On Wed, 14 May 1997, Megan McLaughlin wrote:
> I suggest a round-table on "Medieval Religion in Cyberspace"--on which
> various people could talk not so much about specific e-lists, web-sites,
> etc., as about the implications of the new information technology for the
> content of our work on medieval religion. Is this vague enough for
> everybody?
> Megan
Being retired, I come at this discussion from a different angle. I enjoy
Kalamazoo because I can listen to people discuss things that are important
to me but are not the subject of bandyage among those who live in the
apartment building where we live or of the noontime talkshow on the radio.
At K'zoo--at least for a few days--I have the opportunity to reflect and
to learn.
This group serves much the same purpose for me. I cannot go to the
faculty lounge and listen to colleagues discuss the importance (or lack
thereof) of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or was he Dionysius, the
Pseudo-Areopagite?). However, I can log on and lurk--if nothing else--
while others discuss matters that are, to me, more important than the
latest basketball scores. More important, I can continue to pursue my own
studies among a group of people who, by their studies, provide me with
tacit support for mine. Where I encounter a question, I can raise it,
and--so far--be pointed in the correct direction 100% of the time.
I belong to a number of other lists--none quite up to this, but each good
in its own way. I feel that I have discovered the cyberspace equivalent
of the graduate student lounge. Without this list and its companions,
I would be unable to focus my studies as well as I do.
I write this because I find few retired academics in cyberspace. Without
doubt many of them grow roses or tie flies and have no wish nor need of
the resources a list provides. But I doubt that many of them know of this
option.
A roundtable discussion is an excellent vehicle to explain the benefits of
a list such as ours. I'm much in favour!
Frank
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