"Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld

The aim of this thesis is to describe some central conceptual ideas expressed in the language of six computer interested boys. The starting-point is the philosophy of language of Ludwig Wittgenstein, where language is seen as something deeply integrated in our practices, traditions and culture. The...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Erson, Eva
Format: Doctoral Thesis
Language:Swedish
Published: Umeå universitet, Litteraturvetenskap och nordiska språk 1992
Subjects:
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-65819
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:91-88466-01-9
id ndltd-UPSALLA1-oai-DiVA.org-umu-65819
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-UPSALLA1-oai-DiVA.org-umu-658192013-02-12T16:05:25Z"Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärldswe"There's the moon to reach- " : a study of the language and world of ideas of some computer interested boysErson, EvaUmeå universitet, Litteraturvetenskap och nordiska språkUmeå : Umeå universitet1992Wittgensteinphilosophy of languagethe moving examplecomputersmasterymasculinist language gamehierarchizationdichotomizationpowercontrolWittgensteinLudwig1889-1951ProgramspråkThe aim of this thesis is to describe some central conceptual ideas expressed in the language of six computer interested boys. The starting-point is the philosophy of language of Ludwig Wittgenstein, where language is seen as something deeply integrated in our practices, traditions and culture. The use of our language shows its meaning. The material consists of 18 months of observations in the computer room of a secondary school and a series of three deep-interviews with each one of the boys over a period of three years. The computer has a central function in their identity work. Within our culture, this object - with its structure and its ways of operating - has become a metaphor for human thinking. It offers freedom and control. The discussions involved in this work and its form of representation problemize some of the fundamental assumptions of linguistics and the humanities. The three portraits (chapters 3-5) are to be understood as meaningful examples, while the persons portrayed are to be seen as symbols, inviting the reader to reflect over our culture and our practices. The fostering into the computer world and the ways of looking at the world are shown through the "personal voice", each followed by an interpretation linked to the theories and results of other researchers. In the boys' ways of using language there are differences and similarities. Learning, growing, creating, signifying 'freedom', can be seen as central notions in the identity work of one of them. With another of the boys there is a strong resemblance in his talking of computers and of his personal God; he "fixes" the world through dividing-lines, strong recommendations, further emphasized through the frequent use of the verb ska (shall, should). In the third portrait it is evident that the boy's abundance of words and narrative-making is a strategy of preventing nearness and to be able both to control the interview situation and to intensify the here and now. "Going deep" into computers make certain assumptions about the world more essential than others. Central concepts explicit in their common language game are logic, power and control (chapter 7). There is a common tendency to hierarchize and dichotomize the world; upper/under world, outer/inner world, logic/feeling, we/they, right/wrong. Stability can be seen as a summarizing notion. The deeper significance of their feeling of safety and control in the computer world is a fostering both into male dominance and into a dominant way of thinking about knowledge as something primarily logical, controllable and possible to account for. This masculinist language game is confirmed in different ways: individually, in the group and at a more subtle and symbolic level. <p>Diss. Umeå : Univ., 1992</p>digitalisering@umuDoctoral thesis, monographinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesistexthttp://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-65819urn:isbn:91-88466-01-9Nordsvenska / Institutionen för litteraturvetenskap och nordiska språk, 0282-7182 ; 9application/pdfinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
collection NDLTD
language Swedish
format Doctoral Thesis
sources NDLTD
topic Wittgenstein
philosophy of language
the moving example
computers
mastery
masculinist language game
hierarchization
dichotomization
power
control
Wittgenstein
Ludwig
1889-1951
Programspråk
spellingShingle Wittgenstein
philosophy of language
the moving example
computers
mastery
masculinist language game
hierarchization
dichotomization
power
control
Wittgenstein
Ludwig
1889-1951
Programspråk
Erson, Eva
"Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
description The aim of this thesis is to describe some central conceptual ideas expressed in the language of six computer interested boys. The starting-point is the philosophy of language of Ludwig Wittgenstein, where language is seen as something deeply integrated in our practices, traditions and culture. The use of our language shows its meaning. The material consists of 18 months of observations in the computer room of a secondary school and a series of three deep-interviews with each one of the boys over a period of three years. The computer has a central function in their identity work. Within our culture, this object - with its structure and its ways of operating - has become a metaphor for human thinking. It offers freedom and control. The discussions involved in this work and its form of representation problemize some of the fundamental assumptions of linguistics and the humanities. The three portraits (chapters 3-5) are to be understood as meaningful examples, while the persons portrayed are to be seen as symbols, inviting the reader to reflect over our culture and our practices. The fostering into the computer world and the ways of looking at the world are shown through the "personal voice", each followed by an interpretation linked to the theories and results of other researchers. In the boys' ways of using language there are differences and similarities. Learning, growing, creating, signifying 'freedom', can be seen as central notions in the identity work of one of them. With another of the boys there is a strong resemblance in his talking of computers and of his personal God; he "fixes" the world through dividing-lines, strong recommendations, further emphasized through the frequent use of the verb ska (shall, should). In the third portrait it is evident that the boy's abundance of words and narrative-making is a strategy of preventing nearness and to be able both to control the interview situation and to intensify the here and now. "Going deep" into computers make certain assumptions about the world more essential than others. Central concepts explicit in their common language game are logic, power and control (chapter 7). There is a common tendency to hierarchize and dichotomize the world; upper/under world, outer/inner world, logic/feeling, we/they, right/wrong. Stability can be seen as a summarizing notion. The deeper significance of their feeling of safety and control in the computer world is a fostering both into male dominance and into a dominant way of thinking about knowledge as something primarily logical, controllable and possible to account for. This masculinist language game is confirmed in different ways: individually, in the group and at a more subtle and symbolic level. === <p>Diss. Umeå : Univ., 1992</p> === digitalisering@umu
author Erson, Eva
author_facet Erson, Eva
author_sort Erson, Eva
title "Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
title_short "Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
title_full "Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
title_fullStr "Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
title_full_unstemmed "Det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
title_sort "det är månen att nå- " : en studie i några datorintresserade pojkars språk och föreställningsvärld
publisher Umeå universitet, Litteraturvetenskap och nordiska språk
publishDate 1992
url http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-65819
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:91-88466-01-9
work_keys_str_mv AT ersoneva detarmanenattnaenstudieinagradatorintresseradepojkarssprakochforestallningsvarld
AT ersoneva theresthemoontoreachastudyofthelanguageandworldofideasofsomecomputerinterestedboys
_version_ 1716576823565877248