[Themaintainers] Question from a journalist

Mon May 11 08:05:00 EDT 2020

Hi maintainers,

Roughly a year ago I asked you for input for a piece I was writing about
repetition. Today, that piece has been published again (pun intended) --
this time in English.

I would love to hear your thoughts and to read your contributions in the
conversation section below the piece; in it, we ask readers to talk about
examples of repetition leading to innovation, and vice versa. Elizabeth
Margulis, who studies repetition and music, is also joining the
conversation.

The piece is here:
https://thecorrespondent.com/455/once-more-for-feeling-why-trying-new-things-is-overrated-and-repetition-is-vital-to-society/60193938805-824daa94

And if you're not a member but would like to contribute, let me know -- I
can get you a login code.

Thanks much and have a good day,
Lynn.

On Mon, 10 Jun 2019 at 10:39, Lynn Berger <lynn at decorrespondent.nl> wrote:

> Dear All,
>
> Today, my piece on repetition was published:
> https://decorrespondent.nl/9581/de-kracht-van-herhaling-herhaling-herhaling/319229339-db761b53
>
> Your many suggestions and remarks really helped me shape and refine my
> thinking. Sadly only the tiniest fraction of your recommendations actually
> made it into the piece -- a phenomenon that I think also merits a piece on
> its own, but what to call it?
>
> Again, thanks a lot!
> All best,
> Lynn.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, 21 Apr 2019 at 23:35, Juris Milestone <juris at temple.edu> wrote:
>
>> Lynn,
>>
>> Thank you for the question!  Something not yet mentioned… though an
>> explicit focus on maintenance is slightly new for anthropologists, your
>> question has reminded me that repetition is a fundamental concept for
>> several sub-disciplines in anthropology - linguistics is one area that has
>> explored it extensively (“Repetition” by Penelope Brown, Journal of
>> Linguistics).  And the study of ritual has also long relied on examination
>> of repetition - but recently, “On the impossibility of invariant
>> repetition: ritual, tradition and creativity among Sri Lankan ritual
>> specialists” by Bob Simpson in History and Anthropology, or  "Bringing
>> Kierkegaard into Anthropology: Repetition, absurdity and curses in Fiji” by
>> Matt Tomlinson in American Ethnology (both explore the productivity of the
>> illusion of repetition).  There’s also the role of repetition in
>> performance (of identities, social roles, ritual, gender) like Judith
>> Butler’s "Gender Trouble," or “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution:
>> an essay in phenomenology and feminist theory” in Theatre Journal.  Even
>> medical anthropologists have utilized it: “Persons, Places and Times: The
>> Meanings of Repetition in an STD Clinic” by Lori Leonard, et al.  Perhaps
>> more interesting for folks interested in this and maintenance, however, is
>> Felicity Aulino’s "Rituals of Care for the Elderly in northern Thailand:
>> Merit, mortality, and the everyday of long-term care", in American
>> Ethnologist.
>>
>> I’m sure some of these are leading off into the weeds for you, but there
>> is much more and probably better anthropological work on this than I’ve
>> suggested.
>>
>> Best,
>> Juris
>>
>>
>>
>> Juris Milestone, Ph.D.
>> Department of Anthropology
>> Temple University
>> juris at temple.edu
>>
>> On Apr 21, 2019, at 3:37 PM, Lynn Berger <lynn at decorrespondent.nl> wrote:
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> Wow, thanks a lot for all these excellent examples and thoughts! There
>> are even more sides to this topic of repetition than I thought :).
>> I'm sure I'll have fun exploring the various avenues (and might get back
>> to some of you for more information).
>>
>> Happy Easter!
>> Lynn.
>>
>>
>> Lynn Berger
>> De Correspondent <http://www.decorrespondent.nl/lynnberger>
>> Barentzplein 7BG
>> 1013 NJ Amsterdam
>> @LynnBerger1984 <https://twitter.com/LynnBerger1984>
>> 06 24102193
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, 20 Apr 2019 at 16:05, Shu Changxue <shuchangxue at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Lynn,
>>>
