It is a transformation of their identities, from drinkil1KJ1on-alcoholics to rion-drmldng alcofiO!ics·, a_�n:::d:_,:lt:.:a::l�le::;c:.:-ts::__. ���-�"--·--�·-'-" ·-----��.�-=---�----���·�� . --how they view and act in the world.
Why does it need to be that way? Why label something that is unnecessary, especially when it will not produce positive result for the individual's identity?
Telling AA personal stories also helps members identify with one another in ways that are harder to document. As a public event, one that is not only observable but material and co-participatory, the telling encompasses body practices, including vocalization, that realize structures of affect and disposition. Not only social theorists, from Durkheim and Mauss to Bourdieu, but any participant in such performances would tell you that the fellow-feeling born in these ceremonies is a powerful means of identification.
The personal story is a force in many directions for the figured world of AA, especially in creating and shaping identity of members.
In the formation of." ne� identity an individual comes, with the social -eiicaiiiagemeni··-�u.d:i�sist�n��-.-�L2r.����,--.. r<itmemrei: the�l.v�ild.. in new ways·, an:d··rcql'osifioii:' llerself and emotionally invest herself in that world. Indlviduals-UoThis through particiPating in -group activities, learning to· produce and enact cultural forms particular to that world, and taking up these forms as devices for mediating their own conception of self and world.
It's important to remember that identity formation is an ongoing process in relation to the figured worlds that a person is participating in.
Often times we think of identity as static - either you have it or you don't - and that it can only be measured through observing practice. I think that this reading is encouraging us to be wary of those assumptions.
I personal storie , oldtimers in AA tell their own life stories or partcll them-=Their drinking histories-and how they came to be involved in I AA. These stories contribute to cultural production and reproduction in three ways. First, they objectify many cultural elements-the beliefs, propositions, and interpretations-that new or potential AA members learn through listening. Second, by virtue of their" narrative forms, the stories realize a model of what alcoholism is and what it means to be an alcoholic. This model, in the absence of a well-defined, well-elaborated model shared by the wider culture, provides a basis for potential members to identify themselves as alcoholics, through comparing their lives to those in the stories. The storyline also provides a basis for labeling others, as others compare the lives of suspected alcoholics to the AA lives. Third, the AA story is a tool of subjectivity, a �p.ediat:ing-.de¥-iG€ for s�standing: As the AA member learns the AA story model, by listening to and telling stories, and comes to place the events and experiences of his own··· life into the model, he learns to understand his own�l.ife1 as an AA life, and himself as an AA alcoholic. The .l'ersonal_st"l}'_!s_a cultural vehicle for identity formation.
Storytelling is among the oldest traditions we have to pass on cultural norms - here AA is using that format to encourage members and prospects to identify with each other and see their own lives in each other's stories.
his transformation takes place througl:l rei11_terpret�ion, as_.'!'<:"lber_u<>_m� to 11nders�nd thatthdrpasts have b�en a progr�ssion ofalcoholi£ d,:lllk!!lg_;md_alcoholic -behj.vfor.
Emphasis on the fluidity and process of identity formation
identity reconstitu��Q11- i!l AA. takes place through reinterpreta-tion ()(self and of one'slif�, and that the major ve!ITCTefonhi:Sremferpretation_IS-illeAA persg11�1 story
Key piece - formation of a new identity. With reinterpreation comes the element of accountability to oneself, as well as the in-group and newcomers of the figured world
This is why, as members often say, "AA is for those who want it, not for those who need it." AA members must agree to become tellers, as well as listeners, of AA stories.
Entering into the AA figured world as a "non drinking alcoholic" must be an intentional choice.
I'm curious though what the authors would say about close family and friends of "non drinking alcoholics" - do you need to form an identity as such to enter (struggling with word choice here) a specific figured world?
