The coming of post-reflexive society : a critique of the political economy of digital capitalism

Language is a unique aspect of human communication because it can be used to discuss itself in its own terms. For this reason, human societies potentially have superior capacities of co-ordination, reflexive self-correction, and innovation than other animal, physical or cybernetic systems. However, this analysis also reveals that language is interconnected with the economically and technologically mediated social sphere and hence is vulnerable to abstraction, objectification, reification, and therefore ideology – all of which are antithetical to its reflexive function, whilst paradoxically being a fundamental part of it. In particular, in capitalism, language is increasingly commodified within the social domains created and affected by ubiquitous communication technologies. The advent of the so-called ‘knowledge economy’ implicates exchangeable forms of thought (language) as the fundamental commodities of this emerging system. The historical point at which a ‘knowledge economy’ emerges, then, is the critical point at which thought itself becomes a commodified ‘thing’, and language becomes its “objective” means of exchange. However, the processes by which such commodification and objectification occurs obscures the unique social relations within which these language commodities are produced. The latest economic phase of capitalism – the knowledge economy – and the obfuscating trajectory which accompanies it, we argue, is destroying the reflexive capacity of language particularly through the process of commodification. This can be seen in that the language practices that have emerged in conjunction with digital technologies are increasingly non-reflexive and therefore less capable of self-critical, conscious change.

Heidegger's hippies : a dissenting voice on "the problem of the subject"

This is a deliberately contentious paper about the future of the socio-political sphere in the West based on what we know about its past. I argue that the predominant public discourse in Western countries is best characterised as one of selective forgetfulness; a semi-blissful, amnesiacal state of collective dementia that manifests itself in symbolic idealism: informationalism. Informationalism is merely the latest form of idealism. It is a lot like religion insofar as it causally relates abstract concepts with reality and, consequently, becomes confused between the two. Historically, this has proven to be a dangerous state of affairs, especially when elites becomes confused between ideas about how a society should work, and the way it actually does work. Central to the idealism of the information age, at least in intellectual spheres, is the so called "problem of the subject". I argue that the "problem of the subject" is a largely synthetic, destabilising, and ultimately fruitless theoretical abstraction which turns on a synthetically derived, generalised intradiscursive space; existentialist nihilism; and the theoretical baubles of ontological metaphysics. These philosophical aberrations are, in turn, historically concomitant with especially destructive political and social configurations. This paper sketches a theoretical framework for identity formation which rejects the problem of the subject, and proposes potential resources, sources, and strategies with which to engage the idealism that underpins this obfuscating problematic in an age of turbulent social uncertainty. Quite simply, I turn to history as the source of human identity. While informationalism, like religion, is mostly focused on utopian futures, I assert that history, not the future, holds the solutions for substantive problematics concerning individual and social identities. I argue here that history, language, thought, and identity are indissolubly entangled and so should be understood as such: they are the fundamental parts of 'identities in action'. From this perspective, the ‘problem of the subject’ becomes less a substantive intellectual problematic and more a theoretical red herring.

Widening the context for interdisciplinary social research : SFL as a method for sociology, anthropology, and communication research

In this paper, I show clear links between the theoretical underpinnings of SFL and those of specific sociological, anthropological, and communication research traditions. My purpose in doing so is to argue that SFL is an excellent interdisciplinary research method for the social sciences, especially considering the emergent form of political economy being touted by new media enthusiasts: the so called knowledge (or information) economy. To demonstrate the flexibility and salience of SFL in diverse traditions of social research, and as evidence of its ability to be deployed as a flexible research method across formerly impermeable disciplinary and social boundaries, I use analyses from my doctoral research, relating these - theoretically speaking - to specific research traditions in sociology, communication, and anthropology.

Autopoiesis, language, literacy and the brain

When we attempt to speak about the relationship between language, literacy, and the brain, we find ourselves ill equipped to deal with these conceptually and qualitatively different phenomena. Immediately we must straddle different academic traditions that treat each of these as separate “things”. Broadly speaking, the study of language firstly belongs to the domain of biology, then to anthropology, sociology, and linguistics. At its most functional, a study of literacy education is a study of a particular technology, its diffusion techniques, and the abilities and motivations of people to adopt, or adapt themselves to, this technology. The brain is most commonly studied in the field of neurology, which is also a sub-discipline of biology, biochemistry, and medicine.

The role of academic community in higher learning : Alternatives to a drive-thru education

The purpose of our paper is to illustrate the fundamental importance of developing academic community among first year students. We argue that a sense of academic community is of fundamental importance in combating the effects of the neo-liberal economic discourse on higher education, and that the values of higher education are incongruent with those of economic rationalism. The discursive commodification of the student, and of education itself, works against the formation of community, both within the university environment and in the wider society. We argue that, at present, the dominant discourse shaping the social practice of higher education is that of neo-liberal economics. Community values stand in opposition to the dominant discourse, and are integral to the long-term survival of a socially critical and socially responsive society. We conclude that the importance of establishing a sense of academic community during the first year of university is justified by its ultimate value to society.

Accommodating serendipity in the active studio

This paper presents a series of ongoing experiments to facilitate serendipity in the design studio through a diversity of delivery modes. These experiments are conducted in a second year architectural design studio, and include physical, dramatic and musical performance. The act of designing is always exploratory, always seeking an unknown resolution, and the ability to see and capture the value in the unexpected is a critical aspect of such creative design practice. Engaging with the unexpected is however a difficult ability to develop in students. Just how can a student be schooled in such abilities when the challenge and the context are unforeseeable? How can students be offered meaningful feedback about an issue that cannot be predicted, when feedback comes in the form of extrinsic assessment from a tutor? This project establishes a number of student activities that seek to provide intrinsic feedback from the activity itself. Further to this, the project seeks to heighten student engagement with the project through physical expression and performance: utilising more of the students’ senses than just vision and hearing. Diana Laurillard’s theories of conversational frameworks (2002) are used to interrogate the act of dramatic performance as an act of learning, with particular reference to the serendipitous activities of design. Such interrogation highlights the feedback mechanisms that facilitate intrinsic feedback and fast, if not instantaneous, cycles of learning. The physical act of performance itself provides a learning experience that is not replicable in other modes of delivery. Student feedback data and independent assessment of project outcomes are used to assess the success of this studio model.