"Convergence Culture"

Initially, I was hoping Convergence Culture was going to focus on the technological devices we carry around in our pockets--the giant iPod on the front cover was my first hint--and how we assimilate those devices into Henry Jenkins' thesis: "convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content." To an extent, Convergence Culture did cover this shift in style of media consumption, but did so in the framework of "participatory culture" and "knowledge communities." I was hoping for a more detailed look into how users of technology are localizing their devices for their own specific, daily purposes, but the bottom line is that the book's publication date (2006; that's so old) and my current interests just did not match up to the age of iPhones, iPod Touches, and BlackBerrys.

Still, Jenkins' analysis on how media and literature inspire fan fiction got me thinking: do we need to shift the focus of high school English classes? If Harry Potter can prompt young people to write, develop stories, explore themes, and harness creativity, why are we still pounding them with Paradise Lost and The Invisible Man, which they probably hate? Certainly, there is a necessity to teach classics in literature and English classes, but with the way media enables networking and text-sharing, I think we need to move beyond the thematic impromptu essays--I had to write three essays on Heart of Darkness in AP English; where's the value in that?--and encourage students to tackle modern works that have already extended into online portals of discussion and criticism. After all, it's not what the story is about, it's what the student can do with it.