Beyond New Media: Discourse and Critique in a Polymediated Age

226 Pages·2014·1.39 MB·English

by  Art Herbig (ed.)

Beyond New Media
Studies in New Media
Series Editor: John Allen Hendricks, Stephen
F. Austin State University
Thisseriesaimstoadvancethetheoreticalandpracticalunderstandingoftheemergence,
adoption, and influence of new technologies. It provides a venue to explore how New
Mediatechnologiesarechangingthemedialandscapeinthetwenty-firstcentury.
TitlesintheSeries
TheTwenty-First-CenturyMediaIndustry:EconomicandManagerialImplicationsinthe
AgeofNewMedia,editedbyJohnAllenHendricks
Blogging:HowOurPrivateThoughtsWentPublic,KristinRoeschenthalerWolfe
BeyondNewMedia:DiscourseandCritiqueinaPolymediatedAge,editedbyArtHerbig,
AndrewF.Herrmann,andAdamW.Tyma
Beyond New Media
Discourse and Critique in a
Polymediated Age
Edited by Art Herbig, Andrew F. Herrmann,
and Adam W. Tyma
LEXINGTONBOOKS
Lanham•Boulder•NewYork•London
PublishedbyLexingtonBooks
AnimprintofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc.
4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706
www.rowman.com
UnitA,WhitacreMews,26-34StannaryStreet,LondonSE114AB
Copyright©2015byLexingtonBooks
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems,
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote
passagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Discourseandcritiqueinapolymediatedage/editedbyArtHerbig,AndrewF.Herrmann,and
AdamW.Tyma.
pagescm.—(Studiesinnewmedia)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-7391-9102-6(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN978-0-7391-9103-3(ebook)
1.Massmediaandlanguage.2.Massmedia—Socialaspects.3.Discourseanalysis.4.Communica-
tionanalysis.I.Herbig,Art,1977-editor.II.Herrmann,AndrewF.,1966-editor.III.Tyma,Adam
W.,1973-editor.
P96.L34D582015
302.23—dc23
2014036679
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction:TheBeginnings:#WeNeedaWord ix
1 Iamyouandyouareweandweareall...me?:Understanding
Mediaand/asContext(TheRoadtoPolymediation) 1
AdamW.Tyma
2 Polymediation:TheRelationshipbetweenSelfandMedia 15
MichelleCalka
3 RhetoricandPolymediation:UsingFragmentstoUnderstand
theRelationshipbetween“Text”andDiscourse 31
ArtHerbig
4 Communicating,Sensemaking,and(Dis)Organizing:An
ExistentialPhenomenologicalFrameworkforPolymediating 61
AndrewF.Herrmann
5 Ipsedixitism,Ipseity,andIpsilateralIdentity:TheFearof
FindingOurselvesinCatfish 83
JimmieManning
6 Polyreality 109
RobertAndrewDunn
7 HashtaggingFeminism:TetradicPolymediatedActivism 125
DanielleM.SternandChelseaHenderson
8 TechnologyasEngagement:HowWeLearnandTeachwhile
PolymediatingtheClassroom 143
KathyJ.Denker,AndrewF.Herrmann,andMichaelD.D.
Willits
v
vi Contents
Conclusion:ConcludingaBookandOpeningaDiscourse 163
ArtHerbig,AndrewF.Herrmann,andAdamW.Tyma
Bibliography 169
Index 191
AbouttheContributors 197
Acknowledgments
AlthoughonlytheA3arenamed(Art,Andrew,&Adam)onthecover,itisa
mistake to believe that this book is our production alone. There were many
individuals,groups,andorganizationsthatmadetheconversationsthatledto
thisbookpossible.
First and foremost on the list: Megan M. Gillette (née Wood), who was
instrumentalinourongoingconversationsduringthe#WeNeedaWordpanels
andontheFacebookdiscussionsthatfollowed.Wealsowanttothankherfor
allowing usto quoteher posts.Weasked her to write achapter,but she had
tofinishherMA.(Nextbook,ok?)
Thanksalsotothemembers,officers,andvolunteersoftheCentralStates
Communication Association,our “homebase”fortheconversations that led
tothistext.TheofficersandvolunteersforCSCA’sCommunicationTheory,
Popular Culture, and Media Studies interest groups, who gave us the oppor-
tunitytopresentourhalf-bakedandhalf-formedideas.Includedamongstthis
finetroupeare:AhmetAtay,ChristineBeck,MichaelBurns,LeahE.Bryant,
Kathie Cesa, Sara Drabik, Jennifer C. Dunn, Chad Edwards, Em Griffin,
Lance Lippert, David McMahan, Michaela D. E. Meyer, Sandy Pensoneau-
Conway, Patric Spence, Sarah Steimel, Shawn Wahl, and Stephanie Young.
Wewouldalsoliketothankeveryonewhoparticipatedinthecreationofthis
bookincludingthepanelaudiencemembersthatkeptpushingusforward,the
contributors,AlisonPavan,andJohnAllenHendricks.
I(Andrew)wouldliketoacknowledgethesupportofthefollowingwon-
derful people, who continue to help me make the best of my thinking and
writing.Sharingideaswithyoumakesthisacademiclifeworthliving:Tony
