Thank you, that makes sense, I have however problems with the notion of "performed purely in the virtual arena". There are so few purely virtual arenas, almost everything seems to be augmented virtuality, mixed realities or augmented reality as Philippe Kerremans and others call it. Where would you look for pure virtuality? Mathias -- Mathias Fuchs Programme Leader MA Creative Technology and MSc Creative Games Salford University, School of Art & Design http://creativetechnology.salford.ac.uk/fuchs phone: +44 161 2956157 home: 4 Deeping Ave. Manchester, M16 8GB, UK http://creativegames.org.uk phone: +44 161 8815020 pearse stokes wrote:
Hi
It's great being on a mailing list with people who share the same interests!
First off, Chris, I hope it didn't sound like I was implying that you didn't have proper training. Proper ethnographic training is not confined to anthropology departments, and not all anthropology departments would provide proper training. When I said 'proper' training, I meant just that; proper.
Oliver,
Regards the distinction between virtual ethnography and cyber anthropology (as I see it, and hopefully many others will input here!),
cyber anthropology
-
Concerned with the human and the technological -
Does not assume a shape or location of the field site -
May use ethnographic methods including virtual ethnography
virtual ethnography
-
A method -
Performed purely in the virtual arena, which therefore, assumes the existence of a virtual arena and limits the shape and location of a specific 'culture' -
May be just one method in a research (lets hope so)
I use this distinction because most 'virtual' research is concerned with the interaction or mediation of communications between individuals and computers or individuals and individuals. No research is purely virtual. It can't be, by virtue of the fact that the researcher is there. Just like no field site, however long ago, was truly separate from the world.
As such, cyber anthropology, in my mind at least, is concerned with researching that part of humanity that interface with technology. More generally cyber anthropology can refer to researching mobile phone use, epidemiological factors relating to computer use, the shape of family structure around the computer, etc. It is acutely aware of the 'real'. In fact, I would suggest that any good cyber anthropological or cyber sociological research would not bring pre-conceptions like virtual and real into the research in the first place. To do so is to assume the shape and location of the research site.
Now lets hear what other people think on the subject!
Pearse _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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