So this kind of goes along with part 1 of my midterm posts, but I think it is a fascinating idea. On the first day that we were discussing "Moby Dick," Dr. Wickman talked about how a novel is the connection between human and nature because a novel deals with characters who change, grow, and develop over time. In "Moby Dick" we see Ishmael's growth as he is directly in nature. We see his growth in knowledge of whaling through chapters like Cetology, and we see his growth as a person through his interactions with Queequeg. This narrative of a whale hunt shows that Ahab and the shipmates of the Pequod are trying to master the grandest of all things of nature. In this sense, Digital Culture and digital literacy are sort of like the "white whale" of our time. There are people everywhere who are like Ahab in a way: constantly on the up and up of digital literacy, and there are people like Ishmael (and me) who are simply trying to learn as much as possible along the way. But will we be able to overcome this digital literacy machine? In the end of the novel, Moby Dick wins and their entire voyage was for nothing but a story. Will our digital literacy be nothing but a story in the end? Or will we be able to overcome it?
Sorry that this is kind of scattered! It just helps me to spill everything that is in my mind, and then I try to make sense out of it. So basically, I want to write about how by becoming more like Ishmael, and learning as we go, we will survive in the end. But if we become obsessed like Ahab and let the digital world completely encompass the real world, we will lose in the end. What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for how to narrow/deepen this idea?
I like this idea, I have been thinking about heading in sort of similar directions. I think some good ways to narrow it might be looking at specific realms within digital literacy learning, and showing how one can get swamped (or addicted, etc.) by trying to go to far too fast in that particular field, which would be similar to Ahab. I think maybe just narrow down to one subject or two.
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts here. I had an impulse reaction to your phrase "nothing but a story." My philosophy of life is that it's the stories we experience that matter, more than the binary yes/no accomplished/didn't-accomplish of our goal-seeking. So "just a story" is actually pretty meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it in terms of digital tools, I think you make a really smart comparison. Trying to learn everything one can about digital technologies may result in losing sight of what those technologies were meant to do in the first place: help us in our analog lives. But an argument can also be made for life not being as meaningful without having passionate, Ahabian goals. So it's a tricky balance.