Résumés
Abstract
In this article I reflect on a particular Inuit use of the social networking site Facebook: the group called Inuit Hunting Stories of the Day. I focus on two main issues. First, I discuss the logic behind current technologies as conceptualized by Albert Borgmann (e.g., 1984), who states that rather than being neutral tools, modern devices foster a particular “taking-up” with the world that leads to disengagement from community and meaningful practices. Arguing against this view, I discuss how Inuit Hunting Stories of the Day is an example of how the internet and Facebook are appropriated and provide meaningful engagement. Second, I follow anthropologist Claudio Aporta’s (2013) notion of ecology of technology and argue that the relationship between technology and Inuit has to be understood within an ecological framework that encompasses the broader context of political, economic, and social change, which are intertwined with the use, appropriation, adoption, and adaptation of technology. Drawing from the ecology of technology perspective, it is my central argument that technology and computer-mediated communication bring proximity to cultural practices, activities, and the land rather than provoking distance and alienation from reality, as commonly expressed in dystopian notions.
Résumé
Dans cet article, je réfléchis à une utilisation inuit particulière du site de réseautage social Facebook : le groupe Inuit Hunting Stories of the Day. Je me concentre sur deux questions principales. Premièrement, je discute de la logique des technologies actuelles telles que conceptualisées par Albert Borgmann (e.g., 1984), qui affirme qu’au lieu d’être des outils neutres, les dispositifs modernes favorisent une « prise » particulière sur le monde menant au désengagement de la communauté et des pratiques significatives. En argumentant contre ce point de vue, je vais discuter du fait que le groupe Inuit Hunting Stories of the Day est un exemple de la façon dont on s’approprie internet et Facebook en les dotant d’engagements significatifs. Deuxièmement, conformément à la notion d’« écologie de la technologie » de l’anthropologue Claudio Aporta (2013), j’affirme que la relation entre la technologie et les Inuit doit être comprise dans un cadre écologique englobant le contexte plus large des changements politiques, économiques et sociaux qui est lié à l’appropriation, à l’adoption et à l’adaptation de la technologie. En partant de la perspective de l’écologie de la technologie, mon argument central est que la technologie et la communication assistée par ordinateur rapprochent les pratiques culturelles, les activités et la terre plutôt que de provoquer la distance et l’aliénation de la réalité telle qu’elle est illustrée couramment par les notions dystopiques.
Parties annexes
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