I'm rather late in catching up with the discussions on xmca--
loads of other things
make me find reading and doing xmca-mail a real luxury!). I resonate very
much with what Katherine said in her posting on June 25. Let me try to
organize my thoughts and responses a bit:
(1) On joining in the discussions on xmca:
I resonate a lot with what Katherine pointed out on some of the
constraints on people who may want to respond to xmca discussions. In CA
(Conversation Analysis) terms, it's difficult to do "recipient design"
when writing on electronic networks. Academic conference receptions
(in Gordon's analogy), perhaps are easier in this respect, though in general,
still, a lot of RISK is involved every time one wants to make an effort to
reach out to others, to join in a (discourse) community, especially
without a familiar person as a lead-in person or introducer. I don't know
if this is also generally true in Western culture, I find that in my own
culture (Chinese), it's rather difficult to become even an LPP (Legitimate
Peripheral Participant) in any community without a lead-in person (who's
already a member) who would be kind enough to introduce you to the community.
(2) On personal voice and scientific rigor:
Like Katherine, I would also like to see some discussions (some in the
past I know, but never quite sustained rigorously) on the current dominant
norms regarding "objectivity" and "scientific voice". Perhaps, there are
refs. on this topic I'm not aware of and you can draw my attention to; and
I'd really like to see a critique of these dominant norms.
There are lots of books and articles which speak with an impersonal voice but
those that have influenced me are often those that speak with a personal
voice, for example, the volume edited by Luke and Gore, Feminisms and Critical
Pedagogy. Do men (and perhaps some women too) tend to be brought up in ways
that train them to suppress their personal voice and to take on some
authoritative, dominant voice in their culture?
(3) On technology and other steretypes:
I also find that women are often stereotyped negatively in many
respects. These stereotypes are often self-fulfilling (i.e., the
self-fulfilling prophecy or the theory effect). In my culture (at least
currently), a young female person is very UNlikely to be perceived as
someone having a Ph.D., whereas a young man is more likely to be perceived
that way in an academic setting. Women wanting to do PH.Ds have to
overcome a lot of obstacles (cultural and material), one of which is
having to develop enough drive and confidence despite what others speak or
think of you.
So much for now, best wishes,
Angel
------------
Angel Lin, Ph.D.
Dept of English
City Univesity of Hong Kong
P.S. Peter, thanks very much for the AERA info.!