E.Adams,Kristen(#bestroomieever)DiFate,BobKrizek,DougalMacrorie,
Art Bochner, Eric Eisenberg, Carolyn Ellis, Paaige Turner, Rob Anderson,
Charles Guignon, and Chris Poulos. To my students, who let me bounce
vii
viii Acknowledgments
ideas off of them, particularly Andrea #SF Hughes, Jeni Hunniecutt, and
Annalee Tull. Undying thanks to my Communication Studies colleagues at
ETSU: Amber Kinser, Wesley Buerkle, Kelly Dorgan, and Carrie Oliviera,
whose support is nonstop. Amber Osbourne (aka MissDestructo): proud of
you!Feo,Tobi,Marnie,DruandtheentireSBCrew:Imissyouguys.Love
toMom,Charlie,Amy,andtheotherHerrmannmen(Fred,JimandGarrett).
Like Andrew, I (Art) am surrounded by kind and generous people who
continue to challenge and support me. The list begins with my partner Alix
Watsonwhodealswiththeday-to-daycrazinessofsomeonewhoisconstant-
lyworkingonlongtermprojects.Iamveryluckytohavethesupportofmy
parents Art and Pat as well as my brother Scott. Over the years, I have had
the good fortune to come under the tutelage of some wonderful scholars
including Robert N. Gaines, Rob Anderson, Steven Combs, Bob Krizek,
Paaige Turner, Dean Scheibel, James F. Klumpp, and Trevor Parry-Giles. I
alsohavethegoodfortuneofsomewonderfulcolleaguesatIPFWaswellas
adepartmentchair,MarciaDixson,whoalwaystriestofindawayformeto
getmyworkdone.
For me (Adam), this could not have been done without the support of
Elizabeth Nelson (my wife), who puts up with far more than I think she
thought she signed on for. Being in the house with someone who decided
“eh, why not a book?” was a good idea cannot be easy, and for everything
she has done and more, “thank you.” To my co-conspirators in this project
(both editing and authorship), you all are some of the most amazing, intelli-
gent, and awe-inspiring people I know. I am beyond lucky to have fallen in
with the likes of you, and this could not have been done without the collec-
tiveinsanitythisprojecthasbroughtabout.Ineedtospeaktothesupportof
mydepartment—UniversityofNebraskaatOmaha’sSchoolofCommunica-
tion—fortakingachanceonmeandallowingtheflexibilitytheydowiththe
projects I take on. They have embraced this and many of my other “more
interesting” ideas, supporting me along the way. I also have been trained,
coached, taught, sat down, and challenged by some of the best. To Deanna
Sellnow,AnnBurnett,EdwardSchiappa,MaryVavrus,andmanyothersthat
Idonothavetheroomforhere—thankyou.IhopeIamdoingtheworkyou
hadinmind.Tomyfriendsandfamily(fromthehomeland—Minnesota—to
the new stomping grounds in Nebraska), thank you all—for everything.
CheersandNasDrovia—Adam.
Introduction
The Beginnings: #WeNeedaWord
Warning:Wewroteandeditedthefollowingintroductionasweparticipatedin
our onlineconversations. The voice within this introduction will change,de-
pendingonwhowrotewhatpart.Weoftdisagree.Thatisintentional,andwe
hope it allows you, the reader, into a conversation that has been happening
betweenussince2012.—A3
Tryingtounderstandthecontemporarymedialandscapeisfraughtwithdivi-
sive arguments, overly generalized theories, and numerous dead ends. It is
not so much that we don’t understand how technology and contemporary
media work. We do, as do most of our peers, students, colleagues, families,
friends, and mostly likely you, the reader as well. For example, the editors
arecurrentlyworkingonthisintroductionasasharedfileinGoogleDocs.In
theprocessofwritingandeditingthisbook,wehaveusedFacebookmessag-
ing,Twitter,e-mail,videoconferencing,andold-fashionedface-to-facemeet-
ings. Like so many others in our contemporary mediated environment, we
areembeddedwithandusethetechnologicaltoolsthatcomeavailabletous.
So what’stheproblem? Changesin howwecommunicateprovide uswith a
varietyofopportunitiesandchallengesthatneedtobeconfronted,particular-
lyhowwetalkaboutandthereforethinkaboutmediaitself.
Let’s start with a seemingly simple example: the profiles in which we
live. I (Andrew) am currently working on this introduction in Google Docs
on my MacBook Pro. This is connected to my Google+ Profile, although I
don’t really use Google+, but I do use GMail, and therefore was basically
forcedbyGoogletohaveGoogle+(Whateverhappenedto“Don’tbeevil?”).
Simultaneously,Art,Adam,andIwerevideoconferencingviaGoogleHang-
outs, while constructing parts of this introduction. At the same time on my
ix