Social Proof Enhancing Literary Studies

The classroom is a small space with only around fifteen to thirty people bouncing ideas off one another. In the digital age, there is no need to define a text or ideas by what discussion happens in the classroom when there is so much available online to look into and participate in. Traditionally, research is a very solitary thing, combing through books in the library, browsing online journals, and drafting and writing all on a topic that you may not even be sure is relevant or useful to anyone else. This is why developing literary communities that extend beyond the classroom is so important.

 Students should be encouraged to stop making their research and studies such a private activity. The first step to beginning socially optimized research is to find communities, scholars, peers, etc. outside of their classrooms that are talking about the same or similar things. As students discover that what they are discussing in class is being discussed by others also, they will realize that what they are learning is not just for a test or essay, but it is part of a larger conversation that is happening. Circulating ideas and getting feedback helps students to refine their research and helps them to focus on something that is a part of a larger conversation rather than just an essay to turn in at the end of a semester. It is more exciting to students when they know that what they are interacting with a community in discussing literature, rather than be left to feel like what they are studying may be irrelevant or unnecessary.

Everyone has also experienced how ideas are easier to come up with when discussed with others than when just thought through alone. If students are using socially optimized research they no longer have to wonder by themselves, “does this topic matter to anyone else?,” “are others thinking the same thing?,” “are others thinking things in opposition to my ideas?” A simple Tweet, Facebook status update, or Google+ post can start to reveal the answers to these questions from friends and peers. As you start to expand your circle and once you realize that your ideas have some value, question can be posted in groups of people focusing on similar topics and posed to scholars who have authority on the subject.

Any study that stays entirely within the confines of a classroom is not fully teaching its students about the resources available to them. If students are encouraged to find ways to socially optimize their research, they will not only become a part of a community outside their classes and university, but will also find that they improve their research to be more relevant and better executed.