Chartier's thinking can be applied to the MU* environment.
Despite the fact that Chartier's relationship between
author, object, and text mainly focused on Early Modern Print Culture
(1485-1660), he admits that the relationships can also
apply to relationships beyond Early Modern Print. I would like to apply
Chartier's ideas to the "New Computer Culture" of the Twenty-First Century.
Chartier's relationship here demands that whenever one point of the relationship changes, they all must change. Altering the involvement of one by necessity alters others. The undeniable and inextricable links between the points form the borders of the continuing discourse. Just as all of the angles of a triangle must equal 180 degrees at *all* times, so is the discourse circumscribed. Alter any angle or point in a triangle and the other angles and points must compensate to maintain the 180 degree requirement. Alter any dynamic in the discourse, and all other points must compensate to maintain the bonds of the discourse.
It seems students place themselves squarely outside this discourse. Say, as a fourth point from the observant position of a tetrahedron. They see author, text, and object as an event to be looked upon. From their vantage point, they have no stake, no position, no interest, no power in the discourse. Squarely, or triangularly, if you will, placing the student in the discourse is one of the main goals of using MU*space.
By altering the dynamic of these relationships, we can create a scenario which requires the student to interact with their text at an even closer level. Encouraging students to see themselves in the authorial position would be a powerful force to encourage a new relationship.
