Born Digital – Introduction

I’m starting off my thesis research with a book that has a similar purpose, methodology, concern, and scope. If only I could’ve written my thesis before John Palfrey and Urs Gasser were able to publish this primer to the digital world. In any case, I’m grateful for their research, and I’ll be quoting A TON from Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. 

Who are the Digital Natives? Well according to Palfrey and Gasser, they have the following characteristics:

• born after 1980, when social digital technologies (such as Usenet and bulletin board systems) came online
• have access to networked digital technologies
• have skills to use those technologies
• unlike Digital Immigrants, they live much of their lives online, without distinguishing between the online and the offline
• related to information differently
• perceive information to be malleable, something they can control and reshape in new and interesting ways (such as editing encyclopedia entries in Wikipedia)

Purpose of the Book 

Authors Palfrey and Gasser want to separate what we need to worry about from what’s not so scary, what we ought to resist from what we ought to embrace.

A general proposal – to promote engaged parenting, good education, and common sense.

Methodology 

Use of research from social scientists, psychologists,neuroscientists, etc.

Palfrey and Gasser conducted their own research by means of focus groups, asking questions about their use of technology, understanding of identity, etc.

Concerns 

There is becoming a huge divide between the haves and have nots. The divide is regional or national, as we can see many people groups or countries that do not have access to digital technology. This is the “digital divide”. There is also a digital literacy gap. How to appropriately navigate this digital world.

 

I find it funny that my first research book for my interdisciplinary thesis is a secular one that can be found on the bestseller’s lists at Amazon or Chapters. Hopefully this is indicative of my desire to be truly interdisciplinary, and not just remain with theology and other “Christian issues”.

An Ethnographic Study of the Internet Practices of Christian University Students Evaluated in light of the work of Marshall McLuhan and Albert Borgmann

The official title of my thesis (so far) is The Technologizing of Faith: An Ethnographic Study of the Internet Practices of Christian University Students Evaluated in light of the work of Marshall McLuhan and Albert Borgmann.

Yes I know it’s not very catchy, but apparently for academic work, I need to be as detailed as possible, even if that means my thesis title is 4 lines long .

The following is my thesis proposal (minus footnotes and bibliography… which makes up 1/3 of the paper). The end result may differ dramatically from this original thesis proposal. I think it’ll be interesting to chronicle my journey of thesis writing and share the joys and challenges that goes with it. 

A. Statement of Research Intent

As a former campus staff worker on universities across southern Ontario, I continue to be deeply interested in the spiritual development of university students. Increasingly in my ministry, I have witnessed students being shaped and formed by the digital revolution. This phenomenon known as Web 2.0 culture, social networking, or virtual community has become a dominant cultural force in the lives of university students. Through the use of online community tools such as blogging, Facebook, and Youtube, students are now part of a global network where everyone has a sense of belonging. At the same time, immediate access to information and instant gratification for entertainment has created new cultural values. In my time studying the effects of the Internet on university students, I have found Albert Borgmann and Marshall McLuhan to offer valuable insight for the place of Christianity in the culture of technology. Thus, my thesis will attempt to answer the following question:  What are the implications of Borgmann and McLuhan’s analyses of technology for the Internet habits of Christian university students? 

In this thesis, I propose to do two things: First, to investigate the thoughts of Albert Borgmann and Marshall McLuhan with regards to technology. Second, to undertake an ethnographic study of Christian university students and their Internet practices. I am aiming to evaluate the internet practices of students in light of the thoughts of Marshall McLuhan and Albert Borgmann. It is my hope that when student praxis is considered in this light, this may help us understand how to participate in the digital culture while remaining faithful to Jesus Christ.