There are therefore two aspects important to membership in AA: qualification as an alcoholic, based on ones past, and continued non-drinking behavior, or effort at not drinking, which is a . ne ation of the behavior that first qualified one for membership.J
Self-Identification, can't form identity based off other people's experiences, realities (hitting rock bottom and becoming motivated versus family/friends requesting person to join AA).
for "non drinking alcoholics) - the identity is formed as a response, it's reactionary
1_3tiid�ll�!.tz" Jn<::��ll:'_"'.ay a E::��."�.�'.'i<:rst� himself, an� is often viewed by others, at leasUru;main situatigps-a ��Q_Q:[§eTt. ih�i�<in�be:taidy���;;;;;:,tly-aehie,ve�
Clear definition of identity - culturally, contextually situated
Alcoholics are a labeled group of people who behave inappropriately after drinking alcohol.
I don't understand this - labeled by others after acting "inappropriately" AFTER drinking? I feel like the label is more contingent on the act or habit of drinking, rather than only after... Guess this speaks to the disagreements and lack of a clear definition of alcoholism
No distinct line runs between "social" or "normal" drinker and "problem drinker" or "alcoholic," and different sectors of U.S. society do not agree on what these terms mean.
Connects to Goodenough in the previous chapter: that there is no uniform, constant, or coherent set of meanings that applies equally in every situation. It must be situated culturally and contextually.
S�the defi!lition of an alcoholic is not agreed upon in the wider society, arriving at this i�t�;:pretatlon -�revent�-is-a process negotiated between the drinker and fhose arouncrller-:1\A stories provide a set of_c:riteria by which the al�olioliccailbeTclentified.
Who defines these criteria?
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Our identities are not just shaped by our knowledge and interpretations, but how our knowledge plays off of cultural knowledge. The reading claims that for some "self-understanding" is transformed. Is this creating prototypical members of this group?
but his self as an alcoholic.
Is AA the figured world and alcoholic is the identity? So this means once one become a member of AA, they take on a new identity as well
He does not figure his life in AP!s terms. He views AA as a measure to take when things get really bad. He does not share the set of values and distinctions that unites other AA members. The identity of "alcoholic" does not affect his actions, or his perceptions of self, beyond his drinking behavior.
Andrew seems conflicted by his figured worlds. Though he acknowledges his alcoholism it is not how he identifies. For Hank, AA became a surrogate family (by way of his descri[tions of "Who am I?"). Andrew, though lonely, does not allow AA to serve that purpose for him. Is it a self fulfilling prophecy of lonliness that he is holding on to? An identity he wants to cling to?
The stories are used in what is simultaneously a social and a cognitive and affective, personal process. In the process of identity formation, the AA member undergoes a kind of reorientation in her self-understandings, a detachment from identities subsisting in other figured worlds, followed by the reconstitution-a process not only of learning but also of valuation, indeed elevation-of an identity predicated within A& world. She accomplishes this transition primarily by reinterpreting her life as an AA story.
I am intrigued by the example of AA members as they are adopting an identity without the traditional role models, ex: teachers, parents, peers.
Figured worlds are evinced in practice through the artifacts employed by people in their performances.
I think this is fascinating and very interesting, but also that it is missing the other people included in a given context. I think both, together, are what help form the identity
These socially generated, culturally figured worlds, many linguists believe, are necessary for understanding the meaning of words.
I read this and I think, "what came first the chicken or the egg?"
Can you have worlds if you don't have words to define them? Can anyone have an identity if we have no words to use to describe our identities?
nipnll!ted JQ__p..Q)nt to other social feelings
It is being weird with the highlighting. What I want to highlight is "Meanings are manipulated to point...to participation in that scene. I think it is important to note here that a child's choice to engage in a particular environment/scene is also based on previous knowledge of the situation.
continual participation
This idea of embodiment through continual participation is a theme that runs throughout all of the readings - and also connects back to LPP.
The learner only becomes a master of a figured world by immersing themselves in it, first peripherally, and then more and more actively (see the descriptions in chapter 4 about the development of individual's AA story). Ultimately, if successful, they come to identify with the world and see themselves as a part of it.
lt. Discourse (or discursive) theory emphasizes many of the aspects of cultural resources that we discu
Cultural artifacts don't need to be material - pronouns as artifacts (example of ta/you). I'm thinking more about pronouns as artifacts, I'm curious what the authors would have to say about communities creating their own gender neutral pronouns in response to the gender binary (examples: ne, ve, ze, xe). Imagining and creating artifacts into being, learned within social interaction
the as-if character of possibility that marks fields (and figured worlds) is not an indifferent, "mental" abstrac-tion1 an "imaginary" in its usual sense, but a social rea"!!ty that lives within by relations of power.
