CRDM 701

Week 11--Jayna

?Speech? is not so much possessed as active in community life?[when] advanced forms of communication are created? a more complicated division of labor is created and it becomes appropriate to speak of producers and consumers of knowledge? (Carey, p. 167-68).
??by the end of the fifteenth century?Commercialism of the publisher began to displace the craft of the printer? (Innis, p. 53).
??the goals of ensuring the safety of an auto-mobile population and the efficiency of the automobile system demands that driving subjects become highly normalized and self-disciplined? (Packer, p. 370). 

These three quotes show a clear lineage of the ?technology= power? tendency of our readings.  This week?s review of communication history pointed out that moving from oral societies to literate ones began the clear distinction of class separation, later promoted capitalism at its finest example, and moved us into current trends in communication technology being used as a means of cultural/human protection.  We saw the transition from leaving ?space? behind when transmitting messages, to bringing ?space? back into view as a means of security.

Packer addresses the electronic highway for automobiles and the AHS (automated highway system)? recently (have any of you seen this email?), a woman sued the manufacturer of her newly purchased RV because it wrecked when she set the cruise control and went to the back of the vehicle to relax.  She must have thought she was on/part of the AHS?even more outlandish, she didn?t only sue?she WON the case? that?s probably another blog for a different class.

Does all of the technology Packer speaks of to develop AHS and, as we currently use the GPS and On-Star technologies mean that we are bringing technology back to the confines of geographical space?  In order for Homeland Security to truly secure the highways and other transportation systems, wouldn?t they need to know where every vehicle, train, and plane are at any given moment? Now there?s a frightening use of technology?and in my mind, it seems like a step back.  A great technological advancement in the telegraph was the removal of space from the message, and with AHS and GPS, suddenly the space, or location of the vehicle?and our ability to communicate with it?becomes priority.  I suppose every cell phone in each car is already monitoring location to some extent, as we all have a positioning device in our handset.

Speaking to Packer?s identity of mobility, more and more cities across the world have surveillance cameras on the streets monitoring the comings & goings of individuals as well as the vehicles at intersections (and whether or not they?re stopping at red lights).  Break the law and you conveniently receive your ticket in the mail a couple of weeks later.  Hmmm? did you even remember you?d been at that intersection?  Maybe not, but the ticket clearly shows your car, your tags, your face at the steering wheel.

So this next thought is a bit random, but I?ll include it anyway and close with it? If communication is seen in terms of space and time, does that mean that the Internet negates the concern for space when it comes to preserving history?  Storage of papyrus, clay tablets, and books has always been a necessity and priority, but is space a non-issue now that images can be ?stored? in (Kathy?s Tubes of) the World Wide Web, and essentially remove the need for the space/container?

Posted at 07:03PM Nov 07, 2007 by jrjackso in General  |  Comments[0]