For this assignment, you are to write a blog entry that incorporates at least two of the assigned (three) readings.

• Jean Baudrillard, “Simulacra and Simulations” from Jean Baudrillard, Selected Writings, ed. Mark Poster (Stanford; Stanford University Press, 1988), pp.166-184
• Kevin Robins, “Cyberspace and the World We Live In” (CR 77)
• Excerpt from “Erontic Ontology of Cyberspace” by Michael Heim

In order to get you started, I have listed a number of questions below. You may choose to answer several, one, or none (but come up with your own question to answer). You may also create your own version of any of the questions below. My primary concern is not that you are able to answer my specific questions, but rather demonstrate a level of understanding and critical inquiry around the primary topics being discussed within the assigned readings.

Feel free to write in “blog form,” but make sure that your writing is intelligible and flows in a way that makes sense.

* Be sure that no matter which one you answer (or whatever you choose to focus on) that you make reference to at least two out of the three assigned readings.

QUESTIONS:

1. William Gibson, who coined the term “cyberspace,” writes in Neuromancer that cyberspace is: “A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators . . .” (my italics, 69). After reading the assigned reading, do you agree with Gibson’s assessment that cyberspace is, in fact, a “consensual hallucination”? Explain why or why not. Utilize either Baudrillard, Heim or Robins to help you support your assessment/s.

2. In “The Erotic Ontology of Cyberspace,” Michael Heim suggests that cyberspace is a “tool for examining our very sense of reality.” In what ways does cyberspace challenge our sense of “the real” and/or blur the lines between reality and fantasy (or non-reality)? How would Baudrillard or Robins support or challenge your conclusion/s?

3. Is our sense of “reality” (or what is “real”) changing as a result of cyberspace? Why or why not? In what ways might cyberspace (and our experience of it) inform our sense of reality? In what ways might cyberspace reflect our understanding and/or experience of “the real”? Utilize two of the three authors (Baudrillard, Heim, and Robins) to help support your conclusion/s.

4. Baudrillard suggests that “Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or a substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: a hyperreal.” What exactly does Baudrillard mean by “hyperreal”? and how does this idea apply to our experiences of cyberspace? In what ways does either Robins or Heim echo or challenge Baudrillard’s concept of “hyperreal”?

5. Baudrillard also argues that “Illusion is no longer possible, because the real is no longer possible.” What does he mean by this? Explain. Would Heim and Robins agree or disagree? Why or why not?

6. Robins’ article, “Cyberspace and the World We Live In,” discusses issues around the concept of “identity.” In what ways does Robins suggest that cyberspace either informs or reflects one’s identity? How might Baudrillard or Heims agree or disagree?