-December 1900
William H. Hills, Editor
Following with the theme of anonymity as it relates to written work The Writer takes the perspective of the publisher themselves. Discussing why anonymous works can be controversial for the newspapers and presses that choose to release them we begin to see implication of anonymity outside of the author. By publishing anonymous works the publisher is taking responsibility for what is being published. This brings into question whether or not human beings have a natural tendency to relate objects to one another. Is there some intrinsic need that drives us to make a connection between a written work and its author? Do we feel some sort of relief when the author is known? What information is it providing us when we do know the author and how does that change the interpretation of the message?
Back to the idea of a publisher taking responsibility for the written work and possibly jeopardizing their reputation, we have a view that opposes the one mentioned above in Curiosities of Criticism. The author here states that in order to compile written works, in our case a newspaper, of any value criticism has to be frank. He argues that, "Anonymity in criticism does not imply cheapness of enmity. Anonymity encourages frankness. In the case of an ordinary book review anonymity may raise the standard of criticism...because he, the editor must bare the responsibility alone."
So here we have a similar perspective as mention above, yet it contributes differently to the body of literature on the subject. Not only does it take an opposing view from other literature I have found, it also provides aspects not yet considered in other literature I have read. Again, I am overwhelmed with the many aspects of anonymity, but only in the most positive ways. It is encouraging when I am able to find works that both support and oppose each other so that I can remove some of my own biases regarding the subject.
The Psychological Impact of War Trauma on Civilians: An International Perspective
Stanley Krippner, Teresa M. McIntyre (2003)
The life of Holocaust survivors places a whole other spin on the concept of anonymity. Robert Antelme and Viktor Frankl were Holocaust survivors who wrote memoirs of their experiences. Their stories from the concentration camps give us a definition of anonymity that was partially demonstrated by William Wordsworth and William Blake in their poems of "city life" with a sinister twist. An excerpt from Antelme's memoir (1992) reads:
Our face had, for us, finally become absent from our life. For even in our relations with other prisoners our life remained burdened by this absence; our life had almost become that absence. Of the same striped outfits, of the same shaved heads, of our progressive emaciation, of the rhythm of our lifer here, for each of us what finally appeared generally amounted to a collective, anonymous face.
Frankl (1984) reflects on what it means to publish something anonymously and shares his reasoning of why he didn't choose to do so with his memoir:
I had intended to write this book anonymously, using my prison number only. But when the manuscript was completed, I saw that as an anonymous publication it would lose half its value, and that I must have the courage to state my convictions openly.
What this brings to my research, besides how anonymity is used in context, is yet for me to put my finger on. Obviously in this situation we are dealing with a finite culture that, thankfully, no longer exists to this extent. I feel that there is something here within the cultural phenomenon that can be linked to the other cultural motifs that encompass anonymity. Possibly looking at the common threads that run through such cultural situations (e.g. large masses of people, monotony, lack of individuality, etc.) could be telling. Combining all the snippets I find from books of this sort will begin to form an amalgam of amazing breadth that I am more than excited to piece together to form the beginning of our digital ethnography.
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