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| Angela Thomas Biography |
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How have YouTube and video blogging have become a mediating space for what Sherry Turkle calls "evocative objects” — objects, or in this case, spaces, that we use to think about ourselves? Thomas argues that the act of viewing oneself in public performances, and acknowledging public commentary on those acts, provides dual reflective lenses which serve to reconstruct, reinvent and redefine one's identity. A number of examples will be presented that will illustrate themes such as the nature of the autobiographical, the notion of commodity fetishism, and "shopping for truth" about one's place in the world. What might these trends and phenomena mean for today’s youth, especially in terms of ethics, consequences, and reputation management?
Dr. Angela Thomas is a Lecturer in English Education at the University of Sydney. She specialises in teaching New Media Literacies and is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on fan fiction, online role-playing, blogging, digital fiction, cyberculture, identity and learning in virtual worlds. She is the co author of "Children’s Literature and Computer Based Teaching", and author of the forthcoming "Youth Online: Identity and Literacy in the Digital Age." |