Ode to Shakuntala Banaji

This week I bid farewell to a legendary luminary in my academic life: Shakuntala Banaji, as she journeys elsewhere in pursuit of scholarly interests. 'The quintessential luminary' as I like to call her, she has been a towering influence on me, and will be fondly missed. Shaku, go well and best wishes in the future!

Andrew

'Oh full of Scorpions is my mind...' (adapted from Shakespeare's Macbeth Act 3)

Only those who've done PhD study
appreciate the enormity of the work involved.

Chatora's favourite saying.

Dear Diary,

Today was another day,
of onerous hard work.
Time for that elusive break...

July, 17, 2010

About Me, Research Interests et al...

Andrew Chatora

I am a part-time doctoral candidate at IoE, University of London supervised by Shakuntala Banaji and David Buckingham. My research is currently entitled: Digital Media Cultures: Rethinking Agency, Cross-Generational Consumers and Popular Culture Research Outline There has been a significant body of literature on the supposed influence and impact of new media technologies on young people. Although some of this scholarship has advanced persuasive arguments, in some instances the impact of new media on young people has been exaggerated, amounting to rhetoric. My study intends to consider the interface between digital media platforms and the youth as consumers and producers. Although the thesis focuses on young people, a cross-generational approach will be adopted for the purpose of widening the scope of the study. In an increasingly digitized landscape, different generations are using digital technologies to consume, produce and disseminate popular cultural content such as music. Previous scholarship, which has tended to look at this area focusing solely on young people or specific non-entertainment genres: (cf. http://www.digitallearning.macfound.org/ethnography and cf. http://www.civicweb.eu), offers useful insights. Cognizant of this, a cross-generational approach is important in charting new grounds. The thesis will focus on peer to peer file sharing, but will also consider other digital technologies, i.e. iPods, mobile phone cultures, music streaming platforms and video sharing sites to ensure the study remains relevant and contemporary. My main research questions are: . How are people of different generations using technology to access, produce or distribute music? . How do different people understand the value of music and what ethical or moral issues do they attach to it? Do young people and adults understand copyright and intellectual property rights issues? Are consumers aware of the New Digital Britain Act and how it impacts on them? . To what extent do intergenerational consumers' diverse ways of using digital media to consume popular culture and particularly music promote or 'undermine' the established popular cultural industries? . What is the role of human agency in the above-mentioned clash between industrial structures, individual producers and groups of consumers? These questions will constitute the basis of my investigation; my data collection will seek to address these. Brief History I hail from Zimbabwe, a picturesque country in Southern Africa, where I taught English and History for seven years before settling in the United Kingdom. I am currently teaching English and Media Studies at a large comprehensive school in Oxfordshire County. I completed my MA in Media, Culture and Communication with IoE, University of London in 2009. A keen follower of current affairs, Arts and Literature, my doctoral research is on the interface between popular culture and digitization. My other research interests include: new media and democracy (my MA research topic), children and adults’ media cultures, the place and scope for participatory media, i.e. web 2.0, video sharing sites, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify, Internet cultures, digital media production and the use of software in furthering culture and creative pursuits. My contact details: email: ajchatora@gmail.com blog: http://andrewchatoradigitalmediaculturesrese.blogspot.com/