comments- abstract: generic beginning, need definitions of the middle east.
Introduction: Need 3-4 paragraphs. Order: Youtube and other eOT websites (blogs, Facebook youtube )as a community. Content Next Oral tradition part show how they are 2-way convos, niches, social commentary. The conflict paragraph
basically just need a warm up paragraph about youtube
For the Fieldwork- content and random website selection Content - social - political - security - tools available on the web (taken from openinitiative) Websites- Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, (need political sites) The goal is to see through the eyes of a person in the middle east surfing the web.
Interview - get the first hand account of an individual from Jordan
First, the abstract is too watered down. Instead of "Computer technology and the Internet...." it would be better to cite websites involving 2-way conversation. Several websites have quickly evolved to include conversations of all types. Facebook, Youtube, and various blogs host content
There are several terms that i need to define within my proposal - as i expand it into my first draft.
First, I need to define the Middle East. There are a few Middle Eastern countries that don't filter web access. I think i t would be best to cite specific examples, and base the paper off of these countries: Iran. Pakistan. Jordan. Saudi Arabia.
However, several of my sources refer to the middle east as a broad term. in these cases i need to define the middle east differently
Cutting
the Conversation Short: Effects
of Middle Eastern Theocracies on Electronic Oral Traditions.
Justin Williams ENG 202 Tuesday/Thursday
12:30-1:45pm Fall 2009
Abstract
Computer technology and
the Internet are expanding extremely fast, bringing changes in
culture and traditions everywhere. Not all cultures welcome this
change however, and the freedom of electronic oral traditions
(eOTs) expected in western culture is often lost in Middle
Eastern countries. Through searching middle-eastern website
domains, the effects of strong theocratic
governments on eOTs can be seen. With this rapid advance of
technology, what effect will middle-eastern theocratic governments have on
YouTube eOTs?
Introduction
Electronic oral
traditions have quickly established themselves as an integral part of culture
and society. It is this new era of two-way conversations allowed by
these eOTs that is the most intriguing; prior to eOT applications on the
Internet, the only global or even nationwide conversation was
provided by the television and newspaper. However, even these
methods were one-way conversations. With new Internet eOTs such as
YouTube, millions of two-way conversations have begun, from social commentary
to music remixes.
With this amazing source of free
speech, one could only imagine
what effects middle-eastern theocratic government would have on
these two-way conversations. Middle-eastern theocracies have less room
for change in terms of culture and tradition compared to western
governments. These heavily regulated governments often block sites for
their content, limiting the freedom of speech of its citizens.
Examples of this behavior include the recent political unrest in Iran due
to the controversial reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
According to the American Free Press, this was accompanied by the Iranian
government blocking of Facebook, a social networking website, in an
attempt to prevent voters from using the site for the primary opponents
campaign. From this one can tell that there is a willingness to
use eOTs in middle-eastern countries, although it is hindered by
the ruling government regulations.
Fieldwork Statement
The specific
activity that I will pursue as the main primary source is online
observation. This online observation will involve several
steps: the observation of the available websites to the peoples of these Middle
Eastern theocratic governments, The content available on YouTube (the chosen
eOT in this study), the comments related to government effects on eOTs, and the
official statements and publicized actions of these theocratic
governments. The reasoning behind these observations is to capture the
perspective of an active eOT application user in the Middle East. By
finding the blocked sites and content, the window of available knowledge can
be defined for any given user. By observing the comments of Middle
Eastern Internet users, the reaction to the blocked websites can be
gauged. Official statements and publicized actions of the various countries gives
some credibility to the comments and attitude of the citizens found
there.
Although this observation process is complicated, and
does not lend itself as being an easy task due to the language barrier, the
Google advanced search allows one to search in Arabic sites by
translating the query into Arabic. In addition, the sites found are
translated into English. Because of this, the observation process is
simplified. Ultimately, I will interpret the accuracy and the meaning of the
translations. To insure that the true meaning is
maintained when unsure of the meaning of the translation,
freetranslation.com will be used as a comparison.
Source Review
I intend to work with four main groups or
"conversations" of sources, three of which are shown in the working
bibliography, and the other is the fieldwork/ primary source that will be
gathered through observation of the Middle Eastern websites.With this primary source I hope to get a
closer look at the conflict, especially at the individual level- the
frustration, anger, etc. of the citizens in Middle Eastern countries.Cultural Anthropologists - Academic Studies
is an example of a very important conversation: in this section the theoretical
implications of electronic oral traditions and oral traditions as a whole are
discussed, as well as the importance of these traditions to society and
culture.The Conflict: Middle Eastern
Governments and eOTs section of the working bibliography shows the clash
between the will of the people and the theocratic governments - a direct effect
of government on eOTs.This section is
not as reliable as other sections, as many of the sources can be opinionated
with fewer references.Finally, the
Statistics and Middle Eastern Internet Usage section contains statistics
pertaining to all types of Internet usage, including streaming video (used on
YouTube).These statistics show overtime
the fluctuation of Internet usage, and can be correlated to government
regulation.