B. Significance 

“If the essence of technology is to make everything accessible and optimizable, then the Internet is the perfect technological device”. If this is true, by studying the nature and effects of the Internet, an understanding will develop about how Christianity can appropriately engage the shaping force of digital technology. According to McLuhan, the Internet should be perceived as a proper extension of our human senses, bodies, and minds. However, McLuhan also observes that when we fail to see the Internet and other technologies in this way, “they take on godlike characteristics, and we become their servants”. The purpose of my project, then, is to help us “become aware of the specific ways in which technology… serve as extensions of ourselves”. Our awareness of the hidden power of technology will help us put what Borgmann calls the “device paradigm” in the service of genuine human purposes. Technology, after all, has an appropriate role to play in the character of daily life. More specifically, I believe that the Internet practices of university students will show that, with moderation, Christians can utilize the Internet appropriately in the service of maturing in Christ. 

C. Definitions 

Ethnography: a form of qualitative research that is the “the art and science of describing a group or culture”. It is also the written narrative used to depict the culture of a specific group to the reader.

D. Previous Research 

This thesis will build upon three areas of research. First, there are many books and articles explaining the effects of technology on society. Although there are a variety of opinions about the technological society, this thesis will adopt a critical view of technology in the manner of Marshall McLuhan, Albert Borgmann, and others. 

Second, there is a large body of literature focused on the social aspects of technology, and in particular, the Internet. Perhaps the most extensive investigation about the Internet from a qualitative research perspective is by Don Tapscott. His book, Grown Up Digital is the culmination of a four million dollars research study into the lives of the “Net Generation”.

The last area of research consideration is the numerous books and articles discussing Christian ministry and the Internet. Shane Hipps’s explication of Marshall McLuhan’s thinking is particularly helpful for discerning the hidden powers of technologies like the Internet for the use of Christian ministry.

E. Methods and Sources 

This thesis will entail brief examinations of the history, philosophy, and social aspects of technology. This will be accomplished by surveying the work of Martin Heidegger, Jacques Ellul, Walter Ong, and others. The writings of Marshall McLuhan and Albert Borgmann will be expounded in greater detail in order to construct a framework for understanding the Internet and the possibilities of using it constructively. 

Secondly, this thesis will employ ethnographic methods to discover the cultural experience of university students engaged with the Internet.  McCurdy and Spradley define ethnography as “the process of discovering and describing a culture” and this is precisely what I intend to do.  The ethnographic research method is instrumental in exploring the impact of digital technology on Christian faith and Christian faith on digital technology. It promotes immediate interaction between traditional scholarly inquiry in contrast to the thoughts and practice of students who use the Internet. This research method requires significant fieldwork on the university campus and will generate qualitative research based on regular interaction with students. 

Interviews of Christian University students and staff workers will be conducted with the consent of students and staff workers. The interviews will be open-ended and based on a loosely structured set of questions about faith background, Internet usage, online spiritual experiences, and other factors. All conversations and participant observation will be recorded and transcribed. These transcriptions will then be analyzed for “folk terms” and taxonomies used to discover meaning.

In terms of its structure, the thesis will be organized around the critical evaluations of modern technology offered by McLuhan and Borgmann.  The ethnographic data, then, will be used in situ either to illustrate or to take issue with elements of this critical evaluation. This should result in valuable tension that will hopefully enable university students to consider how best to practice their faith in the digital culture.

F. Limitations 

This thesis has a limitation in scope. First, in focusing solely on the Internet, it will not necessarily be relevant to the other technologies that comprise digital culture, i.e., iPods, cell-phones, etc. Second, the ethnographic research is limited to a specific body of students and their staff workers. As such, the purpose of the thesis is not to provide a comprehensive review of the Internet or the online practices of university students in general. Instead, it is an ethnography of one specific microculture and its conclusions may or may not be relevant to university students generally.

