You probably said none of those things, but I'd like to imagine that you did so that my forthcoming post will knock your double-layered, Michigan winter, socks off.
Sure, academia and blogging don't make the most likely match. The former is associated with rigid convention and high-falutin' word choice; the latter, with colloquialism and funny cat pictures. However, since blogging is essentially a form of self-expression, there must be some people who choose to express themselves intellectually (or academically). And there are.
As I mentioned in my previous post, the blog format lends to a sort of virtual Socratic method, which can actually be quite beneficial for intellectual inquiries. While I would not posit that blogs could serve as a complete replacement for traditional academic media, they may provide a worthy supplement. In this post, I will examine three "academic" blogs, in order to determine how they utilize the blog format for academia, and whether or not they can be categorized as a trustworthy academic blog.
Bug Girl's Blog's brief site description reads, "Entomology. Gardening. Ranting. Nerdery." After perusing the blog, I might place a stronger emphasis on the second two. Recent posts include "Dear Coffee Barista," a letter to Bug Girl's local barista, who apparently shows too much [butt]crack; "Monday Lolbeetle," a picture of a beetle with a gramatically incorrect, albeit humorous caption; and "Weekly WTF," which describes the repeal of a Kalamazoo ordinance protecting LGBT persons from discrimation. Certainly a worthy topic, but not exactly bug related.
Bug Girl apparently has a PhD in entomology, but it would not seem that her blog is strictly academic. That's not to say, however, that she doesn't occasionally use her expertise. There is a somewhat recent and lengthy post about "Cochineal," a food additive derived from an insect. The content of the post is both tonally casual and highly informative, highlighting that blogging style and academic style is not mutually exclusive. Within the contents, readers follow up on her post, commenting, and asking questions, which Bug Girl soon answers. Though Bug Girl's Blog is often merely "bugs n' other stuff," when she delves into the academic blogosphere, she provides a useful place for budding and current entomologists to meet and discuss.
David Bordwell and Kristen Thompson's Blog, "Observations on film art and Film Art," is titularly self-explanitory - it is a blog about film (and their book, Film Art). I know Bordwell and Thompson because they are the authors of many of my film school textbooks. For those who don't know them, Bordwell notes that he is the "James Ledoux Professor of Film Studies" at UW-Madison. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds fancy, so he's got my attention. The content of their blog consists of original articles on film history and theory, as well as reviews, lists, and general filmic discussion. As film is a very visual medium, their posts are highlighted by many, many pictures, which are used to accompany and explain the text. In this way, the blog is utilizing the new media aesthetics to help articulate its points. However, Film Art uses pictures as well. What seperates the blog is that it is current and ongoing. Bordwell and Thompson can comment on films that have been recently released, and use this knowledge in their analysis of older ones. As for interactivity, there doesn't seem to be comments on most of the posts, so it is hard to get a good gauge of the blog's readership. So, although "Observations" can generally be considered academic, while still using blog conventions, it does not take advantage of the interactivity and discussion that other academic blogs use.
Finally, I looked at Crooked Timber, a political blog maintained by and authored by a group of academics from around the globe. Timber's format seems to be ideal for academic inquiry - a variety of professors with different viewpoints coalescing their thoughts, ideas, and arguments in a single place. Based on the comments section, there seems to be a rather vast and interested readership, who grapple with and react to each post. The authors often make an appearance in the comments section to contribute their points of view. Also, like Bordwell's blog, the real-time immediacy of blogging allows the authors to comment on current events, such as last week's inauguration. While Crooked Timber does not utilize an array of pictures or other visual media, they do use hyperlinks to cite and give examples. All in all, the site seems like a perfect supplement for those interested in reading or writing about current politics.Images from Bug Girl's Blog and Crooked Timber.
Hi Ian,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I've enjoyed reading your posts. You have a unique voice that makes your thoughts that much more interesting to read.
I agree with your characterization of academic blogs as a "supplement" to more traditional academic writing. It's hard to come to terms with the concept of blogging being academic because it's often so raw, but what it does have on academic journals is its immediacy. While a new discovery could take months or years to appear in journals, scientists could blog about it in real time as they work, or theorists could use blogs to briefly comment about something they read in more traditional media, etc. Anyway, it's a very apt way to describe it...
...what was I talking about? I got distracted by the adorable kittens. Look, that one's sneezing!