Working Bibliography
Cultural Anthropologists- Academic Studies
Juhasz, Alexandra. Media
Praxis. 12 November 2008. Web. 3 November 2009. <http://mediapraxis.org/>
Foley, John Miles. "Navigating Pathways:
Oral Tradition and the Internet." Academic Intersections. (2008):
n. pag.Web. 3 November 2009. <http://edcommunity.apple.com/ali/story.php?itemID=13163&version=3634&pageID=8960>
Hymes, Dell H. "In Vain I Tried to Tell You": Essays in
Native American Ethnopoetics. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1981. 3 November 2009<
http://www.netlibrary.com/Details.aspx>
Wesch, Michael. "The Machine is
(Changing) Us: YouTube Culture and the Politics ofAuthenticity." Personal Democracy Forum. Rose Theater, New
York, New York. Keynote Speech. 29 June 2009 <http://www.citizentube.com/
2009/07/youtube-culture-and-politics-of.html>
The Conflict: Middle Eastern Governments and eOTs
Giroux, Henry. The Iranian Uprisings and the Challenge of
the New Media: Rethinking the Politics of Representation. 2009. Fast
Capitalism. Web. 4 November 2009.
<http://www.uta.edu/huma/agger/fastcapitalism/5_2/Giroux5_2.html>
Graham, Nick. Pakistan Blocks Youtube Video Access. 24
Febuary 2008. Sadaqat Jan. Web. 5 November 2009. <
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/24/pakistan-blocks-youtubev_n_88183.html>
Pearson, Chris. Middle East Blog. 26 September 2009.
Web. 6 November 2009.
<http://middleeastblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/saudis-pure-version-ofyoutube/>
Facebook
decries Iranian ban. 23, May 2009. AFP. Web.
5 November 2009. <http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jdQK4b3SF_-kj5CsP1G47kNxZ4qw>
Statistics and Middle Eastern Internet Usage
Ipoque. Insight and
Control. 2008. Web. 5 November 2009. <http://www.ipoque.com/resources/internet-studies/internet-study-2008_2009>
Internet
World Stats: Populations and Usage Statistics. All About Market Research. Web. 3 November 2009 <http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats5.htm>
Electronic oral traditions have quickly established themselves as an integral part of culture and society. It is this new era of two-way conversations allowed by these eOTs that is the most intriuging; prior to eOT applications on the internet, the only global or even nationwide conversation was provided by the television and newspaper. However, even these methods were one-way conversations. With new internet eOTs such as youtube, millions of two-way conversations have begun, from social commentary to music remixes.
With this amazing source of free speech, one could only imagine what effects middle-eastern theocratic government would have on these two-way conversations. Middle-eastern theocracies have less room for change in terms of culture and tradition compared to western governments. These heavily regulated governments often block sites for their content, limiting the freedom of speech of its citizens. Examples of this behavior include the recent political unrest in Iran due to the controversial reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. According to the American Free Press, this was accompanied by the Iranian government blocking of facebook, a social networking website, in an attempt to prevent voters from using the site for the primary opponents campaign. From this one can tell that there is a willingness to use eOTs in middle-eastern countries, although it is hindered by the ruling government regulations.
Giroux, Henry. The Iranian Uprisings and the Challenge of the New Media: Rethinking the Politics of Representation. 2009. Fast Capitalism. Web. 4 November 2009. <http://www.uta.edu/huma/agger/fastcapitalism/5_2/Giroux5_2.html>
****How is the 2-way communication of youtube eOTs affect theocratic governments in middle-eastern countries?
Computer technology and the internet is expanding extremely fast. In fact, this technology is expanding fast enough that over the few past decades one can see the changes in culture and traditions that this technology has brought. With this in mind, it is easy to see that theocratic governments with little room for cultural change would resist the change applications such as youtube, bring about. With this rapid advance of technology,what effect will middle eastern theocratic governments have on youtube eOTs?
4. Fieldwork Statement - Propose the specific activity you will pursue as your primary research. Make clear what information you seek, from whom, and how you will obtain it. The purpose and the "nuts & bolts" should be clear (ex. for a survey, detail how it will be administered, to whom, and samples of the questions)
The specific activity that i will pursue as the main primary source is online observation. This online observation will involve several steps - the observation of the available websites to the peoples of these middle-eastern theocratic governments, The content available on youtube (the chosen eOT in this study), the comments related to government effects on eOTs, and the official statements and publicized actions of these theocratic governments. The reasoning behind these observations is to capture the perspective of an active eOT application user in the middle east. By finding the blocked sites and content, the window of available knowledge can be defined for any given user. by observing the comments - the reaction to the blocked websites can be gauged. Official statements and publicized actions of the various countires gives some credibility to the comments and attitude of the citizens found there.
