On December 27th, 2014 hundreds of police officers in New York City decided they had a very important message to deliver to Mayor Bill de Blasio. By turning their backs to him as he spoke at the funeral of slain officer Rafael Ramosor, they physically communicated their dissent, their disloyalty, and their feelings of neglect by the mayor. The officers designed a specific action and method of communication and their message was heard; seen, really. This specific design of communication is akin to the message sent by the students leaving the Secretary of Defense speech at their graduation (McLuhan & Fiore, 102)- we do not agree with you; we are here to show you we do not agree. This is not spontaneity; this is orchestrated. Their non-participation showcases a very clear identity and message.
The mediums chosen over time to convey messages change, but often times what is communicated remains relevant. Though published in the 1960s, an era of rebellion, free love, protest and civil unrest, much of the truths of The Medium is the Massage ring as true today as they did at publication. The walk out and back turning both convey disagreement through different modes of communication, but the same message.
However, as these designs occur, communities will need to renegotiate meaning, what does the dissent of the officers mean to the community Mayor de Blasio must lead? The fluid nature of meaning can allow for changes to occur without complete disruption of the community, but only if they meet the challenges head-on and design a response, reaction and/or counterbalance to the disruption. Consideration of the new input to the system will be needed to negotiate meaning in this new era. One way to support this is to make sure to include novices and others on the periphery. In The Meaning is the Massage, they discuss children and their ability to be less encumbered by engrained practices. Novices and other peripheral participants can “see the forest through the trees.” They do not hold so tightly to old ideas and meanings of the practice as do veteran members.
Nelson and Stolterman tell us, “[t]he only cultures that seem successfully to move through major challenges are those that engage in change in a radical and proactive manner that is consistent with design wisdom and leads to transformational change” (p. 19). Mayor de Blasio will need to carefully consider his actions in the wake of December 27th. To counterbalance the community, he needs to renegotiate the meaning his community places on police action. It cannot be swept under the rug, it cannot be “business as usual.” Specific actions will need to happen, designed to assimilate with the community of practice already in existence. “Learning is a process of social reconfiguration,” (Wenger, p. 219) sometimes higher education should already be aware of and comprehend. Online education is here. It’s not coming, it already exists. Should the traditional higher education community wish to continue in it’s practice, negotiation of meaning will need to occur; the way we address and deal with this disruption will need to be carefully designed, swiftly and with a specific purpose. It needs to send a message regardless of the chosen medium.
By Dean, Katie and Zach
Post Script from Katie: Wenger states that it is pretty much impossible to be both a feminist and be raised in a Roman Catholic household. I know 125 females in my high school graduating class alone who would disagree vehemently with him. He’s lost a bit of credulity with me for that one. It didn’t fit in anywhere but I needed to get that heard.
Brandon says
But I do have to wonder: at what level in the police situation can be best employ the CoP framework (no pun intended, but it’s too late now). As a city under a mayor’s leadership? Too broad. New York police in general? Still too broad, but getting closer. I think the NYPD are best viewed as a closely aligned constellation of practices. In many ways, they share alignment and repertoire, yet within that group I think you could find smaller groups that better fit the model. A specific, externally originating change is going to be difficult to pull off in such a complicated network. Still, viewing it as thus is probably going to be more effective than seeing it as an undifferentiated mass.
Leah Bug says
Interesting comparison! It makes me wonder how much the media impacts identity within communities of practice. Before the world of social media, 24/7 news cycles, and the internet, people could turn their backs on their boss and while it would hit the newspapers or the evening news that night, it would be forgotten in a few days (unless something big happened again). Now it’s eternally documented on the internet for easy access. How does this impact identity? Does this constant media help change community for the better or does it cause deeper divisions?
Adam says
“Online education is here. It’s not coming, it already exists. Should the traditional higher education community wish to continue in it’s practice, negotiation of meaning will need to occur; the way we address and deal with this disruption will need to be carefully designed, swiftly and with a specific purpose. It needs to send a message regardless of the chosen medium.”
Online education is in many ways a wicked problem for higher education. Universities could take a “wait and see” approach but may find themselves way behind the institutions that change their communities of practice by designing a new model that proves to be successful.
Adam says
Also, Katie I agree. What Wenger said was bullshit.
Isaac Jason Bretz says
I think the NYPD is a good example of the community of practice. The thin blue line is a structural problem and it can only be addressed by transforming the entire institution. Racism, homophobia, sexism are built into the NYPD, they will not be solved at the individual or even the station level.
Priscilla Taylor says
I agree about the timelessness of the Message is the Massage. When I first started reading it, and I didn’t realize when it was written, I believed that it was a contemporary piece, maybe 5 years old. When I realized when it was written, it made me think of the tech trivia game we played at the beginning of the course. When it comes to technology, how we view it, talk about it, and adjust to the changes it brings, not much has changed. It is as though we are participating in a conversation that we did not start and continues on a loop. We think the challenges of “teaching with technology” are new, but it has been a struggle in the classroom since the introduction of the chalkboard. However, I think if we really listen to the conversation taking place (beyond whether iPads or Chromebooks are better for teaching), we would realize that at the heart of it are issues of social reconfiguration and negotiation of meaning.
pul121 says
Your example expressed that messages can be delivered in different but effective ways. In order for a message to be heard and valued, a disruptive way to deliver it may not always be successful. A communicative way to reach agreement always needs negotiation but not conflicts. It is an art of communication, negotiation and practices combined to have the most powerful effect on people and bring further changes.
Audrey Romano says
Isaac states, “Racism, homophobia, sexism are built into the NYPD, they will not be solved at the individual or even the station level.” These things are also built into the American culture. How do we design it out on that scale? Design has to be subversive to tackle serious and complex issues. But what happens when what used to be “anti” becomes established, especially when it becomes adopted by the elite as mentioned in another post? What new conflicts and -isms will arise?
I think at one time Roman Catholic culture was VERY anti-feminist and is still extremely conformist in nature. I grew up with 8 years of Roman Catholic and 4 years of Byzantine Catholic and feel very much aligned with the identity of feminist. But I’ve got a lot of criticism to deal out towards the Church with regard to my personal experience, so I’m just going to back away slowly….
Koun says
I think the NY police example show how non-participation to community where they used to play a central role could be the powerful message of resistance to current social configuration or practice. I see that their non-participation is another form of participation to a larger community. The fact that Individuals or the collective’s desire and motive to participate/non-participate to certain CoP can make social change seems forgotten in daily life, but sometimes like this example, it proves its value.
Michael Sean Banales says
I’m glad that I wasn’t the only one that thought the statement made by Wenger was off the mark (regarding Catholics and feminists). That aside, is the police force a CoP? It feels like they are too vastly large of an organization to label as a CoP, at least when I think back to the example of the claims auditors and try to compare the two. I agree with with Brandon in viewing them more as a constellation. That aside, great post!