>>> My recent work "Towards Modern Ceramics in China" might fit into your
>>> scenario. My starting point, more than ten years ago, was to maintain and
>>> raise awareness of very inconspicuous architecture built in bricks. As the
>>> investigation went on, it has revealed a very "innovative" history about
>>> modern ceramics in China:  brick was actually the starting point and motive
>>> force of Chinese ceramics shifting to a novel paradigm.
>>>
>>> The story, in part, is synthesized in a forthcoming article titled "*Towards
>>> modern ceramics in China: Engineering sources and the Manufacture céramique
>>> de Shanghai.” in: Technology and Culture, v.61, n.2 (accepted on 5 Sep
>>> 2018, scheduled in April 2020)* (*ISSN: 0040-165X*, *E-ISSN:1097-3729*).
>>>
>>>
>>> If you need more information please let me know!
>>> Changxue
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 11:25 AM Lynn Berger <lynn at decorrespondent.nl>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello Maintainers!
>>>>
>>>> Short version: I'm a journalist working on a story about the value of
>>>> repetition and why we usually overlook it because we're more interested in
>>>> novelty. I draw a parallel to how we tend to prefer innovation to
>>>> maintenance and want to point out that this is silly, not least because
>>>> maintenance is often a condition for innovation. And now I'm wondering: do
>>>> the people on this list have some examples of when maintenance work led to
>>>> new insights that led to innovation?
>>>>
>>>> Slightly longer version:
>>>> My name is Lynn Berger and I've been on this list for some time. I have
>>>> a PhD in communications from Columbia University (I studied 19th century
>>>> photography and the law) but for the last six years I've been working as a
>>>> journalist at De Correspondent, an online journalism platform based in
>>>> Amsterdam. I cover technology and culture there; a few years ago I wrote a
>>>> piece about the rediscovery of maintenance, with pride of place for the
>>>> maintainers. (Those who read Dutch can find it here
>>>> <https://decorrespondent.nl/6816/he-innovators-gamechangers-en-disrupters-vergeten-jullie-het-onderhoud-niet/227102304-f476506a>,
>>>> and a short followup I wrote on repair, here
>>>> <https://decorrespondent.nl/7414/waarom-het-recht-op-repareren-ons-allemaal-aangaat/247027066-a9e9bbdc>
>>>> .)
>>>>
>>>> Currently I'm working on a story about the value of repetition and how
>>>> we tend to overlook it because we're more interested in novelty. I draw a
>>>> parallel to how we tend to prefer innovation to maintenance and want to
>>>> point out that this is missing the point, not least because maintenance is
>>>> often a condition for innovation.
>>>>
>>>> And now I'm wondering: do the people on this list have some examples of
>>>> when maintenance work led to new insights that led to innovation?
>>>>
>>>> I'd be grateful for a few good and concrete examples. And for your
>>>> time, of course!
>>>>
>>>> Thank you in advance and keep up the good work (!)
>>>> Lynn.
>>>>
>>>> Lynn Berger
>>>> De Correspondent <http://www.decorrespondent.nl/lynnberger>
>>>> Barentzplein 7BG
>>>> 1013 NJ Amsterdam
>>>> @LynnBerger1984 <https://twitter.com/LynnBerger1984>
>>>> 06 24102193
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Themaintainers mailing list
>>>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>>>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Dr. *SHU Changxue *舒畅雪
>>> FWO Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow (postdoctoral)
>>> University of Leuven
>>> Faculty of Engineering Science: Department of Architecture (
>>> http://www.asro.kuleuven.be)
>>> Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (
>>> http://set.kuleuven.be/rlicc)
>>> Kasteelpark Arenberg 1
>>> B-3001 Heverlee (Leuven) - Belgium
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Themaintainers mailing list
>> Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
>> https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
>>
>>
>>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.stevens.edu/pipermail/themaintainers/attachments/20200511/be2b916c/attachment.html>