You mean I need to make up my mind?

Boundaries. . .kinda boring, huh?  Why not act in such a way that "crosses, manipulates, or simply ignores traditional boundaries," as HASTAC III suggests?

Boundaries. . .I don't like them.  Here are a few random thoughts on boundary-smashing, some related to the digital world and technology, some not.

Boundary #1: Why I chose linguistics

One of the reasons I got into linguistics is that I hate making up my mind.  I had one major after another picked out in my undergraduate education.  First it was biology, then psychology, then computer science.  I picked up an English minor along the way.  If I hadn't run out of money, it would have been a second major.  Later on, I got trained and nationally certified as a yoga instructor.

Please don't ask me to make up my mind.

As I was flopping around like a fish out of water in the world of software engineering, I started looking into graduate school, but I had no. . .freaking. . .clue of what I'd go for.  Psychology?  Creative writing (but that would have looked like I was copying my ex-husband, so no good there)? Human-computer interaction?  Linguistics?  Transportational logistics?  Nutritional science?  Environmental engineering?  Yes, I actually thought about all of these.  I chose linguistics.  Not only is it fascinating to me, but no one asks me to make up my mind.  

I don't mean that linguistics aren't focused people.  However, it's a remarkably cross-disciplinary field and I love that about it.  I have a part-time gig in the Illinois Phonetics and Phonology Lab: it's a great place to bust out some Matlab routines and record people making funny sounds.  I'm taking a course "Language and the Brain" -- it's co-listed underthe Linguistics, Speech and Hearing Science, and Psychologydepartments.  I'm interested in the role of language in emotions and will be taking some related sociolinguistics courses while I'm here.  I still program sometimes and may eventually take a course in computational linguistics or natural language processes.  I currently have a class in the Beckman Institute (which you'll get to see if you come to HASTAC III. . .) where I can put my head into a big electromagnetic box and record the movement of my tongue, jaw, lips, and more!

On one hand, I made up my mind by choosing to go into linguistics instead of the others.  On the other hand, I'll never really have to:  I picked a discipline that ignores boundaries.

Boundary #2: Beckman Institute

Speaking of. . .The Beckman Institute for Advance Science and Technology was created as a cross-disiplinary institute.  They do some amazing stuff there.  They have the aforementioned electromagnetic-head-box-machine I'm jazzed to be using this semester (real name: AG500 or EMA).  I can't really list off all the amazing stuff they work on there, so surf on over with the link if you're interested in awesomeness. 

A number of the linguistics faculty are affiliated with the Beckman, something that I especially like about Illinois' linguistics program.

Boundary #3: Phonecalls from Germany

This happens routinely these days, but it was novel to me at the time.

While working face-to-face is still ideal to me, my team back at IBM worked closely with a group of folks in Boeblingen, Germany, and another in Poughkeepsie, NY.  Part of our team was in Tuscon, AZ.  We didn't really have a viable video-conference solution back then (this was a good seven years ago or thereabouts), so it was all over the phone.  We actually did software and interface design this way.  You just get used to emailing each update back and forth, on each end of the call, and going off of that.  And it was surprisingly effective.

Boundary #4: ILLS 1: LOL

The Linguistcs Student Organization here at Illinois is putting together an online conference.  We have keynote speakers from Sweden and London.  It would be essentially impossible to do something like this if we had to fly people in (bakesale dollars only go so far. . .).  We don't have to swing the money for plane tickets, so we can do areally pimpin' conference on the cheap-er (still not cheap, but what isthese days?).

Here, the digital technology is really breaking a money barrier down for us.  It's gone from impossible to possible which, as I think about it, is a pretty amazing thing.

This also makes it possible for students to get their work seen.  I know I've not applied for a couple of conferences because I knew I couldn't afford to get myself out there.  Speaking of. . .there's a call for papers out for ILLS 1 and the deadline has been extended by a couple of weeks (mid-Feb now).  Have something you want to show off?  Submit your abstract here!

Boundary #5: HASTAC III

Exactly!  See below.

Boundary #6: Shoveling the driveway

Think aboutshoveling the driveway for a moment.  What comes to mind?  My firstthoughts are, "I hate the stupid driveway.  This is going to hurt." But I'm talking mental pictures.  So, you probably think of a person,all bundled up, with a shovel.  And he/she takes the shovel and goesfrom one edge of the driveway to the other, pushing and throwing thesnow.

Except that I didn't do this last time it snowed.  Ishoveled the sidewalk (be nice to pedestrians) and then I shoveled halfmy driveway.  I shoveled the half behind my side of the garage.  Thecar on the other side (the unshoveled side) can't drive in the snowanyway.

I'm making my own damned boudary and getting my hot cocoa that much faster.

HASTAC III.  ?Traversing Digital Boundaries.?
This blog is part of a series of blogs leading up to the third annual HASTAC conference, which will be held April 19-21, 2009, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the theme ?Traversing Digital Boundaries.? As the theme suggests, the gathering will focus on the exploration of new territory and on work that crosses, manipulates, or simply ignores traditional boundaries. The conference program will include presentations of research, performances, technology demonstrations, posters, panel discussions, and ?virtual? participation via telepresence technology.  For more information, contact HASTAC3@ncsa.uiuc.edu.