28th
Mediated discourse - more than discussion! [learning diary]
Definitions
Though it does not sound very appealing, mediated discourse is about having tough verbal and profound exchange of opinions with strong arguments. While discussion means:
lat. discutio, -cussi (quatio) = 1. zerschlagen, zertrümmern […]
discourse is about splitting:
lat. discursus <ūs> m (discurro) – das Auseinanderlaufen [ militum ]
Discourse is a European thing
As the definitions are now clear, it’s a good basis for further thinking about the discourse culture in the private, university and job context.
Mediated discourse was was today’s topic in class and it means having a discourse with media, i.e. chat, wiki, forum, Twitter.
It’s said to be a European thing. Having a discourse is not very common in the U.S. where our professor originally comes from. They have a very strong Q & A culture which is not very common with German students. They don’t like posing questions publicly as they don’t want look stupid to others. That’s what our professor says. And I’d agree with that.
I’m also not the typical asking guy in public as I like to appear strong, knowing and intelligent towards others. But this opinion is about to die while thinking more about the reasons. What I will try for the future ist trying to encourage myself to pose more questions and be more open and “offensive” (eager) with regard to a discourse.
What I found out for myself is that the European (German) approach of talking, discussing and having a discourse in theory together with the pragmatism of the U.S. would be killer combination. I don’t want to call it a perfect one, but it seems to be very very efficient.
Chat discourse
I’m a fan of chatting. I like text. I like to type. I like to reply. And I like to have it all archived and potentially visible (viewable) to others - in terms of multi-person chat.
Let me sum up what I found interesting to hear in today’s lecture:
- Productive chat should not take longer than 60 minutes.
- Chat is best for seminars, not lectures.
- Students should be prepared for the chats in the learning and business environment.
- Avoid OFF-TOPIC conversations.
- Focus / Refocus the discussions as necessary.
- Write very very positive to avoid misinterpretation.
- Address people with @name.
- Have a clear beginning and ending.
It now looks like a good overview and dos and don’ts for an effective chat discourse and interaction. Voilà and credits to Prof. Weber-Wulff of course!
I found the rest of the lecture interesting but not worth making it a subject of discussion in this blog post.
Moreover
PS: There was a bit of off-topic when the professor told about a dissertation in which the most important theses where “banned” into 140 Twitter typical characters - which was interesting for me as a Twitter afficionado.
PPS: What I also liked the story of the professor telling us that she almost hated chat for being / spreading non-sense.Further things which also came to my mind
The things in bullet points:
- #OccupyWallStreet, the engagement of the 1% against the 99%.
- Philosophie - Engagement (German arte TV, Video)
That arte video is interesting because of several aspects. For example it states the phrase:
Das Engagement des Philosophen ist, sich am Bestehenden zu reiben. – Platon, Siebter Brief
This sounds very much like what happens when you are in discourse. In a discourse it’s okay to have resistance, you even reinforce that!
Time spent: 90 min (writing this post, watching the arte video about engagement)
