Morwenna Griffiths, Joseph Windle and Margaret Simms
‘“That’s what I am here for”: Images of
working lives of academic and support staff’ in D. Tidwell and
L. Fitzgerald (eds.) Self-study and Diversity New York: Springer
2006
Morwenna Griffiths, Joseph Windle and
Margaret Simms ‘Academic and support staff: Images of three working lives
in teacher education’ Fifth International Conference of the Self-study
of Teacher Education Practices at Herstmonceux Castle, Sussex, July
2004
Morwenna Griffiths,
‘Strong feelings about computers’ Women’s Studies International Forum 11 (2) 1988
Women are becoming absent from the world of computers.
The reasons for this are related to the way computers have become
associated with technology. Technology and masculinity are also strongly
associated. The lack of logic of these associations is examined, and
their danger is noted. The danger arises because it is femininity rather
than masculinity which is associated with feelings and personal
relationships. Thus technology is taken to be unencumbered by feelings
and emotions, mistakenly so. As feminist theory and practice makes
clear, the unrecognised feelings push technological development in
undesirable directions. Unless both the illogicality of the associations
and their power are recognised, attempts to persuade women and girls to
take up computing may do as much harm as good, strengthening the very
associations which need to be weakened. Some strategies which would help
women and girls enter the computing world are discussed. It is pointed
out that any strategies that are tried need to be underpineed by three
things: vigilance, subversion, and the creation of an alternative
vision. Vigilance is needed to see what is going on: a continual
critical monitoring of the changing scene. Vigilance should lead to
subversion. Computer culture is man made and it needs to be feminised
from within. However, criticism and subversion fail if no alternative is
offered. An alternative vision is needed to see how else we could make
the world.
Morwenna Griffiths, ‘Vigilance, subversion and imagination about computers’ The European Conference on Women, Natural
Sciences and Technology, Aalborg, Denmark, 1986
