I also particpate with this mail-list every day - and my activities around
what to read/engage with etc. seems quite similar to yours. thank you for
aticulating your mode of engagement so fully.
I confess, that after almost two full years of active particpation, this
summer's sessions during the Daly discussion has altered my understanding
and reception to the dynamics and composition of the messages,
by contrast also I recall quite a different reframing of relating that
occurred after a serious brown-out/ gremlin activity closed down the
mail-list which had prompted the necessity of re-building/ re- greeting and
re-posting of community members .
Silence is a complex, - and I guess it is as materiality nuanced as
"voice" - as a person who is rarely verbally silent, but who does not often
participate textually to this mail-list - I find it quite difficult to
locate the appropriate band-width whre my responses will get some up-take.
so far - I've missed, often feeling a bit foolish, rolled over, thinking,
hmmm, I gotta get a better handle on the XCMA dialect over there.... its a
cultural thing, perhaps -
I am also astounded by the sheer volume of output by some high-end members,
and the speed with whch topics get distributed / dis-seminated - some
folks certainly have a huge repertoire to draw upon,
I appreciate the discourse on silence - and I think it is productive.
kathryn
>This line of discussion has been particularly interesting for me. I
>suppose I would be what Eva has called a silent participant to this list.
>I have been a subsriber for four and a half years and have contributed only
>one or two times. I would argue, however, that I have been actively
>participating. It depends on your definition of participation. My
>research focuses on participation in classrooms, specifically on changing
>participation. I pay particular attention to overhearer participation and
>the consequences of "primary" interaction on overhearers and visa versa and
>have found that this participant role is very active indeed. It's
>interesting that I am finding myself in the role of overhearer on this
>list.
>
>My participation looks something like this. I read over the list postings
>in my inbox everyday, perusing topics and names of contributors as I make
>my decision about what to read. There are some people's postings I will
>always read and others I will not. If my work is particularly demanding, I
>may skip certain lines of discussion and follow others. I often grow tired
>of the more argumentative lines, particularly the ones that seem to be more
>about insult than inquiry or theory building. I always appreciate Mike's
>mediation during these times. I sometimes forward postings to colleagues
>whose research might benefit, they usually like that and sometimes end up
>as subscribers themselves. I save certain postings that are important to
>me personally or that are relevant to my research. I always learn
>something.
>
>Regarding safety. I can tell you that I am always nervous contributing,
>getting butterflies as I push the send button. I'm not sure if this is
>related to safety. I do worry that something I say will end up in one of
>those argument lines that I don't like. I'm intimidated, sometimes, when I
>think of who might be reading my words. I think that as I grow as a
>researcher and scholar, as my participation in the academic community
>changes, this fear will subside.
>
>Joanne
>
>Joanne Larson
>Box 270425 Dewey Hall
>Warner Graduate School of Education
>University of Rochester
>Rochester, NY 14627
>office: (716) 275-0900
>fax: (716)473-7598
>e-mail: joln who-is-at troi.cc.rochester.edu
"Science does not vanquish mystery" - Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Annie Dillard.
*****************************
Kathryn Alexander, email ...... kalexand who-is-at sfu.ca
Doctoral Candidate, FAX .........(604) 291 - 3203
Faculty of Education, SFU(message).....(604) 291- 3395
Simon Fraser University,
Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6