Hello, my name is Marlis Enders. I am a high school math/science teacher who is currently working on-call in the Parksville/Qualicum school district on Vancouver Island. I have chosen to share the current contents of my everyday bag/purse, and attempt to describe their importance/relevance.
As you can see from the attached photo, my bag carries many random collections. I am someone who likes to be prepared, and I hate to throw something out if it can be useful, so I usually have a wide assortment of collected items. The specific contents vary over time, but the items pictured here are pretty much the ones I carry consistently. Most are for convenience, but there are three vital items…
- Wallet – where I carry my credit/bank cards, drivers license, and other vital cards. This item is very important because it carries my financial information/access and my identification. It is highly sensitive information that can be seriously abused if accessed by the wrong individuals, and thus I keep these cards in a wallet that blocks machines from scanning and accessing the information.
In terms of ‘text’, the cards in my wallet are devices of communication and access to a database which holds my financial and identity information. The technology used to store this information is increasingly updated to be more secure and inaccessible to all but those who are authorized. The fact that the information has to be encrypted and held in a shielding wallet says that I am a cautious person, and that I live in a culture/society where certain individuals may prey upon those who are less wary and use the information gathered nefariously to their own gain.
2. Keys – Again, a vital item because without them, I am unable to gain access to my vehicle or my house. There are several keys that I have kept on the chain that are no longer needed or useful, but being the procrastinator and minor hoarder that I am, I still hold on to them.
The keys can be loosely considered to be ‘text’ because they allow access and ability to journey to another place just as textual communication allows one access to the thoughts and ideas of others, and allows us to journey to other places as presented by another person’s perspective. The cultural implications may also indicate that locking one’s house is a necessity to protect one’s possessions from being taken.
3. The third most important thing in my bag is my digital device. I hesitate to call it my ‘phone’ (although that is how I labelled it in the picture), because it has so many other functions. As a communication device, it uses written text, visual graphics, and oral/audio modalities. It uses text as communication (text messaging my husband), as entertainment (reading a story on Facebook), and as information storage (my shopping list). It holds my loyalty card barcodes so that I don’t have to carry more plastic cards than necessary. I can use it to gain access to different venues by showing my ticket barcode on the screen (and now it holds my proof of vaccination). I use it to hold my calendar appointments so I know where to be at what time. It is an interesting example of how text communication has changed over the years, where writing messages and communicating has gotten increasingly abbreviated and graphic (with emojis) allowing easier expression of emotions and tone through written communications. If I lost this device, I would be devastated since I depend on it for so many functions.
The other items in my bag show different aspects of my personality:
The bandaids, extra napkins, wipes, and extra chargers show my desire to be prepared. I hate to throw things out if they’re useful, so if a restaurant gives me extra napkins that I didn’t use, I’ll save them. I also tend to impulse buy if I see something that I forget I already have – thus the multiple wipes packages.
The ‘cash pouch’ is a souvenir from one of our travels. Not used much since I don’t use cash very much. It can be considered text because it communicates a memory, as well as the writing and colours indicating the country of origin.
The cheque-book is a ‘promisory note’ of sorts. Not used much now, but an example of text as ‘living authority’ as presented in section 1.5, where the recipient has the authority to withdraw a certain amount of funds.
The admission ticket from the museum (an artifact from a recent trip to Victoria) is similarly a ‘living authority’ that grants access to the museum and the history communicated within. It serves no purpose after the fact, but I haven’t gotten around to disposing of it. The same thing with the receipts, they communicate textually the contract of purchase of random items, and provide proof of that purchase, but serve no other purpose after the fact. The restaurant menu is something I can refer to in the future if I want to order from the same place again. A way to remind me of a pleasant meal that can be repeated.
The multiple pens/pencils are a method to produce text, tools to convey the messages.
Of course, the mask is an indication of the current times where everyone is required to where masks to curb the pandemic.