G. Outline 

1. Introduction
          a. Introduction & Background
          b. Thesis statement
          c. Definitions
          d. Significance of Thesis
          e. Previous Research
          f. Ethnography
                        i. Reasons for Methodology
                       ii. Methodology and sources
                      iii. Limitations

2. The Internet
          a. History of the Internet, a survey of modern technology leading up to the invention of the Internet 
          b. Aims and purposes of the Internet, examination of Tim Berners-Lee and his design of the Internet 
          c. Current online landscape
                        i. Developing a taxonomic structure of online programs
                       ii. Discovering folk terms based on ethnographic research and forming cultural meaning
          d. Current online practices by “digital natives”
                        i. Developing a taxonomic structure of online programs
                       ii. Discovering folk terms based on ethnographic research and forming cultural meaning 

3. The Problems and Solutions of Modern Technology
          a. Martin Heidegger, survey and evaluation
          b. Walter Ong, survey and evaluation
          c. Jacques Ellul, survey and evaluation
          d. Others
          e. Identifying commonalities and disparities between ethnographic research and the authors listed above

4. Marshall McLuhan
          a. Identifying the hidden power of the Internet, understanding how the medium is the message
          b. Laws of Media as framework for questioning the Internet             
                        i. What does the medium of the Internet extend
                       ii. What does the medium of the Internet make obsolete
                      iii. What does the medium of the Internet reverse into
                      iv. What does the medium of the Internet retrieve
          c. Locating awareness of the power of the Internet through ethnographic data and cultural informants 

5. Albert Borgmann
          a. Device Paradigm vs. Focal Concerns        
                        i. Device paradigm as character of contemporary life
                       ii. Focal concerns as meaningful engagement with others
          b. Focal concerns as reformation of technology
                        i. Developing a process of appropriating the priority of focal concerns at the center of the good life
                       ii. Limiting technology to the proper role of supporting focal concerns at the periphery of life
          c. Wealth and the Good Life, a discovery of what focal concerns are worthy
          d. Deictic discourse        
                        i. Creating dialogue between ethnographic reports and the device paradigm
                       ii. Witnessing the established focal concerns in the digital culture
                      iii. Creating a culture of prioritizing focal concerns in the digital culture

6. Conclusion
          a. Re-focus on Thesis        
                        i. With McLuhan’s laws of media as framework for the Internet
                       ii. With Borgmann’s focal concern as reformation of technology
                      iii. In dialogue with ethnography commentary from students and campus staff workers
          b. Suggestions for further research

7. Appendix
          a. Ethnographic researc        
                        i. With university staff workers
                       ii. With university students

A Stumbling Journey towards getting your Thesis Proposal Approved

To clear the air, I have to praise God that my Thesis proposal was approved at the beginning of April.

Now that I’ve finished my first school term at Regent and have some time off before the summer term begins, I have a few thoughts about my journey in getting my thesis proposal approved.

Starting with a Good Idea            

Way back when I started thinking about pursuing a ThM at Regent, I already had a general problem that I wanted to research. From my background as a campus staff worker, I wanted to know how technology (specifically Internet related technology) affects University students and I wanted to research this question by means of ethnographic research. I submitted a letter of intent to Regent, outlining the basic argument to my potential thesis (which is similar to what I wrote in this post, HERE), got accepted, and then tried to come up with a definite thesis idea.

Reading for Ideas                                                                    

One of my first courses at Regent was Christianity and Modern Technology taught by Craig M. Gay. The assigned readings for the class (Postman’s Technopoly and Guardini’s Letters from Lake Como) were helpful in getting me thinking about how technology shapes society. Our class also had a reader with various articles/chapters from different authors, thinkers, scholars who have varying viewpoints about technology. Craig also included a good bibliography that highlighted many other good books about technology. 

What I’m getting at is that early on in thesis research (even before settling on a specific topic), you have to read widely and maybe some kind ‘o wonderful will emerge out of the readings.

Getting Supervision 

I can’t stress how crucial it is in having a good supervisor for your thesis. At the beginning of the term, I approached Craig to ask for help about the entire thesis writing process. Since he was the person overseeing the ThM students, he answered a lot of my questions. Also, because his interests are in the area of technology, he became my supervisor.

Throughout the term, I met with him another 3-4 times and we hashed out a preliminary timeline for my thesis. We identified certain milestones (ie. getting research done, finalizing specific topic for thesis, and submitting my thesis proposal). 