I'm excited to see more discussion about power and privilege in these chapters - I felt like this has been lacking in previous readings
There is, Goodenough con-no uniform, conslstf.nt, or coherent set of meanings-no "cul-ture"-that applies equally in every activity.
Reminds me of the need for culturally responsive pedagogy - the teaching curriculum v. learning curriculum
Identities
Identities as products(?) of participation in figured worlds, thus identities are representative of larger sociohistorical circumstances.
They remain multiple, as people's trajectories through figured worlds neither take one path nor remain in the ambit of one cultural space, one figured world
Identities will change, depending on the figured worlds one encounters.
of social positions defined only against one an-other
Social positions don't exist alone, the comparison to others informs the social position (you can't have a king without any subjects) and social positions greatly affect one's identity
Cultural schemas or cultural models are stereotypical distillates, gen-eralizations from past experience that people make. They are akin to what Crapanzano (1990), speaking about the processes that maintain the self in continual change, calls "arrests"-representations of self at a particular time that people try to reassert, even under new conditions.•
I think it is necessary to be grounded in some practices and habits, and repeated, somewhat predictable, responses in order to form an identity.
The conceptual importance of figured worlds has been emphasized in anthropology for some time. Hallowell (1955a) argued that individuals live in worlds that are culturally defined and understand themselves in relation to these worlds. In a classic article, :'The Self and Its Behavioral Environment," he n
Can you live any other way?
It is certainly not divorced from these happen-ings, but neither is it identical to the particulars of any one event. l!.1§Jm_ abstraction, an extractio
Sounds like "schema" from the psychology world.
It is this compe-tence that makes possible culturally coustituted or figure-d consequently, the range of human (1985) points out the cleilnue lmk between Play worlds-and institutional life. Fantasy an game play serve as precursors to participation in an institutional life, where individuals are treated as scholars, bosses, or at-risk children and events such as the granting of tenure, a corporate raid, and the self-es-teem of at-risk children are taken in all seriousness. But to see imagina-tion extended so is simply to recognize that it pervades cultural life.
Children role-play, mimicking roles they are familiar with. This is true for adults as well. People get into realtionships that are familiar to them, like abused people with an abusive partner. This is a strong case for modeling. It's interesting that the figured world, though threatening, becomes so much a part of their identity that they maintain it rather than avoid it.
nli.e less expert women tended to repeat the words and follow the direc-ons of others. They had less of an overview of romantic relationships; hey had to work harder to come up with responses to romantic situ-1 ations. Not surprisingly, those who were less identified with the world of romance, and for whom it was less salient, also were less expert in / JP.anaging relationships.
This follows the structure of the AA story in chapter 4 - less experienced members first needed to hear others' stories and come to identify with the AA narrative before they could coherently tell their own story.
Her feelings about socialites--and her distaste when she thought about herself as one-made ·identification with the world of romance at SU difficult for her.
We often think about the things we want to identify ourselves with, but how many of our actions/decisions are shaped by avoiding identification with another group.
For the women we studied, the cultural interpretation of romance became salient and compelling as their expertise with romantic relation-ships increased and as they came to form an engaging interpretation of themselves in the world of romance
Within identity processes - reinterpreting the self and their location in the world
This suggests that involvement-the salience of and identification with the cultural system of romance-codeveloped with expertise.
Identity (and saliency of identity) is developed with expertise in a field. There are varying degrees of identity saliency - within multiple and simultaneous figured worlds.
Those who ap-peared to be less knowledgeable or less expert closely copied and took direction from others, attended to relatively circumscribed aspects of relationships, and had difficulty generating possible responses to roman-tic situations.
