An Invite to My Defense & Party

If any are wondering why I've been so quiet for the past few weeks, this is a bit of explanation, and an open invite to my doctoral examination and the reception / party to follow.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 9:00am in Room 200 of the Graduate Student Centre, University of British Columbia.

Reception: 7:00-9:00 pm, 31 March, 4726 Collingwood Street, near the crossroads of Collingwood and 31 Street in the Dunbar area of Vancouver.
BYOB--all are welcome.

What the exam is about...

Title: Writing Post-Person: Literacy, Poetics, and Sustainability in the Age of Disposable Information

Synopsis: This dissertation examines issues related to sustainability in information environments, investigating the impact of automated mass production and dissemination of excess information through public correspondence networks. In particular, healthy digital ecologies require attention to the ethics of disposability and waste. My research takes a personal and sociocultural approach to electronic correspondence systems, focusing on waste data produced by unsolicited, bulk, commercial messaging, otherwise known as spam email. Through this research I explore how literacy educators can assist students to prepare for, and critically understand, online information, public expression, and knowledge acquisition in the digital age. Emphasis is placed upon how poetics, used as a form of cultural recycling, can foster both a better understanding of how personal relevance is maintained in information dense environments, and how creative approaches to education and research bring to light the complexities of writing in post-personal times.