POWER, POLITICS, AND BLOGS

         WHAT IS A BLOG?

Blogs "are online publications that are characterized by short entries which are usually written in an expressive and authentic style and are arranged in reverse chronological order" (Fleck et at. 2007:228)

Blogs are usually composed by regular posts that are fully created and owned by the blogger, at the same time they enable the communication with readers by letting them write their own comments, in a way that they result to be community-centered spaces.

The posts can include different materials, apart from the text itself, such as pictures, videos, files, etc. In tthis regard, intertextuality works as a powerful resource that provides users further information related to the topic the blog is about. The blogger develops his role as an intertextual and interactive character. Blogs allow users to write their opinions, express their feelings, and they can even work as a virtual place where both the blogger and the visitor can interact by sharing their impressions.

        WHY STUDY BLOGS?

The four main reasons to study blogs are the following:

• It is interesting to understand the blogger's intention.
• Blogs can be considered to be a genre.
• They are a tool that can measure the quality of the interpretations of those who read them.
• Blogs enhance the interaction between bloggers and readers, hence constructing a collective identity.

        

       WHY ARE BLOGS IMPORTANT FOR POLITICS?

One of the main reasons why blogs are useful for politics is because they have the function of bringing politicians closer to citizens. They reinforce democracy by exploring new means of communication. It is by taking part in this special kind of mediation, the mediatization, that ordinary people can share a common space where it is possible to give opinions and receive feedback between politicians and the population. Mediatization is a new way of mediation which follows two different approaches; the linguistic and the political mass communication studies perspectives. We are a mediatized society, and sometimes a limitless public society. In this respect, we have global accessibility to those blogs, thus making us experience politics a little closer. These spaces offer us an intertextual character by providing different resources and webpages that allow us to interact.

In the use of blogs, the political reality is not always so differentiated, and citizens and politicians are involved in a reality where the lines between the private and the public are blurred. The virtual space becomes one for everyone.

Among the functions of the political blogs, we can find that blogs are tools useful for solving people's doubts, explaining and supporting their political campaigns, as well as promoting their own positions while criticizing their opponents.

All in all, the political reality mentioned before is highly based on the resource of language which constitutes the basic pillars of society. Politicians know that getting to the citizens is crucial, and blogs cover those needs. Technology reaches all people, regardless of the distance, thus facilitating communication between the common and the political spheres. It is important to mention that there are blogs written by the politicians themselves, and others written by ordinary people interested in politics. However, this does not hinder the connection between the political and the real world.

As a personal opinion, what is clear is that blogs are a very helpful and powerful medium to exchange both objective and subjective information nowadays. It is a way for the creators to express their opinions, thoughts and experiences at the same time that they influence readers. Moreover, they can help these readers by giving them advice and guidelines about specific topics or tasks. The internet is doubtlessly one of the most useful channels of communication; and within the field of politics, taking advantage of this can be favorable to achieve the politicians' goals.

       REFERENCE

Fleck, M., Kirchhoff, L., Meckel, M., & Stanoevska-Slaabeva, K. (2007). Applications of blogs in corporate communication. Studies in Communication Sciences.

INTERESTING RESOURCES

Maybe you are eager to find futher information about Modernism. Here, we give you some interesting blogs on the authors' lives that will show more useful data.

•  The Virginia Woolf  Blog: In this link you will find not only information about her career, but also about her private life, her family, mental breakdowns, and her suicide. Moreover, you can also find some information on the Bloomsbury group and her influence within this intellectual society.

• F. Scott Fitzgerald - the most brilliant writer that ever lived: This blog provides all kinds of interesting information about F. Scott Fitzgerald, and his famous writing The Great Gatsby. Searching this page you can find quotes, information and even tattoos inspired by this great writer!

• The Hemingway Project: Here you can find some posts written by different people about Hemingway. These people portray their thoughts on this prolific author, which is an interesting way of learning more about him from different perspectives. It is advisable that you read a few of them, as they might include fascinating facts and details about his life that you would never know otherwise.