Participatory learning through observations (romance as an apprenticeship) - this identity as something that evolves
;, our neo-Vygotskian developmental approach, thoughts and feel-ings, will and motivation are formed as the individual develops. The individual comes, in the recurrent contexts of social interaction, to per-sonalize cultural resources, such as figured worlds, languages, and sym-bols, as means to organize and modify thoughts and emotions.
definition of culture for this context - in contrast to other anthropological positions. Motivation is developed within social processes
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Children role play, mimicking roles they are familiar with and that shapes their identity. This is true in adults as well. People get into relationships that are familiar to them...ex:the abused getting involved with an abusive partner. This makes a strong case for modeling.
Another began to examine built forms as metaphors for complex social and symbolic relationships: the Irish country- men's "west room" (21) or the French peasant "parlour" (393).
"complex social and symbolic relationships"
touches on how we are giving an identity to what we have built around us; we've found a specific purpose for each thing.
Another key area of research has focused on the relationship between individual or group identity and housing
Depending on how many people are involved in the use of an area, the dynamics can change
historical political boundaries of the native Americans
We view the world in these simplified 2D representations of clearcut political entities. Fredrik Barth and Benedict Anderson have said quite a few important things about these issues of maps and boundaries.
A very fundamental property to maintain in ontologies are the identity criteria. There is fundamental work by Nicola Guarino et al. about making ontological distinctions based on identity criteria, which led to the DOLCE ontology. For the Semantic Web, we must try ensure two things: a) that different parties see one thing as one, both at the same time and diachronically b) that things have well-defined properties.
all representations have essentially the same information content. And what we mean by "essentially" allows in fact some wriggle room, and in the end it rests on a common understanding between publisher of the information and quoter of the URI. The sameness we are after is the sameness of information content. That is what is identified by the URI. That is why we say that the URI identifies that conceptual information content, irrespective of its particular representation: the conceptual work. Without that common understanding, the web does not work. Some people have said, "If we say that URIs identify people, nothing breaks". But all the time they, day to day, rely on sameness of the information things on the web, and use URIs with that implicit assumption. As we formalize how the web works, we have to make that assumption explicit.
It demonstrates the ambiguity of natural language that no significant problem had been noticed over the past decade, even though the original author or HTTP , and later co-author of HTTP 1.1 who also did his PhD thesis on an analysis of the web, and both of whom have worked with Web protocols ever since, had had conflicting ideas of what the various terms actually mean.
an HTTP URI may identify something with a vagueness as to the dimensions above, but it still must be used to refer to a unique conceptual object whose various representations have a very large a mount in common. Formally, it is the publisher which defines the what an HTTP URI identifies, and so one should look to the publisher for a commitment as to the exact nature of the identity along these axes.
It’s the nature of Twitter to not research further, we all know, but if that nature is influencing the way we run museums, school lectures, and conferences, the future might be more bleak than any of us dared to predict.
It would be worth interrogating what it is about "the nature of Twitter" that makes this so.
I think it has to do with the intersection of a number of things:
I'm sure that's only the surface.
Most people reading this will already be fairly tolerant. But there is a step beyond thinking of yourself as x but tolerating y: not even to consider yourself an x. The more labels you have for yourself, the dumber they make you.
The only counter-argument that comes to mind for me didn't form itself until I had read this last paragraph a few times.
If your identity marker connotes tolerance then it hopefully has the opposite effect. Insofar as the experience of marginalization promotes empathy such identities might be good evidence for intelligence, and I do think individuals who feel oppressed or marginalized tend to empathize with others who suffer for different, marginalized identities.
These identities will only breed stupidity if the individual feels a competition for scarce resources that overwhelms their empathy, whence the perniciousness of the belief in zero sum attention economics as a greater threat to activism than inaction, ignorance, and exhaustion.
A path is not composed of positions. It is nondeeomposable: a dynamic unity, That comil/ulty of movement is of an order of reality other than the measurable, divisible space it can be con firmed as having crossed.
Again...another instance in which identity/position is subordinated to movement and emergence. Placing the position before the movement result in logical aporias, but forgoing identity/position is to acknowledge movement.
Gridlock
I find myself thinking here about intersectionality, and about a certain critique of identity politics which seems to target those whose identities are marked. White men e.g. can critique and transcend the grid, while those whose positions in it are sites of political organizing are accused of reifying the grid. Not sure if Massumi is even in that neighborhood...
