Hey, all----
Following up on Jude's post . . .
It strikes me that sometimes 'dancing on the limbs' takes place, to push
the metaphor, on a somewhat traditional dance floor, just with new music.
Errrr, don't guess there are limbs on a dance floor-----anyway. What I
mean, ultimately, is this: It may well be possible to do the sort of
creative project Jude seeks to complete by following at least part of the
traditional route, and sometimes being willing to jump in that way gives
you all the more freedom to do groovy things.
An example. I elected to do PhD work at Michigan, and that involved taking
three very specific risks: (1) that many computers and writing scholars
who were there were leaving (Becky Rickly, Barbara Monroe, etc), leaving me
a little more unsure about who I'd work with than otherwise might be true,
(2) that no possible mentor was known as a computers and writing scholar
primarily, and (3) that people would think the degree (English and
Education) was English Education instead of the joint program it is, when
time for the job market came. Things not only worked out on all counts, at
the end, but I was extremely happy with the choice. Anne Ruggles Gere
ended up being my dissertation chair for a project about the cyborg figure
of all things, and she was wonderful in offering responses early and often
and in mentoring me through the process----people would have no way of
knowing how amazingly she thinks about computers and writing issues by
looking at a professional summary or something, but she's great and has a
lot of experience with hands-on work. My other committee members: an
English Education scholar who does discourse analysis primarily, two
computers and writing readers, and a British Romanticist.
My point, finally, is that I'd have had no way of knowing what a great
group of people the committee was, if I'd not have given them a chance.
The problem, of course, is that such a plan can also get nasty, if
committee members aren't nice, but I think it's worth a try in talking with
possible readers to see what they do and think about technology------my
experience says that sometimes you get a nice surprise, especially if you
think broadly about who might be good readers.
It strikes me too that projects like Jude's that seek to push the bounds
may find more freedom in working with people at the degree-seeking
university. I'm an outside reader on several committees now, and I've been
working very hard to support the writers and encourage them to do groovy
things, but my role, from the outside, is more limited than it would be if
I was a resident faculty member at any of the institutions. I can't say
"Take a chance" or "Break the rules" because I'm not intimately involved in
the academic scenes in which those rules were and are crafted. The chairs
of these committees, though, can make much stronger arguments to support
their students' creativity-----they know the context, the know the history,
and they can operate with significant leverage.
And, finally, maybe there's a middle ground sometimes in 'dancing on the
limbs'------why not, for instance, (Jude, I hope it's ok that I'm using
your experience to make these points----you've really expressed it well,
and everyone's seen it recently, so I thought it a natural) do a mixed
media project, where some components are hypertextual and others are more
traditional and linear? The mix would probably be cool, first of all, but
also would allow an entry into both hypertextual and print publishing so
that, no matter where the future goes, the writer would be ready and would
have work of consequence prepared.
Anyway, some ideas for the mix . . . . . .
James
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