Knowledge underground : gossipy epistemology.

This dissertation is an attempt to loosen what I see as a chokehold by which two paramount assumptions constrict our epistemic endeavors. These Enlightenment assumptions--that we accept or refute ideas as true based on transparently clear and orderly methods and criteria, and that individuals accept or refute truth claims--are still central in epistemology, despite their many critics (for the first, Kant, Hegel, James, Quine, Bayes; for the second, postmodernism, Deleuze and Guattari, Gilbert). Thinking about gossip as an epistemologically productive concept provides us with the means to critique those assumptions, and further attempts to broaden our notion of an epistemological foundation. Gossip at first appears to be an unlikely candidate for such a resurrection, mainly because its treatment by academics has been dismissive; this dismissal is in part due to Enlightenment conceptions about truth and falsehood. Chapter One surveys the social science literature on gossip and rumor, revealing that social scientists begin with such restrictive definitions of what gossip is that their conclusions amount to little more than tautology. Chapter Two shows that humanists have a slightly different approach to gossip, but with roughly similar results. The handful of philosophers who deal directly with gossip or rumor almost as a unit accept uncritically a division between purposive conversation and idle chatter. To do so, I think, perpetuates a limiting epistemic foundation on a linguistic level. In contrast, I argue in Chapter Three that the very existence of something like gossip proves the inadequacy of the foundationalist myth (at least in its current form), and that to attempt to understand and use gossip with foundationalist tools is simply a wrong fit. My understanding of gossip is based on this central fact: we undertake the activity of gossip or rumor-spreading because we are trying to make sense out of something--we need to collect knowledge socially. Gossip originates from dissonance; it acts as a (necessary) counterweight to more official information, and can\u27t be considered apart from official knowledge. We use gossip and rumor, along with more orthodox sources of information, to formulate our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. The extent to which gossip and rumor are spread is the extent to which the analysis is shared, and not individualized. Gossip is both a genealogical tool and an speculative tool

"Well, don't these two look dapper!" : epistemological positioning on celebrity gossip websites

Plotka, która jest zbliżona do stereotypu, stanowi mechanizm transmisji o funkcjach perswazyjnych, jednak nie próbuje odpowiedzieć na pytania o prawdziwość czy fałsz samego przekazu, ani o jego umocowanie w rzeczywistości innej niż ta, która jest budowana w procesie komunikacji (Wagner 2006: 39). Twierdzenie to dotyczy także internetowych plotek o gwiazdach, których autorzy stosują rozmaite strategie umożliwiające różnicowanie mocy epistemicznej formułowanych osądów, a także sygnalizujące, czy biorą oni odpowiedzialność za prawdziwość przekazywanych informacji. Uwzględniając powyższe ustalenia, w badaniu przeanalizowano elementy pozycjonowania epistemologicznego (Bednarek 2006) w artykułach plotkarskich pochodzących z bruk-portali napisanych w języku angielskim i polskim, tj. w językach nieposiadających gramatycznej kategorii ewidencjalności. W szczególności zwrócono uwagę na strategie przekazywania wiedzy, w tym na znaczniki związane z konstruowaniem (nie)pewności w badanym dyskursie. Analizą objęto następujące kategorie źródeł wiedzy: "Percepcja/Inferencja", "Wiedza ogólna", "Dowód", "Oczywistość", "Nieokreślone źródło wiedzy", "Pogłoska", i "Referowane doświadczenie mentalne", na podstawie których wyodrębniono najczęstsze znaczniki w językach angielskim i polskim. Wyniki badania pokazują, że zarówno autorzy artykułów o gwiazdach napisanych w języku angielskim, jak i tych w języku polskim stosują głównie znaczniki odnoszące się do percepcji i inferencji, a także te sygnalizujące, iż źródłem informacji jest pogłoska. To z kolei sugeruje, że autorzy artykułów o celebrytach nie wykazują dużego zaangażowania epistemicznego oraz że ich teksty mają niską wartość informacyjną.Akin to stereotype, gossip is a transmission mechanism which fulfi ls persuasive functions, but which does not seek to answer questions about the genuineness of the transmitted information or its anchoring in reality other than the reality created during the communication process (Wagner 2006: 39). Such is also the case with online celebrity gossip, in which writers recruit various strategies to vary the epistemic strength of their assessments and to claim or disclaim responsibility for the accuracy of the provided information. Given the foregoing, basing on English and Polish linguistic material, this article investigates elements of epistemological positioning (Bednarek 2006) which underlie the construction of online celebrity news in two languages lacking grammaticalised systems of evidentiality. To this end, the study outlines the main strategies related to the communication of knowledge and identifi es the resources used for the construal of (un)certainty in this type of discourse. The sources of evidence analysed in the study include: "Perception/Inference," "General knowledge," "Proof," "Obviousness," "Unspecifi ed," "Hearsay" and "Mindsay," based on which diverse English and Polish EP markers are discussed. As the fi ndings expose, rather than off er solid evidence, the authors of both sets of articles rely chiefl y on perception, inference and hearsay, showing little epistemic commitment and decreasing the informative value of their reports.

