Dear readers,
The idea to create a collection of scholarly interviews first dawned on me when, as an MA student at Simon Fraser University School of Communication, I stumbled upon the Bryan Magee series on YouTube; I remember, in particular, his tête-à-tête with Hubert Dreyfus. McGee had made an important contribution to the popularization of philosophy in Britain, and rediscovering his TV series inspired me to emulate his work on academic journalism in a different medium and across multiple disciplines, in the spirit of interdisciplinary studies and methodological pragmatism.
With that in mind, and against the background of the McLuhan centenary, the Figure/Ground Communication scholarly interview series were launched in June of 2010 as an attempt to inform and entertain a highly literate audience made up of university professors as well as graduate and undergraduate students considering an academic career. Past interviewees include internationally renown scholars such as Eric McLuhan, Noam Chomsky and Douglas Rushkoff, among other luminaries.
Gradually, however, the collection is expanding to include conversations with emerging and established business executives, public intellectuals, authors and entrepreneurs about various topics related to communication, technology and society.
In all cases, the primary aim of the section is to showcase the career choices and creative activities of key figures in various fields, and to collect expert opinions on some of the challenges associated with an "age of interruption" characterized by fractured attention and information overload. In so doing, I hope to make a contribution to understanding the changing nature of World [and] Self in an age of digital interactive media.
The ever-expanding collection of interviews is compelling for several reasons:
1) The content is free. Critical academic voices are thus made available to diverse publics. This is a crucial component of democratizing technology.
2) The content is accessible. In order for broad dissemination of high theory to be effective, it must be expressed in a form that non-specialist readers will find accessible. The interview format Figure/Ground uses is thus ideal. We ask lively and penetrating questions that allow his respondents to cover both personal and professional terrain in resonant ways that don't require dumbing down leading points.
3) The content is diverse. From philosophers to media experts to education and business executives/entrepreneurs. This diversity enhances appeal as the texts address difficult matters of ideology without themselves cohering around any narrow ideological frame.
4) The content is of the highest caliber. There are no brief and superficial conversations here. Each interview is comprehensive, not to say exhaustive. Figure/Ground poses thought-provoking questions and then steps back and allow them to explain and expound upon their ideas.
Your feedback is welcome and appreciated. If you like what you see, please consider voting, commenting or donating to help the series grow. Figure/Ground is currently looking for sponsors and collaborators to help with the expansion of the series into the largest repository of scholarly interviews on the web. For specific suggestions regarding future/potential interviewees or to obtain permission to republish any of the interviews already on the site, please contact me at laureano@alumni.sfu.ca.
Bon appetit!
Laureano Ralon (BA, MA) Simon Fraser University www.figureground.ca