Doing School and Research at the Same Time 

Having to attend classes and churning out assignments was quite challenging in the Regent environment. Having to do this while I’m working on a thesis proposal was barely manageable… but I got it done (by living in the library). I met up with Prof John Stackhouse early on in the term (I’m in his epistemology class) and he suggested that I treat my thesis work as another class – setting aside proper time for assigned readings and writing. That was great advice and that’s the way I was able to piece together my vague notions about technology and faith and begin to write down something coherent by way of a thesis.

If I were to discern the time I spent on my thesis proposal, and compare it to my classes, I would guess that my thesis proposal would be the same amount of time as two master level classes.

Overcoming Hurdles 

Perhaps the biggest hurdle that I found out halfway through my term at Regent was that I only had a few months to submit a thesis proposal. Because I began my schooling in January, I had assumed I could submit a proposal sometime in the summer, and work on my research the other half of the year. Which leads me to one important concept for thesis writing.

NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING.

Apparently, the last submission date was end of April, so really I only had less than 2 months to write a thesis proposal. Then, I find out later that this date was when a committee would review my thesis. Instead, I had to submit my thesis by early April. So in total, I had less than 3 weeks to submit my thesis proposal.

Imagine my shock when I was not notified by Regent about this bizarre timeline, my thesis supervisor was also surprised by the dates, and here am I wondering how can I do this under the gun while having other final essays and exams to complete. 

I just plugged in my headphones, listened to music, and started to write. I will definitely be more proactive with my work in the future, perhaps even pestering professors ad nauseam. 

Oh yeah, I also begged the head of the thesis review committee (Hans Boersma) to give me an extension for my thesis (might as well ask, right?). Thankfully, he gave me a weekend extension.

The Benefits of Good Supervision 

After I told Craig about the tight deadline, he offered to help out anyway he could. I gave him a brief outline of my first attempt at a thesis (without even having a solid thesis topic yet), and he helped guide my thinking.

Meanwhile, I began the first draft of my thesis proposal and by the end of a few days, I submitted my first attempt to Craig. Since I was in two of Craig’s classes, I knew how little time he had for me – yet, he was able to quickly edit my draft and offer a few suggestions of his own. We did quite a few of this back and forth via email – I submitted something, Craig edited and offered a few comments, then I would submit another draft. In the end, I think I submitted 1 outline and 4 drafts to Craig before officially submitting my thesis proposal to the committee.

Daring to be Unique 

One of the things Craig told me early on was that my thesis proposal was pretty unique. Due to my ethnographic research component, he wasn’t sure if my thesis proposal would be approved. In fact, during the editing stage, he removed many of my ethnographic research remarks. I’m guessing it was in order to put more emphasis on the traditional scholarly research by highlighting the arguments that I would assert after studying many books.

In spite of this warning, I felt I wanted to include this crucial component. In true interdisciplinary style, I wanted to write a thesis that combines good scholarship and qualitative study and see if the result would be a fruitful dialogue. I wanted something that was theologically informed but conveyed with the words and ideas of students.

Ultimately, everything worked out. I received the wonderful news from the committee that they approved my thesis. So right now, I’m beginning to chronicle what I’ll be reading, my thoughts on various authors, and perhaps even start interviewing campus staff workers and students for my ethnographic research.

In the meantime, please pray for me as this is quite a long and stumbling journeys towards getting my thesis finished within a year.

 

Letter from Lake Como by Romano Guardini

Romano Guardini wrote The Letters from Lake Como in order to confront the dominance of technology. This book comprises of a series of letters which he wrote while reflecting upon the Como landscape in Italy. His premise is that technology “has become a destiny that subjugates its human creators as much as their creations” (xiv). He offers a way forward by suggesting that “we must recover a sense of the sacred before the sacred name can be heard again” (xv).

Guardini begins with the question of how machines are shaping culture, nature, and humanity. Certainly there is a problem of culture since we have never had a relationship with nature in its untouched form. Yet consider the example of a boat that requires us to be aware of the natural elements for its operation. Guardini asks us to compare this with a steamer in which nature no longer has power over it. This is the artificiality of existence that technology brings. 