The piccolo is not something I regularly carry in my bag, but I wanted to include it as a representation of my interests, and text in another form. I play in a community concert band, and as such, it is necessary to read text of a different sort – musical notes. Music is a language of its own, with each composition conveying a message that can be interpreted differently by each person reading and playing it. Culturally, the music I play reflects the interests of the local society, but I have also experienced and played music from other cultures and it is interesting to compare the similarities and differences.
Text Technologies
The ‘text technologies’ would be primarily the cellular device which is my primary communication device. However, the printed papers are all products of digital technologies where a computer has designed and and sent the information to a physical printer that interpreted the digital message into a graphic image. The cellular device is the primary mode of communication, but the pens/pencils also indicate my adherence and preference for written text at times. There are times when a digital message is not appropriate or practical, so a hand-written message is necessary. At times, there is also a small notepad in my bag as well.
Literacies
The bank cards and cheque-book indicate financial literacy. The modern cellular device indicate digital literacy, (which can be further studied by looking at the various apps downloaded and used), the museum ticket indicates historical literacy, the piccolo indicates musical literacy.
Narrative
Outwardly, I try to present myself as a well-organized person who is well prepared and on top of things. Looking at the contents of my bag (and the bag itself), I try to keep it organized – there are multiple pockets and I try to compartmentalize things to find them easily. However, life is not always organized and tidy, and my bag needs to be continually sorted and re-organized and purged.
25 years ago…
There might have been a cellular phone, but it would be much larger and less functional (and more expensive to use). The sunglasses would be different since these are clip-ons for my prescription glasses, and I didn’t wear glasses back then.
There wouldn’t have been a mask, and not as much sanitizer.
There would be more cash, and less credit-cards.
The car-keys wouldn’t have the remote fob functions, they would be more basic.
Archeological Perspective
I think the main things of note would be the type and functions of the cellular device – how much will communication technology change 50 or 100 years from now? Will there be much of an alphabet, or will text be more graphic? Will there be a need for extra chargers, or will battery technology be so advanced that phones will never need to be charged? Also, the presence of cash (or the form of cash) might be an interesting note for archeologists. The ratio of cash to plastic currency could show some insight into the transition to a cash-less society. Instruments haven’t changed too much in their overall design, but the materials used to build them, and the precision of the designs have improved, so it would be interesting to see how music will change. Will there be any live players anymore, or will music all be produced synthetically and digitally? Time will only tell.
Marlis,
I really enjoyed your post. In reading it, I kept returning to the word ‘bridge.’ I see a theme in your items. A bridge between non-digital text and the moving toward digital.
The loyalty cards, I imagine are to local businesses, because they may not have online loyalty readily available to them yet (this is assumptive – I know). I see the evolution of keys and access, you have traditional keys and I’m sure you have digital too (access to your phone, login to websites…). The evolution of text in the form of money is also apparent as you move from a change pouch (that isn’t often used) to cards ( I assume some have chips) and you may even have online banking in your phone where you can e-transfer and pay for things digitally. Finally, I see the traditional form of note taking and the digital within your phone. You cover I wide range of ‘bridges’ in you bag and I think it’s fascinating. Similar to a living digital timeline.
I’m interested in the ‘bridges’ we all have. The traditional, in case we need it, and the new, because we definitely need it. We move in the world decoding which texts are called for in any situation and I imagine, when we look closely, the items in out bags will reflect this.
Hi Grace, thank you for your interesting thoughts – the idea of old technologies bridging over to the new is something that hadn’t occurred to me, but I totally agree with what you’re saying. We tend to hold on to old technologies because they are familiar and easier to use. The new technologies may simplify some things and make them more convenient but there is a learning curve so until we are completely comfortable with the transition, we need the ‘bridge’. In some cases, it might also be a matter of a ‘backup’ system. For example, my car has keyless entry, but there is a concrete key to get into the car as well in case the battery fails. If the chip in the credit card fails, one can insert it into the pinpad with their code, or if everything else fails, the number can be entered manually. I can see that there will always be bridges between new and old technology – but what is considered ‘new’ will soon be ‘old’ as something else is developed to replace it.