José van Dijk – Writing the Self

Reading Journal - Session 4 - 15/11/2016

José van Dijk – Writing the Self

·         diary usually characterized as a (hand)written document that chronicles the experiences, observations, and reflections of a single person at the moment of inscription

·         record of a single person constructing an autobiographical account

·         involves both reflection and expression, but is also a hybrid act of remembrance and communication

·         digital equivalent: lifelog, multimedia online experiment, often linked with others to form lifelog-communities

·         diary writing and blogging ambiguous acts concerning privacy and publicness

·         instruments of self-formation and vehicles of connections

·         tools to record and update the past , simultaneously steering future memory and identity

·         also sociocultural practices

·         “contagious feelings”: feelings/memories  triggered by someone else’s experiences

·         diary used to strengthen Alzheimer’s patient’s sense of self, personal marker of cognitive abilities they will lose, ultimate tool to comprehend and preserve unique sense of self

·         word choice, punctuation, use of emojis replaces a person’s handwriting in presenting a person’s character

·         webblogs as goldmines for data diggers

·         publicy issues, no clear readership

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