freeway-mediatiing-tools & others

From: IRAJ IMAM (iimam@cal-research.org)
Date: Tue Jun 22 2004 - 14:41:36 PDT


Sorry for the delayed and choppy response.

Thank you:
Jay for your thoughtful, resourceful, and sympathetic post;

David for sharing Chilean election experience of right wing signs occupying
your urban space; and

Mike for interesting insights on an overall framing of the question
--suggesting a need for 'new analytic and data gathering resources' and 'how
to go beyond noticing.'

I think jay's bringing in concept of counter-hegemonic is quite important
because it deals with interplay of opposing forces. Similarly, bell hooks
suggests: 'the politics of location' necessarily calls those of us who
would participate in the formation of counter-hegemonic cultural practice to
identify the spaces where we begin the process of re-vision."

Like a sudden flame, something that did not exist before becomes real (in
physical and in imagined realities) and sets in motion a new force. It is
this process of setting in motions something new (and opposing) that
motivates me to cross boundaries of spatial theory and seek bridges to CAHT
(Kevin Leander's article was quite inspiring).

Jay wrote "When we add to these discursive effects the contexts of spaces,
places, and media we can appreciate that places and our movement through
them (as well as virtual attentional spaces such as a radio dialogue we may
hear as we drive) are also meaning-making resources of a specialized kind,
and which can be integrated with visual and linguistic signs in a variety of
ways to make special meaning effects... While negotiating multiple
attentional spaces as when driving, having a conversation, listening to the
radio, watching billboards, and answering a cellphone ... is theoretically
interesting."

Not being familiar with 'heteroglossia,' I looked it up and on first
impression looks like Deleuze's concept of 'multiplicity'--an assemblage of
different and conflicting elements coming together in time and space. (this
sounds like our politicians too!) Deleuze also suggests concepts of
'territorialization' (hegemonic), 'deterritorialization' (counter-hegemonic
processes), and 'reterritorialization' to show possible outcome moments in
interplay of forces.

Finally, what attracted me to your CHAT community are your openness,
generosity, and a good sense of intellectual curiosity. You tend to take
each other's words (can not see the gestures!) seriously and respond quickly
to each other in a caring and helpful way (including marginal participants
like me). I share with you theoretical interest in defining counter
hegemonic (deterritorializing) concepts that are able to connect both
imagined and physical realities in our social actions --Hence my interest in
linking critical spatial theory and CHAT.

iraj



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