Idle Talk, Deadly Talk

The first book-length study of gossip’s place in the literature of the multilingual Caribbean reveals gossip to be a utilitarian and deeply political practice—a means of staging the narrative tensions, and waging the narrative battles, that mark Caribbean politics and culture. Revising the overly gendered existing critical frame, Rodríguez Navas argues that gossip is a fundamentally adversarial practice that at once surveils identities and empowers writers to skirt sanitized, monolithic historical accounts by weaving alternative versions of their nations’ histories from this self-governing discursive material. Reading recent fiction from the Hispanic, Anglophone, and Francophone Caribbean and their diasporas, alongside poetry, song lyrics, journalism, memoirs, and political essays, Idle Talk, Deadly Talk maps gossip’s place in the Caribbean and reveals its rich possibilities as both literary theme and narrative device

Using qualitative diary research to understand emotion at work

This chapter addresses the role of qualitative diary research as a method for documenting subjective experiences and emotions at work. Qualitative diary research can yield rich insights into relationships, processes, events and settings and diaries more generally are a means by which to ‘capture the particulars of experience in a way that is not possible using traditional designs’ (Bolger, Davis & Rafaeli, 2003, p. 579). The chapter addresses issues relating to the strengths, limitations, ethical considerations, design and conduct of qualitative diary research. Researchers are not immune to emotion in and about their work, and the role and use of diaries in reflexive research practice are also discussed using extracts from three researchers’ diaries/field notes as illustrative examples. Empirical data from multimethod organizational psychology research into work-related gossip are also included as practical examples of using diary research methods and working reflexively (Waddington, 2005; 2010a; Waddington & Fletcher, 2005). The broad aim of the chapter is to outline and discuss ways of conducting qualitative diary research on emotions in the workplace and illustrate how such qualitative data can be analyzed

Idle Talk, Deadly Talk: The Uses of Gossip in Caribbean Literature

Chaucer called it spiritual manslaughter ; Barthes and Benjamin deemed it dangerous linguistic nihilism. But gossip-long derided and dismissed by writers and intellectuals-is far from frivolous. In Idle Talk, Deadly Talk, Ana Rodríguez Navas reveals gossip to be an urgent, utilitarian, and deeply political practice-a means of staging the narrative tensions, and waging the narrative battles, that mark Caribbean politics and culture.From the calypso singer\u27s superficially innocent rhymes to the vicious slanders published in Trujillo-era gossip columns, words have been weapons, elevating one person or group at the expense of another. Revising the overly gendered existing critical frame, Rodríguez Navas argues that gossip is a fundamentally adversarial practice. Just as whispers and hearsay corrosively define and surveil identities, they also empower writers to skirt sanitized, monolithic historical accounts by weaving alternative versions of their nations\u27 histories from this self-governing discursive material. Reading recent fiction from the Hispanic, Anglophone, and Francophone Caribbean and their diasporas, alongside poetry, song lyrics, journalism, memoirs, and political essays, Idle Talk, Deadly Talk maps gossip\u27s place in the Caribbean and reveals its rich possibilities as both literary theme and narrative device. As a means for mediating contested narratives, both public and private, gossip emerges as a vital resource for scholars and writers grappling with the region\u27s troubled history

Knowledge Goes Pop

A voice on late night radio tells you that a fast food joint injects its food with drugs that make men impotent. A colleague asks if you think the FBI was in on 9/11. An alien abductee on the Internet claims extra-terrestrials have planted a microchip in her left buttock. 'Julia Roberts in Porn Scandal' shouts the front page of a gossip mag. A spiritual healer claims he can cure chronic fatigue syndrome with the energizing power of crystals . . . What do you believe? Knowledge Goes Pop examines the popular knowledges that saturate our everyday experience. We make this information and then it shapes the way we see the world. How valid is it when compared to official knowledge and why does such (mis)information cause so much institutional anxiety? Knowledge Goes Pop examines the range of knowledge, from conspiracy theory to plain gossip, and its role and impact in our culture.What do you believe? This title examines the popular knowledges that saturate our everyday experience. How valid is it when compared to official knowledge and why does such (mis)information cause so much institutional anxiety? It examines the range of knowledge, from conspiracy theory to plain gossip, and its role and impact in our culture.Clare Birchall is Senior Lecturer at Middlesex University

Knowledge goes pop: from conspiracy theory to gossip

A voice on late night radio tells you that a fast food joint injects its food with drugs that make men impotent. A colleague asks if you think the FBI was in on 9/11. An alien abductee on the Internet claims extra-terrestrials have planted a microchip in her left buttock. 'Julia Roberts in Porn Scandal' shouts the front page of a gossip mag. A spiritual healer claims he can cure chronic fatigue syndrome with the energizing power of crystals ... What do you believe? Knowledge Goes Pop examines the popular knowledges that saturate our everyday experience. We make this information and then it shapes the way we see the world. How valid is it when compared to official knowledge and why does such (mis)information cause so much institutional anxiety? Knowledge Goes Pop examines the range of knowledge, from conspiracy theory to plain gossip, and its role and impact in our culture. What do you believe? This title examines the popular knowledges that saturate our everyday experience. How valid is it when compared to official knowledge and why does such (mis)information cause so much institutional anxiety? It examines the range of knowledge, from conspiracy theory to plain gossip, and its role and impact in our culture