Lurking as Digital Literacy Practice
Gina Sipley
Bristol University Press
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Introduction: Everyone’s a Lurker 1
- 1“Don’t Mind Me”: The History of Lurkers from Lerkere to Thriller 10
- 2Readers Have History: Towards a Transactional Theory of New Literacies 24
- 3“To Let Others Know They Are Not Alone”: Lurking and Community 39
- 4“Aint That Special”: Moderating in the Age of Digital Exploitation 57
- 5Resistance and Refusal: (Re)Evaluating Media Literacy 72
- 6How Do We Account for Lurking? Implications for Social Science Researchers 91
Conclusion: Participatory. And Valuable? 103
Gina Sipley is Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York at Nassau Community College and Affiliate Faculty in the Women’s and Gender Studies Project. She currently serves as English Program Coordinator and Vice Chair of the Creative Writing Program. She has previously served as Coordinator for Emerging Educational Technologies and Director of the Stony Brook University Coding in the Schools Program. Her research about literacy, lurking, and emerging technologies has been published in New Media + Society, Selected Papers of Internet Research (AoIR), Journal of Educational Technology Systems, and presented at the Association of Internet Researchers, the Modern Language Association, and SXSW EDU conferences. She has written op-eds for The London School of Economics Impact Blog, Al Jazeera America, EdSurge, Mic, and Newsday. She is a first-generation college graduate.
On being a mother and being a writer, Ursula LeGuin declares ‘the hand that rocks the cradle also writes the book’.
Parenthood should not limit our aspirations; however, what LeGuin does not illuminate is that the book can only be written if other hands are making dinners, doing laundry, and actively caring for the children. This book would not have been completed without access to excellent on-site affordable childcare provided by the teachers and caregivers at The Children’s Greenhouse at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Nassau Community College under the direction of Janet Walsh. Alexandra Dunleavy, Martha Braun, and Karen Greene cared for my children during semester breaks when I was off-campus. Most importantly, Tristan Sipley, PhD, my magnificent other, took the household and parenting lead on many early mornings, late evenings, and weekends. His commitment to our family allows me to be the best version of myself. This collective support freed my hands to pick up the pen and write.
Paul Stevens has championed this project since we first met at the Association of Internet Researchers Conference. His dedication and guidance, alongside the fantastic team at Bristol University Press, including Georgina Bolwell, Bahar Celik Muller, Zoë Forbes, Alexandra Gregory, Ellen Mitchell, and Freya Trand, have brought this book to life. Dawn Preston and the team at Newgen Publishing provided excellent production and copyediting services. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers of the book proposal and manuscript for generously giving their time to offer thoughtful and constructive feedback. There are many people who helped me to acquire important materials, read early drafts, think through the salient points, develop my writing, make revisions, and focus my attention: Collin Gifford Brooke, Joanne Bergbom, Rachel Collins, David Crugnola, William Davies, Michael Dwyer, Robin Edkin, Brigitte Fielder, Alan Flurkey, Deborah Fossett, Lynette Hammond Gerido, Mercer Hall, Anne Henrichs, Jeanne Henry, Sara Hosey, Elisha Lim, Dina Ledwith, Jeanette Liotta, Robert Liotta, Theresa McGinnis, Lori Miata, Andria Milone, Serena Mooney, Vicente Perez, Whitney Phillips, Rose Tirotta-Esposito, Jonathan Senchyne, Tiana Walters, and the pseudonymized participants who
Tristan, Colin, and Emmet Sipley offered days full of joy, humour, and love – the necessary fuel to complete this work. Without them, this book would not exist.