The cost of this mastery over nature is the abstraction of our world where everything becomes concepts and formulas. The resulting attitude becomes one of consciousness and awareness of everything. This is seemingly a good thing, yet Guardini proposes that it is not. For “we cannot perform an intellectual act and at the same time be aware of it” (31). If we try to achieve awareness of all that we do, it requires constant interruption between our action and knowledge. “Thus all of life bears the distinctive character of what is interrupted, broken” (31). 

The possessive quest for knowledge in this new culture has become conceptual and formulaic. Thus, “on the basis of a known formula, materials and forces are put into the required condition: machines” (46). This demonstrates a dissolution of the organic. Whereas culture in the past was natural and creative, there is now a mechanical desire. “It’s starting point is the isolated, rationally understood power of nature, which works through the machine” (72).

Guardini asks the following urgent question: “in all that is taking place, is a life supported by human nature and fully human work possible?” (78) Unfortunately the answer to this question must be no. However, there is a way forward in which “technical events and unleashed forces can be mastered only by a new human attitude that is a match for them” (80). In this way we should not oppose what is new, preserve what is old, and build a new world void of any cultural damage. Instead, we transform what is coming to be by saying “yes to it and yet with incorruptible hearts remain aware of all that is destructive and nonhuman in it” (81). Thus, we do not need less technology but more. We need more mature, more intellectually designed, more responsible technology. This is only possible “if living people first make their influence felt in the sphere of objective nature, if they relate this nature to themselves and in this way create a “world” again” (83).

Guardini concludes his book by address the process of cultural development and how it relates to “the things and energies of nature to use in tools, contrivances, and machines” (97). He expresses a positive concern about whether the process of technology will really realize its great claims. However, there are serious problems that affect the basis of our existence in the use of machines. Using machines, we attain power with a freezing of emotions in order to become more objective. 

Evaluation

Guardini has written a nuanced reflection of technology and humanity in his series of Letters from Como. It is interesting to note that he does not immediately dive into the issue of technology in his letters. Instead, he traces the contours of humanity with questions about the changing nature of our existence, adopting abstraction, developing consciousness, realization of survey, mastery of knowledge, normalization of the masses, and the dissolution of the organic. 

His particular questions for Christians are insightful. Since the technological worldview is where the machine is the symbol of fulfilled culture, there is a loss in religious motivation. Thus, we should think through the technological process particularly through the issue of religion. Perhaps we may see that “the center of a faith approach must be found more profoundly than before in what is truly personal, in the venture and fidelity of decision” (111). In spite of his concerns regarding technology, he expresses a positive hope for the future and recommends the readers to think about the urgent tasks of technology. This particular task of reconciling the technologizing of culture with a renewal in Christian religious existence is especially needed and required for such a time as this.

Technopoly by Neil Postman

 

A Summary

Neil Postman wrote Technopoly to caution society about the surrender of culture to technology. He begins his book with the legend of King Thasmus entertaining the god Theuth who was the inventor of many things. We learn from Thamus that “new technologies change what we mean by ‘knowing’ and ‘truth’” (12). New technologies alter the things we think about, the things we think with, and the arena in which thoughts develop. Thus, Postman classifies three types of cultures situated in different technological landscapes: tool-using cultures, technocracies, and technopolies.

In tool-using cultures, tools did not “attack the dignity and integrity of the culture into which they were introduced” (23). These are mainly pre-modern cultures and as such, tools are not the primary concern of the people. In a technocracy, society “developed a profound belief in all the principles through which invention succeeds” (42). Objectivity, efficiency, and progress are held up as ideal. The transition from a tool-using culture to technocracy necessitates a subordination of other traditions and symbols. Yet it does not totally eliminate these things and render them ineffectual.

