Recently, the autobiographical writings of a cancer survivor - written
over the period of several years, and ending recently with her death -
were revealed to be an elaborate fiction. The journal began with a young
woman creating a new identity for herself and took off from there.
When it was suggested this identity may have been fabricated, several
loyal readers were up in arms defending her existence, having received
email from her, or talked to her on the phone. It was revealed the she
had her daughter take on the role of this identity for phonecalls, and
wrote a supporting journal as her 'mother' - a mother scared she would
lose her daughter at any time.
Many, as a result of incidents like this, have questioned the very
fabric of 'reality' in new media. This event has prompted us here at
nasty to question how the (auto)biographical sense of self is created,
explored and ultimately exploited in the new media. Can we liken the
above to Jamaica Kincaid's _My Brother_, or Gertrude Stein's _The
Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas_, or does New Media create a much more
sinister landscape, exploiting the gullibility of its readership?
We invite academic articles and editorials on how forms of new media,
such as weblogs, online forums, internet chat and video games, explore
how we view ourselves, how we interact with others, and how we create
our own personal and social identities.
Submissions should be emailed in Word format to submissions@nasty.cx.
Deadline: June 15th, 2001.
nasty is a peer-reviewed journal, which exists to create a forum for the
dissemination and promotion and of new, controversial and challenging
cultural and academic thought across the humanities. come visit us at
http://nasty.cx
,+''+, darren james harkness | nasty.cx
' '+,,+' "He who works like a machine, grows a heart like a
machine"
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