Post – Structuralism:
After my initial tutorial with Kelly, she suggested I research Post-structuralist thinkers and particularly the material turn, as my concepts aligned with the materialist thinkers.
So, from what I can understand, Structuralism acknowledges a fixed real word – a system through which meaning is constructed. Therefore, dealing with all forms of communicative systems.
Post-structuralists challenge this notion of reality and believe that meanings are always shifting (not static). Focusing on the “polysemic nature of media artefacts’, they believe that the meaning is dependant on both the creator and the audience. Is it ever possible to arrive at a definitive interpretation of a piece of media?
Challenging institutionalised ways of thinking and examining the malleability of human existence as opposed to structured social categories. The ultimate goal of these thinkers was to return agency to the subject, whilst recognising the ongoing power of institutional power structures.
The Material Turn:
Furthermore, I need to understand the Material turn and Materiality, which is the roles that objects play in human action / the role of artefacts in social sciences. Examining how material forces affect everyday life.
This is a primarily methodological approach that contrasts itself to the dualist view – this is firmly rooted in the way I think and aligns well with my practice-based approach of working.
It emerged in the nineties, precisely because materiality and the modes of existence of things were questioned by the digitalisation of societies and organisations – Van Dijk, J. (2012). The network society. Sage Publications.
Further things to think about:
Different meanings to material? 1) An object based approach 2) Sensory approach 3) Phenomenology – embodiment perspectives of the lived body
Concerning agency: the disembodiment of agency – Hayles, N. K. (1999, 2008). How we became posthuman: Virtual bodies in cybernetics, literature, and informatics. University of Chicago Press.
Thinking beyond the linguistic and representational -looking at performativity and ethnography – performance studies and affect studies
A shift to do with embodiment where the focus is on the non-representational, the living and acting bodies that are not restricted by materiality
Materiality and new media (new media creates new practices)
Understanding of the current human condition. Redefinition of the human and of what constitutes the human
Material approach – way of thinking about the non-verbal
Objects are central to our everyday lives – what do these objects materialise? Objects have agency – the way in which material projects affect
Materials (Eg Smartphone) can be a route into understanding social change.
Ethnography as a type of material methodology – observing how people interact with these objects in practice
Points of discussion for next tutorial with Kelly:
My overall argument is that online iterations of self are a dimension of our own being.
In what way would I word this? In terms of materiality..
Do I need more contemporary sources of research? Also still need to refine my Literature Review to deal with one key thinker, can include some elements of others, however due to the length of my thesis, can’t include too many as they will contrast.