In a Technopoly, all alternatives to itself are eliminated. “It makes them invisible and therefore irrelevant” (48). Technopoly particularly thrived in America because of four main reasons. First, the American character is to distrust constraints. Second, the American capitalists had the genius and audacity in late nineteenth century to thrive in invention. Third, there was overwhelming ‘success’ in the twentieth century where technology provided Americans with great luxuries. Fourth, many old sources of belief came under siege due to a progressive ideology.

Technopoly becomes a state of culture and a state of mind. “It consists in the deification of technology, which means that the culture seeks its authorization in technology, finds its satisfaction in technology, and takes its orders from technology” (71). Similarly, technical experts are given priestly status in their roles as psychiatrists, sociologist, statisticians, etc. They serve a god who speaks of efficiency, precision, and objectivity. In this climate, all concepts of sin and evil disappear.

“One characteristic of those who live in a Technopoly is that they are largely unaware of both the origins and the effects of their technologies” (138). They are unaware that technology is not neutral. Consider the example of medicine. “Technology changes the practice of medicine by redefining what doctors are, redirecting where they focus their attention, and reconceptualizing how they view their patients and illness” (105).

Another aspect of Technopoly that Postman addresses is the issue of Scientism. Within Scientism, there are three interlinking ideas: first, the methods of natural science can be directly applied to the study of human behavior. Second, social science principles can be used to rationally organize a society. Third, faith in science becomes a comprehensive belief system “that gives meaning to life, as well as a sense of well-being, morality, and even immortality” (147). Scientism as part of Technopoly indicates a casting aside of traditional narratives and symbols. In the end, the purpose of Technopoly “is to produce functionaries for an ongoing Technopoly” (179).

Postman ends the book by offering a possible way forward against the worst parts of Technopoly. He suggests you must be a ‘loving resistance fighter’ who “maintains an epistemological and psychic distance from any technology, so that it always appears somewhat strange, never inevitable, never natural” (185). He hopes to accomplish this with education that is idea-centered and coherence-centered. This will require the joining of art and science, the study of past and present. And ultimately this will lead to ‘the ascent of humanity’.

In Technopoly, Neil Postman offers a compelling argument for the surrender of culture to technology. He vividly describes the development of technology from tool-using culture, to technocracy, and finally into a Technopoly. Postman’s depiction of a Technopoly rings true in our Western society. Certainly all things technological have a constant impact on our lives.

In Search of a Thesis

This blog will chronicle my thesis journey as I research the interaction between faith and technology.

re: Technology

I am especially interested in the philosophy of technology. This would include the critique of technology, ethics, history, and other relevant theories of technology.

In terms of the mode of technology, I will focus mainly on digital technology. This means I will largely concentrate on computer related technologies. These would include online tools such as networking programs, blogs, wikis, and all technologies falling under the Web 2.0 banner.

re: Faith

In this matter, I will exclusively study the Christian faith. I am interested in the reaction from the Christian community, particularly the noted thinkers, the leaders, and the university students. I am hopeful that I can conduct ethnographic research about this particular culture.

re: Readings

I am beginning to compile a list of readings for my research. The following is a partial list of my necessary readings.

Barrett, William – Death of the Soul: From Descartes to the Computer

Borgmann, Albert – Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life

Ellul, Jacques – The Technological Society

Guardini, Romano – Letters from Lake Como: Explorations in Tecnology and the Human Race

Heidegger, Martin – The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays

McLuhan, Marshall – Understanding Media

Postman, Neil – Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology

Schultze, Quentin – Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age

Schuurman, Egbert – Faith and Hope in Technology

re: the Big Question

As I read through these books, I am hopeful to construct a Big Question that my thesis will address. In this way, I will not limit my research to a predefined goal. Instead, thesis will rise from emergence among the seemingly random research I will conduct.

re: HELP

I begin this blog for two main reasons. First, I want to share my findings as I am doing my research. It is my hope that anyone thinking about the same things may find it useful. Second, I would hope that the larger online academic community may offer me some input for my thesis. It is through this interaction that I believe greater thinking will be had by all.

Many blessings.