HASTAC Book Club

Welcome to the first HASTAC book club! Anyone is welcome to register on hastac.org and participate in the discussion. We are starting with the very recent, and very provocative, book by Jaron Lanier (http://www.jaronlanier.com/): You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto. The book spurred some interesting articles, including Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2239466/), New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/books/15book.html), LA Times (http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/10/entertainment/la-ca-jaron-lanier10-2010jan10), the Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/you-are-not-a-gadget-by-jaron-lanier-1889479.html) and Contagious Magazine (http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/2010/02/jaron_lanier.php). A podcasted interview with him can be heard here (http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail4373.html).

·      How can we historically situate both Lanier, as kind of Internet ‘pioneer,’ as well as this book? What is the history of both Lanier’s suggestions, as well as his criticisms?

·      What kinds of new subject positions or identities is Lanier suggesting we strive toward, or abandon, or change? What does it mean to be a ‘nonperson’?

·      In Lanier’s proposal for “a new digital humanism,” how is he reacting and responding to other thinkers, and in which ways is he directly building or challenging their ideas?

·      What do you think of Lanier's point that the de-emphasis on creative intellectual property and the rise of the epiphenomenon has resulted not in a softening of sentiment, as might be one intuition (why, after all, would a fan of a remade mashup of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine be more of a fan than one of the original members of the boy crazy crowds from half a century ago?), but instead a heightening of it?

·      Does it make sense to consider this book as a manifesto, and if so, what are the politics around a new media manifesto? What is the call to action?

·      In suggesting "a new digital humanism," is Lanier also advocating new forms of literacies or skills for our society? If so, what kinds of literacies or skills is he saying are needed to navigate this 21st century participatory culture?

·      Lanier's book has undoubtedly pushed a lot of buttons in various places. In stating that ours is "a culture of reaction without action" with a "hive mind" that leads to a dumb crowd, rather than a wise crowd, how do we reconcile that with a massive number of people, scholars, and communities that are actually active and proactive about generating critical thought in the age of social media, and in utilizing collaborative practices for good and critical means? 

·      Lanier writes that "we had instead entered a persistent somnolence, and I have come to believe that we will only escape it when we kill the hive." How effective is this argument? What might be the implications, or what is he trying to spur? How do Lanier's ideas compare or contend with, say, Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs or The New London Group's multiliteracies? 

·      Is multiliteracies really doomed in this great hive? 

·      Do you say 'yes' or 'no' to the noosphere? And what does it mean to do so?  

·      From the Contagious Magazine interview, what do you think about Lanier’s questions, and his answers, or how would you answer differently? i.e. Does fixing your personality via Facebook affect development? Does following Amazon recommendations push us more towards being a member of a demographic and away from being an individual? Does Wikipedia seek to assert a universal truth when there should be multiple points of view avaliable? And do anonymous comments encourage mob behaviour?

Click here to view the forum.