The process:
Although this observation processs is complicated, and does not lend itself as being an easy task due to the language barrier, the google advanced search allows one to search in arabic sites by translating the query into arabic. in addition, the sites found are translated into english. because of this, the observation process is simplified. Ultimately, the accuracy and the meaning of the translations will be interpreted by myself. To insure that the true meaning is maintained when unsure of the meaning of the translation, freetranslation.com will be used as a comparison.
Open Questions: Unreliable types of sources? I believe that the most unreliable source of information that i might come across are the unreferenced sights found in open searches. A good example of this are blogs and other heavily opinionated literature.
1. The Iranian Uprisings and the Challenge of the New Media: Rethinking the Politics of Representation
- this article is very relevant to my topic - it clearly highlights the iranian government and the effects of new eOT media. score - 5 - There are a variety of sources cited in this journal, and all seem relevant to the subject- the sources are woven in to the work making for a strong argument in the effects of theocratic government and new eOT media. score 5 - Henry Giroux, author of this article, was not a familiar name to me, but after a little digging i found that he has several publications, and "currently holds the Global TV Network Chair Professorship at McMaster University in the English and Cultural Studies Department."-http://www.uta.edu/huma/agger/fastcapitalism/5_2/authors5_2.html#giroux score 5
2.Professor Michael Wesch's speech, "The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube Culture and the Politics of Authenticity." - the relevance to my topic is extremely high - and it also brings in the anthropological aspect of youtube and its cultural interaction score 5 - This source is a video, and is based on the research performed by Dr. Wesch and his graduate students. Because the results discussed are directly drawn from observation, the persuasivness of this source is very high. Score 4 - Dr. Wesch is very well published and has won many awards in cultural anthropology, and is a assistant professor at Kansas State University. Score 5
3.Ipoque 2008/2009 Internet Study. - Again, the relevance to my subject is very high, describing the streaming video statistics of many different countries, including those in the middle east. score 5 - Because Ipoque is a well known german company specializing in computer statistics, i believe that this source is very credible. This work is also referenced by many other papers/ articles, adding to the persusiveness. Because this source is purely a survey, with very little interpretation, adds to the credibility.score 10.
4. Oral Traditions and the Internet. John Miles Foley. - the relevance of this source to my topic is also very high, drawing the differences of OTs and eOTs. Although not directly linked to theocratic governments in the middle east, this shows the cultural aspects of eOTs and how they are used. score 3 - ideas are very persuasive, and ideas are very clear. sources are referenced in text, and are reliable. score 5 - this author is extremely well known as a cultural anthropologist and well published author. score 5
5. Pakistan blocks YouTube Access. Sadaqat Jan. - This article is very rlevant to my topic - showing te effects of theocratic government and eoT youtube. It needs to elaborate more on the effects though... score 3 - there are many in text references, and is a news item form the huffington post newspaper. score - 4 - credibility seems high. A topic this large can't be bluffed especially in an edited/proofread newspaper article. score - 4
do surveys by another group count as fieldwork/ primary source?
- could survey students on youtube usage in terms commenting and 2-way conversations (poster and commenter, and society and post). I could then compare the known (referenced) differences between theocratic middle eastern governments and the democracy in the US, and show how these survey results would conflict/ interact with the theocratic government
- With field work, a primary source of information can be obtained. This can give a "from the horses mouth" aspect to the paper, and adds to the credibility of the conclusion. Fieldwork needs to be addressed in a way that considers the one performing the fieldwork. Surveys can't include everyone. The one person you want to interview isn't always available. Fieldwork needs to reflect these limitations.
I need to concentrate on
1. the 2-way communication aspect of youtube,
2. the viewpoint of the citizens. interviews?
in terms of sources,
-need book sources.
sources i have: journal, blog, article, video, paper(foley), survey. all electronic.
i need published books, whether electronic or hardcopy.
****How is the 2-way communication of youtube eOTs affect theocratic governments in middle-eastern countries?
Computer technology and the internet is expanding extremely fast, bringing changes in culture and traditions everywhere. Not all cultures welcome this change however, and the freedom of electronic oral traditions (eOTs) expected in western culture are often lost in middle-eastern countries. Through searching middle-eastern website domains, the effects of strong theocratic governments on eOTs can be seen. With this rapid advance of technology, what effect will middle-eastern theocratic governments have on youtube eOTs?
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