Response#5: Collaboration, Literacy, Authorship...

In this article, the author explores the concept of collaboration in the academic arena. He says that compositionists feel the idyllic perception of the solitary writer is overplayed, and that knowledge no longer belongs to the individual, but to "a multitude of social forces that push on individuals." He asks us to take a look at the way writing programs operate in universities today, saying classrooms have not evolved as we've come to better understand the collaborative nature of learning; most professors don't incorporate blogs, wikis, and other social networking sites into their curriculum.

Additionally, he states that the "single-authored book or essay remains the coin of the realm," resulting in students competing, rather than collaborating. Our system of standardizing testing is one that favors the individual, and this is reflective of society's portrayal of the writer as a solitary figure. He goes on to proffer sites that do feature collaboration, such as Wikipedia, or newsvine.com, saying that outside of academia, collaboration is, in fact, taking place.

This "collaborative wave," as he calls it, is forcing us to reconsider the precept of the writer as a lone figure. He gives a plethora of sites that serve as a challenge to this notion: teachingwiki.org, Community Forum, Wikispaces, and several others. As we progress, in terms of collaborating online, we must consider how our classroom will need to change. He concludes by acknowledging the obstacles we will face, but insisting that "social networking tools constitute a major new way to construct and disseminate knowledge."

I think the author makes several valid points, but his overall thesis is fuzzy: he urges that we use social networking sites, and that by using blogs and wikis, this is "collaboration," and then to prove is point, he goes on to say that the solitary write is a farce and that books should not be a solitary act. I don't understand his equating blogs or wikis to one author publishing a book. I believe is argument is lopsided and a bit extreme. I really enjoyed creating a blog and posting comments to other classmates' opinions in this class, but that is a separate issue from the fact that I do plan on writing a book and receiving sole credit for my work. One of the draws for me personally, as a writer, is working alone. I never wanted to work with other people, and I think if I couldn't sit and my desk and imagine and be creative, I never would have entered the creative writing program here at City College.