I remembered the first lecture of Self. Net identity in the digital age, once our lecturer Franco talked about the concept of cyborg, I was confused, and then she further illustrated that we are all cyborg now, I was totally lost! We are cyborg now? At first, cyborg to me is something wired and just like a freak, a combination of human and robot, however, after the 12 weeks lectures, I started to realize why we, human define as a cyborg.
According to Dr. Donna Haraway, “A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction. Social reality is lived social relations, our most important political construction, a world-changing fiction.” (Haraway 150). The concept of cyborg from Dr. Haraway is much more complex than mine assumption that I have mentioned before. When I read to a phrase “a hybrid of machine and organism”, I immediately think about my mobile phone, I bet most of you would bring along with your own mobile phone all the time. Another example is, before I start to do my essay or the reflective post that I am now doing, I will do research by Goolge or Yahoo, though these search engine, I could get much information as I can, interestingly, we are no longer submit a hand writing assignment anymore, we should or must to submit a typed-style assignment. What are these means to us? According to a study by Johansson and Borovic which is about how cyberspace is used in everyday interaction. “Preliminary results indicate that the virtual and the real do become one reality; that access to the technology creates a feeling of freedom, and; that the technology affords new kinds of opportunities to social relations as well as to knowledge development. But also, that traditional stereotypes remain”. (Hernwall Are We All Cyborgs? - a Presentation of the Research Project Virtual Society). This research had shown us, we cannot live without technology because we and technology had already combined with each other.
In this unit, I like the topic of “identity” (from week 5) and “work and play” (from week 11). In week 5 lecture, webcam to me is only a tool for us to have a visual communication in Internet, it just only for fun and for convenience, however, it was totally another thing. “When Jenni sits at her computer, however, one has the sense that she has plugged her body into the machine and is connected to the mechanics of her equipment. The image of Jenni as her computer becomes an icon for that fusion, with her flesh melting into her keyboard.” (Eileen and Adam 290). Jennicam is not only for some trivial reason and she is definitely not only an object that but a subject as well. This action had also redefined the words of voyeur, that she anticipates and invites the gaze of the world into her bedroom and she could be the viewee and viewer as well which I think it is the most interesting lecture in the whole unit.
The other lecture- work and play was a very inspired topic for me, work with flexibility is the ideal thing for everyone, our life no longer need to constructed by the working timetable and managed our work more flexible, well, it sounds so ideal and prefect to everyone, but it actually could reinforce the gender role (esp. for female). According to the reading, “for women, the home has so often been the very site of their labour, whether as home “makers” or in the case of the working woman’s “second shift”(Meliss 286). The so-called ideal method for female is actually can gives the dual responsibilities of them. It reminds me that, we could not be so naïve, media could shape our mind and thoughts, we got to have a critical mind in other to think independently and judge thing by ourselves.
Well, it is a brand new experience for me to using a weblog for academic used. In my previous experience, i used to type my diary on Internet, it is so personal unlike this weblog. However, i kinda like this idea somehow, not only it had provide us an other method for us to "submit our assignment", but it also provided a platform us for us to express our thoughts on the unit and those presentations that we have made on every thursday, this is really a rare opportunity to me to let my opinion supposed is in academic way to turn into a more relax way, just like a sharing with the other bloggers, therefore, i will treasures this chance and re-think the means of weblog, not only in a personal-used but also could be an academic-used!!
The above are just some of my reflection after the course and I feel so lucky that I could have an opportunity to take this course because it not only taught me some theories about the cyborg but also let me know more about the issues that I may never noticed it and provided me a chance to re-think it which I think is the most important thing!
Reference
Gregg, Melissa. The Normalisation of Flexible Female Labor in the Information Economy. Feminist Media Studies, 2008. Print.
Green, Eileen, and Alison Adam. "A Camera with a View: JenniCAM, Visual Representation and Cyborg Subjectivity." Virtual Gender: Technology, Consumption, and Identity. London: Routledge, 2001. 290. Print.
Haraway, Donna Jeanne. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century." Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: the Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge, 1991. 150. Print.
Hernwall, Patrik. Are We All Cyborgs? – a Presentation of the Research Project Virtual Society. Rep. Department of Education, Stockholm University. Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
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