From Media to Mind
Link to Prezi here
I started this assignment as an exploration of Bolter’s discussion of self in Chapter 9. Throughout this course, we have considered the effects of different forms of text on the way that people think. From oral societies, up to the present day, different media have had transformative effects on thought. Bolter suggests that through hypertext and internet media, the self is moving from the Cartesian self to a more fractured postmodern self. I approached this projects with two questions: 1) In oral societies how was self constructed? And 2) How is self being constructed today? I believe I answered both in a rather theoretical based on our prior readings and extra research.
In production, I tried to consider how information is transmitted through multiple forms of media and in nonlinear and fragmented ways. I used Prezi to obtain a non-linear and fragmented feel to the presentation that was interconnected with other sources on the internet. However, I still wanted to keep a narrative, so I used PowToons to present short videos that explained some of the key ideas, issues and my own theory at the end. Finally, I didn’t want the web in this project to feel complete. This is because changes in media continue to change our thinking of the world and a settled description of the self online has really been settled on and rather only theorized. Keeping the idea open to change and improvement based on new information and experiences couples well with my theory of self but also with the theme as a whole.
Image from: https://www.novetta.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/identity_and_internet.jpg
Hi Bryan
I think your Prezi is fabulous!
It does a great job of conveying the fragmented, non-linear feel that you were going for. I’m really impressed with what you did with Powtoons, and I intend to look into it more. Thank you for sharing your ideas about how different forms of media have played a role in our evolving concepts of self and identity. The ideas about how social media affects identity formation are particularly interesting considering how involved some of our students are with social media.