Reading Notes #5

Jeff Rice’s Chapter 7 (Popular Culture and Cool) centered around how modes (music, electronic writing, literacy etc.) of “cool” affects current popular culture. Rice believes that the development of new media technologies directly relates to literacy growth, and I have to agree. He points out that “before the 1500’s, few people knew how to read and write, and, consequently, the ability to produce written texts was a limited activity” (126). After the invention of the printing press, however, many people were able to both write and read text in public and private spaces. Computers and related technologies have furthered these abilities. People are now even more able to connect with a large number of people or work in solitude. For the purposes of this class, I believe the focus should be on the large-scale connectedness that results from new media developments. Rice thinks that developments of literacy and technology are intertwined. A key term Rice mentions is “computer literacy” (127). The traditional notion of these words is one that focuses on one’s ability to turn on and use a computer’s components. As mentioned in previous blogs, I would say I am not very “computer literate” using this definition. However, Rice points out that the true definition of computer literacy” streches beyond the traditional one. “Computer literacy” also encompasses one’s ability to “create discourse with computers...and rhetorically be persuasive” (127). I’ve realized that new media is developing rapidly, and that in order to be fully competent in all aspects of society, one needs to keep up with and adapt to these developments. In this sense, I believe I am slowly beginning to improve my “computer literacy”.