Of course, a body occupying one position on the grid might succeed in making a move to occupy another position. In fact, certain normative progressions, such as that from child to adult, are coded in. But this doesn't change the fact that what defines the body is not the movement itself, only its beginning and endpoints. Movement is en tirely subordinated to the positions it connects. These are predefined. Adding movement like this adds nothing at all. You just get twO successive states: multiples of zero.
This is very much like [go with me on this one] an organizational chart that breaks down an organization's hierarchy. All the nodes are specialized and individual (person/position) but the lines are all the same. Thus...movement (of succession/information designated by the connecting lines in that org structure) is elided in favor of positions/identities within that organization. Verbs are lost in favor of the nouns.
There were actual politics at stake, and it would’ve been an ridiculously dangerous move to substitute identity affinities for political analysis.
Yes!!! Reminds me of this quote from Graeber's "Democracy Project": https://instagram.com/p/tjcYY9Og32/?taken-by=tilgovi
There is also no easy way of informing an author that someone has commented on his or her work, especially if he or she is not a Hypothes.is user.
Yeah...tricky part is finding the author of a web page in the first place.
Allowing users to submit more information about themselves will make communication easier.
Starts off on a difficult foot by attempting to deny common conceptions about how advertising works, and even legitimizes their function, but comes full circle to strong indictment of the insidiousness of brand ubiquity.
Avoiding ads doesn't help much either. Because brand images are part of the cultural landscape we inhabit, when we block ads or fast-forward through them, we're missing out on valuable cultural information, alienating ourselves from the zeitgeist. This puts us in danger of becoming outdated, unfashionable, and otherwise socially hapless. We become like the kid who wears his dad's suit to his first middle-school dance.
Unless you accumulate friends who also avoid ads, who think you're less cool for having allowed yourself to be exposed to them or for deploying them too conspicuous as social signaling, at least when that brand is not favored by that scene. Ironically, of course, most scenes are simply favoring different brands, because it's hard to accumulate any significant set of material trappings that aren't branded.
If I decide I want to be more outgoing, I could just print a personalized ad for myself with the slogan "Be more social" imposed next to a supermodel or private jet, or whatever image of success or happiness I think would motivate me the most.
The issue with this straw person is that there's a very real repulsion people experience at perceiving themselves being manipulated. Advertising works best when we aren't thinking much about its effects.
Cultural imprinting is the mechanism whereby an ad, rather than trying to change our minds individually, instead changes the landscape of cultural meanings — which in turn changes how we are perceived by others when we use a product. Whether you drink Corona or Heineken or Budweiser "says" something about you. But you aren't in control of that message; it just sits there, out in the world, having been imprinted on the broader culture by an ad campaign.
Yes! Whence the emotional inception. If you don't buy that product that says you're super cool you are then filled with anxiety about whether you're cool. Etc.
What's being described here isn't some other way in which advertising works other than emotional inception, it's the mechanism of that inception.
Of course, the radical feminist position that masculinity is natural and healthy, and femininity artificial and harmful, is also inherently sexist
Of course. That's an important theme. It's as though it's being suggested here that radical feminists chose this view, when I think it's more correct to say that they are reacting to it.
In contrast, she mentions and quotes a total of four trans women (zero from books), and two of them are quoted to supporting the radical feminist position.
Might one argue that since these feminists feel their fight has been co-opted and, despite the many ways trans individuals are less assured of their safety and rights than cis women, the radical feminist is actually the more oppressed insofar as identity politics has left them behind? In which case, might we celebrate that time is given to this minority rather than criticize the piece for being one-sided?
frequently providing physical descriptions
I count only three instances, none of which are offensively dwelling on appearance in the way that media often is scrutinizing women's bodies. One of these descriptions is particularly well meaning: it is given only to color the story of abandoned transition with the image of hormone-induced stubble. To mention that there are physical descriptions of any of the activists in the piece here is obvious pandering.
the Persians claim Asia for their own, and the foreign peoples that inhabit it; Europe and the Greek people they consider to be separate from them.
Hdt. 1.4 The Persians separate themselves distinctly as people of Asia from the people in Europe.