THE LOCAL IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT IT SEEMS:

THE CASE OF BRIÄNNABEARD

By Megan Lambert

WHAT IS A “LOCAL” CONTEXT?

• Is it defined in miles from your current place of

residence?

• Defined by hometown?

• How “local” is local enough?

F O R M Y P U R P O S E S , “ L O C A L ” M E A N S T H E E N T I R E E A S T T E X A S

R E G I O N ; F R O M M Y H O M E T O W N O F T Y L E R T O M Y C U R R E N T R E S I D E N C E

I N C O M M E R C E

From my own investigations with Carol Kammen’s On

Doing Local History and discussing with my

classmates, I have concluded that “local” is defined as ones’

own immediate region

T HER E A R E EXA MPLES OF T HIS A LL A R OU ND T HE EA ST T EXA S

A R EA , ONE OF T HEM BEING BRIÄNNA BEARD

The local context is a main focus for my project, in which I

investigate the effect of anonymity and pseudonyms on

literacy.

- Home Educated student from

Tyler, Texas

- High school junior

- Writer

- Artist

- Videographer

- Aspiring film student at UCLA

I asked Briänna a series of questions, adopted from Deborah Brandt’s interview script, to get a better sense of how anonymity factored into her

posted and published work.

“ M Y M O T H E R H E L P E D M E L E A R N T O R E A D , B U T I ’ V E B E E N M A K I N G U P S T O R I E S

A N D D R AW I N G S I N C E I C O U L D TA L K / G R A S P A C R AY O N ”

“ M Y F AT H E R W O U L D T E L L [ M E S M E R I Z I N G ] S T O R I E S B E F O R E I W E N T T O S L E E P N E A R LY

E V E R Y N I G H T, A N D W O U L D E N C O U R A G E M E T O W R I T E M Y O W N S T O R I E S ( W H I C H I D I D

Q U I T E H A P P I LY ) . ”

WHAT ARE YOUR EARLIEST MEMORIES OF WRITING FOR A PUBLIC AUDIENCE?

“When I was twelve, I sent

a story in to Sparknotes

detailing how to survive

the hospital waiting room

for a contest, and they

published it [under a

screen name].”

DID R EMA INING A NONYMOU S A FFECT WHAT YOU WR OT E OR

HOW YOU WR OT E IT ?

“Not at all.”

“MOST LIKELY YES .”

Do you think you would have published/shown the

same material under your own name in the age of

social networking/ Google etc.?

I W O U L D H AV E T H O U G H T A N O N Y M I T Y W O U L D C H A N G E B O T H T E X T A N D

D E L I V E R Y, A S O U R P U B L I C L I V E S A R E G E N E R A L LY D I F F E R E N T F R O M O U R P R I VAT E

O N E S .

Public

Private

AND THAT STILL MIGHT SHOW IN LATER RESEARCH…

But, as I can see with Briänna, it is not always the case.

As an ethnographic researcher, I need to be open to possibilities outside my

original hypothesis.

I also forgot an important point in a article by Barton and Hamilton; that “there are different literacies associated with different domains of

life.” (pg. 22)

My interview participant was 12 when she wrote her article anonymously, and probably did not

have the adult inclination to hide personal details from others if a name is attached to those details.

I H AV E L E A R N E D T O C O N S I D E R M A N Y FA C T O R S A F T E R I N T E RV I E W I N G B R I Ä N N A :

Subject matter. Personal subject matter would probably be

portrayed differently based on anonymous/ full name status.

Audience. My interview participant wrote for a worldwide

audience instead of a local one. Having a local audience may influence

what one writes, as there’s an increased chance of a friend or family

member reading the writings.

T H E S E A R E A L L I M P O R T A N T T H I N G S T O

K E E P I N M I N D A S I M OV E F O RWA R D

I do not consider an answer that goes against my

hypothesis a failure (live and learn) but an

experience to help me embrace everything my

research shows and include it all in condensed form

for my final project.

I hope you have enjoyed this presentation and will continue to follow my research efforts as

I get closer and closer to presenting my final project!

Works Cited

Barton, David and Hamilton, Mary. “Literacy Practices.” Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing. 1st edition. Tabetha Adkins. Southlake, Texas. Fountainhead Press, 2010. 21-32. Print.

Kammen, Carol. On Doing Local History. Walnut Creek, Canada: AltaMira Press. 2003. 11-178. Print.

Beard, Briänna. Personal interview. 18 Oct. 2011.

Brandt, Deborah. “Literacy, Opportunity, and Economic Change.” Ethnographic Inquiries In Writing. 1st edition. Tabetha Adkins. Southlake, Texas. Fountainhead Press, 2010. 54-87. Print.