A Library of Fragments: Digital Quotations, New Literacies, and Attention on Social Media by Kyle Paul Booten A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education and the Designated Emphasis in New Media in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Sarah Warshauer Freedman Professor Marti A. Hearst Professor Glynda Hull Spring 2017 A Library of Fragments: Digital Quotations, New Literacies, and Attention on Social Media © Kyle Booten, 2017 Abstract A Library of Fragments: Digital Quotations, New Literacies, and Attention on Social Media by Kyle Paul Booten Doctor of Philosophy in Education Designated Emphasis in New Media University of California, Berkeley Professor Sarah Warshauer Freedman, Chair From tweets to GIFs to memes, social media is awash in bite-sized texts that are perfect for quick, instantaneous consumption and viral sharing. Mixed up in the raucous frenzy of social media, however, are excerpts that originate from print media: quotations from novelists, poets, philosophers, and other authors. The book, far from extinct, has nevertheless become "fragmented," circulating in new ways on digital networks. This study examines the phenomenon of quotations—especially those from books—on the social network Tumblr. Its fundamental question is whether the fragmentation of the book represents a threat to traditional forms of attentive, immersive engagement with long-form texts. The study reports on three research phases, each with distinct methods and data. The first phase, relying on qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis, examined the role of books and traditionally print-based discourses within the context of Tumblr. The second employed ethnographic data techniques, questionnaires and interviews, to uncover Tumblr users' purposes for sharing quotes from books as well as the ways that quoting connects to these users' broader experiences of literacy. The third phase used computational linguistics to distinguish between different types of quotations and to illuminate the features that contribute to "quotability." This study finds that quotation can be—though is not always—intertwined with traditional forms of reading and literate attention. Chapter 3 demonstrates that the quoting of books in particular is a fundamental part of the larger practice of quoting on Tumblr; it further illustrates some of the wide variety of quotations that circulate on this network, from misquotations attributed to famous authors to those quotes that are carefully annotated with bibliographic information, scholarly vocabulary, and other signs of deep familiarity with source texts. Chapter 4 reveals that, for those who quote from books on Tumblr, quoting is often not a form of distraction; rather it can deepen their experience of reading and lead them to discover new books. Yet quoting also serves more fundamental purposes of self-expression and self-care, functions that may be related to the fact that quoting is a starkly gendered (largely female) practice. Chapter 5 suggests that, 1 while many quotations are indeed designed to be easily-decontextualized adages, others are specifically tailored to fulfill quoters' desires to express their intimate thoughts and feelings. Some quotes seem to be tailored to be appreciated by those with deep familiarity with the source text, though such quotations are less popular than easily-decontextualized ones. The fragmentation of the book does not fundamentally threaten traditional forms of reading, though the very purposes of reading are increasingly bound up with self-expression and self-care made possible through social media. The conclusion chapter considers the ramifications of these findings for media studies, the history of the book, and educational practice. 2 Acknowledgements First, I express my gratitude to Sarah Freedman, who has been an unfailingly wise mentor, and who has modeled a way of approaching the work of research with equal parts passion and purpose. I hope to become a scholar who moves as fluently as she does between the tantalizing abstractions of theory and complex and energizing textures of everyday life. To Marti Hearst, whose patience and encouragement have allowed me stretch far beyond my comfort zones, and who has challenged me to become my own kind of programmer. And to Glynda Hull, whose creativity continues to inspire me; how lucky I was to find my place among the collection of people and projects that she has assembled. Together, these figures helped me navigate across and between disciplines, finding a path that was—if not the straightforward one—the right one. To other key mentors in the Graduate School of Education, the Berkeley Center for New Media, and beyond : Laura Sterponi, Kris Gutiérrez, Patricia Baquedano-López, Greg Niemeyer, Abigail De Kosnik, Robert Glushko, Shirley Brice Heath, and Paige Ware. The pages that follow reverberate with the echoes of their thoughtful critiques and their generous conversation. And to Barbara White: I remember with thanks her insight and her kindness. To Lara Wolfe, Billie Jo Conlee, Karen