       

VIRGINIA WOOLF

      BIOGRAPHY

     As Wikipedia says, Adeline Virginia Woolf was born the 25th January 1882 and died the 28th March 1941. She was one of the most important Modernist writers and an icon in the literature of the twentieth century. His remarkable role in the Bloomsbury group while the First World War was already started entailed her best contributions to the intellectual circles with works as Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse, Orlando, or A Room of One's Own. She embodied a very well-known representative of feminism by means of some of her works. "Woolf suffered from severe bouts of mental illness throughout her life, thought to have been the result of what is now termed bipolar disorder, andcommitted suicide by drowning in 1941 at the age of 59"

        According to Chronological List of Works By Virginia Woolf, these are the chronologies of some of her greatest works. 

        Mrs. Dalloway (14 May 1925) was published in England at the same time than in the United States. This novel narrates the life of Clarissa Dalloway meanwhile the life of another character, Septimus Smith, is also depicted in the novel. Their lives seem to be connected in some way. To The Lighthouse (5 May 1927) reports some of Woolf’s autobiographical events of her life portrayed by the story of a family placed in their house in Cornwall with role of time as one of the most important ones. Orlando (2 Oct 1928), one of her best-selling novels, narrates the life of a nobleman in England who lives in the Renaissance while he becomes a woman and lives 400 years. A Room of One’s Own (24 Oct 1929) is quintessentially considered Woolf's feminist work. It was created from lectures Virginia gave in Cambridge University and was composed by six chapters. The Waves (October 1931) can be considered as one of the best ones although it was also the most experimental one.  

        Mantex offers a different perspective of the former works described below just like different film versions already available. 

            In Mrs .Dalloway, a woman from the high class of London who spends a day preparing a great party at her house. By stream of consciousness, readers can know what the different characters think on a same theme while they see how Clarissa perceives the passage of time while she explores her past life. Death also plays an important role in the novel; First World War is still present in most of the character’s lives. "This novel is now seen as a central text of English literary modernism" 

 

If you want to know more about other works, click here 

    

         In words of Naomi Black in her work Virginia Woolf as a feminist and according to its description in Cornell UniversityPress, Woolf's involvement in the social changes of the time (working conditions, women increasing engagement…) was highly depicted in some of her works. Three Guineas for example truthfully describes the feminist movement carried out by Virginia Woolf. "Infact, this book is the best, clearest presentation of Woolf's feminism". The current feminist movements at the time were an inspiration for her work but also for her own contribution to literary production from 1920 to 1940.

      According to Wikipedia these are the most important non-fiction books and the short story collections by Virginia Woolf:

Non-fiction books 

* Modern Fiction (1919) 

* The Common Reader (1925)

* A Room of One's Own (1929)

* On Being Ill (1930) 

* The London Scene (1931) 

* The Common Reader: Second Series (1932)

* Three Guineas (1938) 

* The Death of the Moth and Other Essays (1942) 

* The Moment and Other Essays (1947) 

* The Captain's Death Bed And Other Essays (1950)

* Granite and Rainbow (1958)

* Books and Portraits (1978) 

* Women And Writing (1979) 

* Collected Essays (four volumes)  

Short story collections

* Kew Gardens (1919) 

* Monday or Tuesday (1921)

* A Haunted House and Other Short Stories (1944) 

* Mrs Dalloway's Party (1973) 

* The Complete Shorter Fiction (1985) 

* Carlyle's House and Other Sketches (2003)

REFERENCE LIST

"Virginia Woolf". Wikipedia.com. Web 10 March 2015. 

“Chronology of her main works”. Chronological List of Works by Virginia Woolf. Web. 10 March 2015.

“Virginia Woolf Greatest Works”. Mantex; Virginia Woolf greatest works. Web. 10 March 2015.

“Works”. Wikipedia.com. Web. 10 March 2015.

"Virginia Woolf as a feminist". Cornwell University Press. Web. 17 April 2015.

 Black, Naomi. 2004. Virginia Woolf as a feminist. Cornwell University Press. 24 April 2015.Print.