Mediating Influences: Problematising facilitated digital self-representation
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Date
2014
Authors
Vivienne, Sonja
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Aarhus University, Department of Aesthetics and Communication
Rights
Copyright © 2014. S. Vivienne.
Rights Holder
The Author
Abstract
While Digital Storytelling has been lauded as an exemplary model of participatory cultural
citizenship (particularly in initiatives for and with marginalised people), many mediating
influences make ‘authentic’ self-representation far from straightforward. In this article, I
consider some of these mediating influences, from both theoretical and practical perspectives,
and underline their regulatory and constitutive nature. While some of these mediating
influences are timeworn and pre-date digital technology, others are perpetuated and amplified,
as is the case in networked personal storytelling disseminated online. I draw on some
well-established strategies derived from anthropology and narrative practices to propose a
new purpose for old tools. These tools support the nuanced and sensitive facilitation of both
face-to-face and online Digital Storytelling workshops as well as the curation of web spaces
in which they eventually circulate. I argue that making complex mediating influences visible
to participants affords redress of the inherent social and technical privileges of institutions,
facilitators and platforms. Finally, I consider the implications of these strategies for voice,
marginalised identity, cultural citizenship and social change.
Description
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords
Digital Storytelling, voice, self-representation, authenticity, mediating influences, facilitation strategies, social change
Citation
Vivienne, S. (2014). Mediating Influences: Problematising facilitated digital self-representation. Conjunctions Transdisciplinary Journal of Cultural Participation, 1(1) pp. 1-25.