Sullivan, Rosa Garcia, and Ilka Williams: a university like Berkeley can seem vast and labyrinthine, but, because of them, this was not my experience. I am grateful to have had them as guides. To friends from the Bay: Amy Koehler Catterson, Daniel Catterson, Jen DiZio, Emily Hellmich, Keith Martin, John Scott, Jessica Xiomara Garcia, Camilo Landau, Haley Pollack, Michael David Lukas, and Herman Leung. This project would have long ago sunk beneath its own ponderousness were it not for the levity provided by their wit. Special thanks to Jenni Higgs, my comrade. And thanks to old friends: Taylor Woodroof, Michael Gorwitz, and Adam Hayden. Their friendship has often reminded me of who I once was and who I might yet be. To Patricia Lutz and Pamela Costa, who in different ways helped me get through some of the most challenging moments of this process. And to Ann Booten, for her joie de vivre. To Don and Paula Booten: I have been blessed with parents who have supported me unconditionally in countless ways across many years of school and through crises large and small. Their encouragement and their humor made this dissertation possible, and so I dedicate it to them. And thanks to Emma, my love: her presence in my life sustained me through long seasons of research, coding, and writing. I am constantly learning not just from her conversation but from the way she approaches life with fearlessness and joy. And to her parents, Salvador Amador and Deborah Reger, for always making me feel at home in their adventure. Thanks to the Tumblr users who helped me to understand their world and whose perspectives constantly surprised me. Finally, I express my thanks to the National Academic of Education/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship Program for their generous support. And I thank the Berkeley Center for New Media for supporting me with the Peter Lyman Fellowship and a Summer Research Award. i Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Review of the Literature 2 A Cognitive Crisis? 2 The Fate of Books and Reading 3 Social Media, Literacy, and Literature 5 Other quantitative studies of quotability 7 "Geeking Out" Online 8 Social Media and Audience 9 Gaps in the Literature 10 Theoretical (and Historical) Framing 10 Sharable Media 10 Appropriation 12 Different Views on Practice 13 Commonplace Books 14 Research Questions 15 Chapter 2: Methodological Introduction: Computational Textual Ethnography 17 Why Tumblr? 17 From "Virtual Ethnography" to "Computational Textual Ethnography" 20 On APIs, Hashtags, and Computation 23 On Analytic Units 24 On Words 25 What "Books"? 25 Phases of Research 25 Chapter 3: The Ghosts of Old Media on Tumblr 26 Data and Methods 26 Data 27 Hashtag Corpora. 27 Sources Corpora. 27 Simple BQ Corpus. 28 Philosopher Quote Corpus/Hashtag Corpus. 28 BQ Photo Corpus. 28 Possible misquotes. 29 Usernames Corpus/Blog Description Corpus. 29 Audience Usernames Corpus. 29 A focal quote. 30 Analysis 30 Quantifying tags/visualizing tag relationships. 30 Analyzing Sources Corpora. 31 Analyzing Simple BQ Corpus. 31 Zooming in on philosophic tags. 31 Analysis of photo-type posts. 31 ii Checking for misquotes. 32 Analyzing usernames/blog description corpus. 32 Analyzing Audience Usernames Corpus. 32 Analyzing focal quote. 32 Findings 33 Old Media, Including Books, are an Important Part of Quotation Practice in General 33 Book Quotes Are Different Than Quotes in General In Certain Ways (And Not In Others) 38 Hashtags Suggest "Deep"...and Less "Deep"...Forms of Literate Attention 40 A note on the ambiguity of tags. 40 Quoters Use Academic Vocabulary 41 Multimodal Quotations 46 Quotation celebrates the book as a medium. 46 Quotations are also transmedia artifacts. 52 Other Signs of Practice 53 Misquotation. 53 Misquotations do occur on Tumblr. 53 Vernacular bibliography: misquotation's antidote. 55 Quotations Within Blogs. 56 "Bookish" Blogs. 56 Bookish blogs vs. non-bookish audiences. 56 Discussion 58 Chapter 4: Quoters in their Own Words 60 Data and Methods 60 Data 60 Questionnaire: Reaching Out to Tumblr Users. 60 Participants. 60 Follow-up interviews. 61 Blog Description Corpus. 62 Analysis 62 Analyzing questionnaire responses. 62 Analyzing follow-up interviews. 63 Analyzing Blog Description Corpus. 63 Exploring "nonhuman" Tumblr users. 63 Findings 63 Who Quotes? 63 Gender and age. 64 Theorizing Quotability 65 Powerful language. 65 Semantic aspects, especially "resonance." 66 Why Quote? 67 Quoting is a form of self-expression. 67 Self-expression can be a form of self-care. 68 "Inspiring" quotations and other-care. 69 iii Quotation is a gendered literacy practice. 70 Quoting and books. 71 Quotations and bibliophilia. 71 Quotations as advertisements. 71 A note on corporate activity. 72 John Green's "shtick." 73 Modalities of Attention 75 Connection to composition. 79 Quotations and memory. 80 Discussion 82 Chapter 5: Analyzing the Linguistic Character of Book Quotes 83 Methodological Overture 83 Distant and Close Linguistic Analysis 83 Linguistics and "Computational Textual Ethnography." 84 Literary language.