Topos, media and integration: a case of 26th-29th Sept 2014, Hong Kong

Abstract

The notion of an integrated online-offline space has been the subject of increasing attention in the field of sociolinguistics and in the paradigm of media studies in general. Imagination, technology and attention are frequently referenced terms in explaining the nature of such integration (see e.g. Fox 2004, Baym 2010, Jones 2010). However, with Lefebvre’s (1991) concept of ‘lived space’ lying in the background of the contemporary discourse of space/place, two pressing questions remain: how is the integration of the online and the offline experienced, and how is such experience experienced as a creation of a topos. Or, to put these two questions in to one: how do technology and attention motivate the imagination and thus constitute the being of a place. This proposed paper aims at contributing to the unfolding of this often addressed, or taken for granted, integration between the online and the offline. The paper engages the puzzle through the case of the place-making process at the early stage of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, 2014 (hereafter the Movement). Considering the integration of the physical space, embodied space and online space, the paper references a multimodal analytic approach (cf. Thurlow and Jaworski 2014) in addressing the interactions between these distinct but mutually complementing layers of spaces in creating the topos of the Movement. Drawing upon posts uploaded to a local forum HKGolden.com during 26–29th Sept, the paper explores the condensation of space and time through semiotic resources, for example through instant reporting of the situation in the physical protest sites. However, taking Lefebvre’s (1991) modifier ‘lived’ in ‘lived space’ seriously, the study complements and compares the analysis of the posts with three interviews with participants of the Movement. The juxtaposition of multimodal analysis with participant interviews gives the study the advantage of being situated in the affective experiencing of the place. It draws together not only modes and media of expression, but also the affectivity of the place-makers. References Baym N.K. 2010. Personal Connections in the Digital Age. Cambridge, Malden: Polity. Fox S. 2004. The new imagined community: Identifying and exploring a bidirectional continuum integrating virtual and physical communities through the Community Embodiment Model (CEM). Journal of Communication Inquiry 28 (1): 47–62. Jones R.H. 2010. Cyberspace and physical space: attention structures in computer mediated communication. In A. Jaworski and C. Thurlow (eds) Semiotic Landscapes: Language, Image, Space. London: Continuum. 131–167. Lefebvre H. 1991. The production of space. Donald Nicholson-Smith (Trans). Oxford, Cambridge: Basil Blackwell. Thurlow C. and Jaworski A. (2014) ‘Two hundred ninety-four’: Remediation and multimodal performance in tourist placemaking. Journal of Sociolinguistics 18(4): 459–494.