“Seeing Ourselves Through Technology” Chapter 1 Notes

Chapter 1 Written, Visual, and Self-Representations: Key Terms and Main Idea 

• Three distinct modes of self-representation: Written, visual and quantitative. -Each mode has separate history 
• Writing about the self (written): Augustine’s “Confessions” written in 397-8 CE was the first autobiography. -people rarely wrote about oneself in 16^th century. -b 30% of the population were literate in the early 17^th century, then 70%-90% in the 19^th century. – First English language autobiography was “The Book of Margery Kempe” by Margery Kempe in 1373.  
• Visual self-portraits in history: self-portraits became cool collectors’ items and used as body art. – self-portraits showed still more fragmented versions of the self, tending to conceal.  
• History of quantitative self-representation: self-representation is a number, list, map, and graphs. – written autobiographies, memoirs, and diaries are self-representation and aesthetics. – Quantitative self-representation is pre- or post-narrative. 

• Text or people: Self representation with digital technologies is a form of self-documentation. –  

Chapter 1 Written, Visual, and Self-Representations: Making Connections 

In Jill Walker Rutberg’s “Seeing Ourselves Through Technology”, chapter one talks about the three self-representations. I feel this connects to me because I use social media for self-gratification. I know I am confident but the dopamine that I receive taking a selfie. How we see ourselves does shows in our social media today. A lot of people feel they must put up a fake image for people to like them or just to get some likes. This is an example of self-representations. I participate in quantitative self-representation without even knowing it. Self-representation is a number, list, map, and graphs. Written autobiographies, memoirs, and diaries are self-representation and aesthetics. Written self-representation are more common because the literacy rate is higher than ever, Augustine’s “Confessions” written in 397-8 CE was the first autobiography. People rarely wrote about oneself in 16^th century -b 30% of the population were literate in the early 17^th century, then 70%-90% in the 19^th century. The first English language autobiography was “The Book of Margery Kempe” by Margery Kempe in 1373. 

  Chapter 1 Written, Visual, and Self-Representations: Commentary 

In Jill Walker Rutberg’s “Seeing Ourselves Through Technology”, chapter one she talks about the text or people self-representation with digital technologies is a form of self-documentation. I never keep my photos not one. I feel a memory is best lived in the moment and stored in your mental rolodex. How could a picture I no longer have be a documentation of my-self? In the section Writing about the self the author talks about Augustine’s “Confessions” written in 397-8 CE was the first autobiography. -people rarely wrote about oneself in 16^th century. -b 30% of the population were literate in the early 17^th century, then 70%-90% in the 19^th century. – First English language autobiography was “The Book of Margery Kempe” by Margery Kempe in 1373.  I didn’t know there where so many illiterate people in the 16^th centry. I also feel there should have been more self-assessment prices during that time regardless of that. I know people still wanted to write.  

CITE: Jill Walker Rettberg (2014). Seeing Ourselves Through Technology. 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN