The Changing Spaces of Reading and Writing

When East Meets West – Technology

by Lindsey Martin

When East Meets West, originally uploaded by CiaoChessa.

Hello,

My name is Lindsey Martin and I chose this photo because I believe it demonstrates the idea that new technologies change communities and cultures. The course thus far has indicated that some cultures use new technologies while others choose not to. I find this photo to be indicating the balance of power that some of the readings have shown. New technologies create a shift in the balance of power and I believe the image, in an almost ironic sense, shows this. The two men, who are clearly traditional in their culture, using cameras could indicate that new technologies will have an effect on how we live and changes how we see our world and community.

I am a secondary school teacher in Surrey, BC and have been teaching for five years. I primarily teach social studies and history. My interest in this course initially was the idea of looking at technology and writing in a new way. I have always looked at technology and writing in a very broad sense and I am now excited to look at it from all different vantage points. I am also excited to use all this “new technology” in my teaching practice and hope that I can become a better educator through this course and the MET program. This is my first course in the MET program and so far it has been intellectually stimulating! I look forward to working and getting to know all of you!

1 comment


1 Svetlana Gibson { 09.12.09 at 2:27 pm }

I enjoyed the picture, but approached it from a bit of a different angle (no camera pun intended) – the title, which I recognize was not selected by you Lindsey, but by the original photographer – smacks of orientalism. It suggests a paternalistic view of other cultures – that their adoption of technologies always must follow a western pattern. When in fact most Asian countries experience far more rapid and wide spread technology adoption. Many of the high technologies that we recognize in the west were originally designed in Asian countries. In my experience working in China, we are at least five years behind their common technology.

I also wanted to comment on the change technology brings to culture – I would suggest that technologies probably have a larger impact on western consumer civilization than on a tradition that has weathered over a thousand years of technological change without succumbing to it. Not to say that Bhuddist tradition does not incorporate new technology – I think that is clear from the picture that it does – but it seems to me that they are more likely to use it as a tool rather than a end in itself.

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