Resisting and Reconciling a Virtual Age: Performing Identities and Negotiating Literacies in Shifting Mid-life Workspaces and Immersive Online Environments
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: This dissertation highlights the intersections of age, gender, and technology at a time when the U.S. is expecting an increasingly aging labor force in the face of rapidly changing computer technologies.In autoethnographic style, I explore how subjectivities attached to age and gender are produced and negotiated at the interface of online/offline spaces.More specifically, I consider how situated (il) literacies materialize as bodies are positioned in a culture that perpetuates the appropriation of labor roles and identity performances based on age and gender.Drawing from a variety of performance theories and constitutive theories of identity, I examine how particular literacies and nuanced identities influence and are influenced by narratives that reflect everyday practices and politics.Recording and analyzing my own personal performances in the immersive online environments of LinguaMOO and Second Life, I underscore how transitioning from a 'traditional' home space to a computer dependent work/school space, matters for 'real' bodies in a 'virtual' age.iii To my father, Edwin McComas, who unknowingly taught me to question familiar domains and to value the stories of everyday life.members, teachers, and colleagues who in varying degrees have co-authored my identities and my various positions in life.However, those who have contributed most directly to my academic goals deserve an immense amount of credit for their collective gifts of encouragement throughout this incredible journey.The completion of any dissertation is testimony that there are no solo performances.I am fortunate to have been surrounded by a supporting cast that extended their expertise, guidance, and love during this process.Without the financial support from my graduate assistantship, this goal could not have come to fruition.For this I thank Barbara Peck for giving me the opportunity to work with graduate students in her outstanding Graduate Student Enhancement Program (GradSTEP).Her leadership skills combined with her compassion for those entering unfamiliar surroundings was a shining example of feminist theory put into praxis.The four years I spent with GradSTEP reaffirmed the importance of exploring issues related to 'post' non-traditional students in general and to women in transition in particular.Much gratitude goes to my professor-friends in the School of Media and Communication whose dedication to their subfields initiated and fostered my v understanding of theoretical perspectives that are now embodied in my own work.I thank Dr. Lara Martin Lengel for her expertise in performance theories of identity and her insights into feminist issues that impact women locally and globally.In regards to the writing process itself, I thank Dr. Catherine Cassara-Jemai, whose organizational skills were incredibly helpful as I sought to balance structure with creativity in a desire to produce a non-conventional, yet scholarly document.I thank her most of all for extending her friendship during long walks and talks that served to calm my own self doubts.I am most indebted to my advisor, friend, and mentor, Dr. Radhika Gajjala.Her fervor for cyberfeminist studies cultivated my sensitivity to women's issues in regards to age, gender, and technology.From her gentle wisdom and strong scholarship I gained a more nuanced understanding of socially and economically produced subjectivities.She inspired me to explore unfamiliar domains in unconventional ways, to trust my ways of knowing, and to challenge perceived limitations.Dr. Gajjala has been an integral part of my personal and scholarly growth throughout this process.She provided ongoing feedback, intellectual stimulation, and ideas for advancing my research as I became a critical researcher, a compassionate teacher, and a more conscious communicator.vi Reaching this goal would not have been possible without the loving support, patience, and understanding I received from friends and family.Among my friends I owe a special thanks to two women in particular.I thank Brigitte Green-Churchwell for her uplifting spirit, and for the time and energy she spent formatting the final document.I thank Melissa Altman, for being my writing buddy, and for our many latenight conversations that helped me clarify my interpretations.Finally, I am especially thankful for my family, who equipped me with a lifetime of love and life narratives that culminated into this moment.To my sister, Dawn Cooper, I owe a debt of gratitude as she filled the shoes I could not when my father was ill, allowing me to continue my studies.To my mother, Marianne McComas, I owe my life.No matter the situation, whether or not she agreed with my choices, she has always expressed her love with open arms.Without question, my father's death during my graduate program was most devastating.However, as a storyteller and an artisan, he impressed upon me a love for both.My children
Author: Sue Ellen McComas
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2247088430