“Acoustic Cyberspace” by Eric Davis

Notes:
I have seen the lead singer of the Flaming Lips play the theremin on TV. That’s interesting that it was meant to be a “concert hall instrument.” I want to hear this Clara Rockmore person.

“In essence, he argued that the self that comes down to us from the Renaissance—the “molar” self of the modern West, as some have called it—is a visual self.”

Davis is paraphrasing Marshall McLuhan in this quote. Davis is establishing that people think in visual terms in order to make the argument that “acoustic cyberspace” is changing this. The discussion of “Western subjectivity” shows that Davis’ talk is intended for an academic audience. Davis’ use of the word “molar,” a psychological term, also shows that this talk is intended for an academic audience.

McLuhan’s idea that Renaissance subjectivity imparted a visual and linear way of thinking to the “modern West” seems like it might be linear thinking itself. It sounds like McLuhan could be “organizing the world in a linear, atomized, and sequential fashion.” Davis might assume that his audience is familiar with McLuhan’s ideas and generally accepts them. Since I am not particularly well read on Renaissance subjectivity, I do not disagree or agree with ideas that Davis adopts from McLuhan. For the same reason, I also do not know what Davis means by the “modern West.” I am skeptical of the idea that there is a “West.” I think that I probably have just as much in common, culturally, with a Peruvian person as with an Egyptian person. Does Davis think that people in the “East” do not view the world in a visual and linear way? If so, I am curious as to how he would describe “Eastern subjectivity.”

English 121 Portfolio by Megan Nordstrom

Notes:
What exactly is a complex claim? Is there such a thing as a simple claim?
The pirate theme is funny.
It’s cool that peer feedback is emphasized so much throughout the course.
Have students ever implemented their PSA campaigns?
I am unsure of what Nordstrom means when she writes, “listening to commentary.” Did students get feedback in podcast form?

“While revising, I used comments from Jentery and my peers to help strengthen my arguments and papers. After receiving feedback from Jentery, I would listen to his comments and edit my papers in red type by adding side notes or highlighting areas I needed to revise. I would use his feedback to relook at a section of my writing that was unclear and would reread the paragraph. By having Jentery or a peer point out certain areas help me see that my writing was unclear to my audience and I needed to further explain it. When listening to commentary, I would change all of the micro-errors (MLA, semi-colons, misspelling, etc.) and then would then look back over the paper after I finished listening to change the macro-problems and would relook at the prompt and how I could add to my paper to strengthen an outcome. It helped to change major problems while the paper was still fresh in my mind and then to look at the paper again near the end of the quarter to see if other issues stood out to me that I had not seen before.”

In this quote, Nordstrom argues that she completed Outcome #4. She describes the processes she went through to revise her work as evidence that she “used comments from Jentery and my peers to help strengthen my arguments and papers.” Nordstrom’s audience is obviously the English 121 class since she assumes the reader will know who Jentery is. Her mention of “MLA” format shows that her audience is students or others in the academic world, because she assumes the reader knows what MLA is.

This quote relates to the study of sound because the revision process must be effected by our thought processes. A visual way of thinking will shape the way we revise our work. Understanding soundscapes and how sound shapes our lives might help us think in different ways that could effect our approaches to revision.