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Subject: Susanne Ackers: Visions Are Worth Words
From: susanne.ackers@ihu.his.SE (susanne ackers)
Date: 10 Sep 1997 22:23:28 +0200

* * * * *

Visions Are Worth Words

Thank you, Josephine Bosma, for posting your Mute article *What are words
worth* to the cyberfeministic newsgroup at the Hybrid Workspace, Kassel,
Germany. As you might have guessed by the title, the following words are
reacting on yours.

Except of my excursions into the 12th and the 16th centuries, all my
references are going back to that text. Some general statements refer to
the discussion on the FACES list that has been going on since more than two
months now in preparation of the meeting of the first international
cyberfeministic organisation, the Old Boys Network.

Visionaries
For most of the history of western culture, the only way to enter the
written discourse of history for women was to have *visions*. Hildegard of
Bingen (1098-1179) as well as Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) not the only
examples of women that had no legal education in reading and writing. Both
of them, though, developped a specific rhethoric in their actions as well
as in their texts that urged church patriarchs to accept their writings as
being dictated by Jesus or God. Teresa, when accused or criticized, argued,
that illness, hunger and daily business did not allow a re-reading of her
texts. Because of her imperfect knowledge of the official church latin
Hildegard was granted an educated (male) secretary that converted her
spoken German (Mittelhochdeutsch) into the appropriate written format in
Latin.

Rhetoric of Feminity
The words *I am only a woman* and *God has chosen me as a medium, so, you
are in power and you have to decide what to do* worked wonders. Both
visionaries were asked by the authorities to deliver written evidence of
their visions. The visions had to be transformed from one medium to another
(spoken to written language) in order to be processable through the
hierarchy of the catholic church. Both visionaries were conscious about the
models of thinking of their readership. Their rhethoric structures of
diminitive writing about themselves, repeated humility topics and
self-critique were used to influence the readership in a way that took
arguments out of their mouths by addressing them within their own writing.

Teresa of Avila stated in her *Book of Foundations* that "we are living in
a world in which we have to think of people`s opinions of us if our words
are to have any effect." Today we find ourselves embraced by a technology -
the internet - that Josephine Bosma describes as a technology that
"*lives* and is connecting to lives, creating new realities, emphasising
dormant freedoms of expression and being". Her notes on the academic, male
discourse that is performed on some internet mailing lists and her call for
subversive actions would stand in the above described tradition of rhetoric
of feminity.

Practical Actions
But the texts of the visionaries are not all that we know about their
lives. If we look more closely, we find, that the texts were an unavoidable
necessity which they had to provide in order to be able to found own
cloisters and like this reach a remarkable autonomy. Most female cloisters
were connected not only geographically but also and foremost in terms of
hierarchy to male cloisters. Hildegard managed to found her own cloister
when she was 49 years old. Again and again she envisioned that God told her
to found a cloister at that specific place which happened to be located on
the other bank of the river that passed by the main cloister. The
responsible male collegues changed their primarily total abjection to a
final OK - being forced by the rhethoric patterns of Hildegard. Seemingly
not caring about their own fate, they did force their male contemporaries
indirectly. The consequence in their actions irritated those who were part
of the institution. The virus of suspect - what, if these women are getting
their visions from above? - made desicions possible that were directed
against the system.

Both visionaries became writers. But not to play a role within the game.
They used this tactic to realize their other visions. Hildegard*s cloister
worked as a psychological institution for people in despair, as a pharmacy,
as an ambulant hospital and as a collecting point for life experiences in
general. Teresa founded her first convent with 43 and when she died she had
opened more than 20 houses for women. All without legal authoritiy, i.e.
she squatted deserted houses, established a working community there and
went on. Of course, the writings which were translated into the local
languages helped to distribute a theory for their doings, but the every day
problems were different. The texts were not written with the one and only
aim to participate in the male dominated discourse but to establish
structures that were in an immediate connection to every day life and the
needs of its beings.

Cyberfeminism
This is the point where I see the cyberfeministic potential today. To find
ways in using the internet and all technology around it, that makes sense
not only in a theoretical but also in a practical way - based on insights
that were developed and written down during a history of feminism. The
knowledge transfer between women should not be sacrificed to the sake of
producing as many and as good programmers or technicians as men have
produced already. But ask for ways to integrate this product of a male
dominated history of technology back into every day life. This does not
mean that cyberfeminism as a state of mind can only exist where people have
access to internet.

Questions
In this context, I would like to draw your attention to a recent
publication by Margaret Wertheim with the title *Pythagora`s Trousers*.
With her background as a physicist, she wrote a history of physics of 2500
years on 250 pages. Her book reveals an inspiring connection between the
patriarchic structures of the catholic church and the history of physics.
Her suggestion is, to make use of those human beings (mostly women) that
through their education outside of institutions have developped different
point of views. The questions they raise towards products of history could
stimulate a rethinking. How can we integrate these products into our lifes?
Do we need to spent more money on the question of quantum physics? Or is
there a possibility to create explanations of the creation or the future of
the universe? With less technological effort such as words maybe?

Mother Tongue, Culture and Style
A word about my own words: As a German, I am not a native English speaker.
Writing in English is a hurdle which sometimes seems high. When re-reading
the Hildegard and Teresa literature for this article, I realized that their
being ignorant, unlettered women in the sense that they had no official
training in Latin, this gave them in a way a lot of freedom: nobody blamed
them for their language.

I am still wondering, whether the generalization (sorry, Josephine Starrs,
but it is a generalization) that women develop a nice style in their online
writing, can be applied on native as well as non-native speakers. Speaking
for myself, I admit that I feel more creative and constructive writing in
German than in English. Still, I am more interested in the international
discourse on this subject than a national one.

During the discussion on cyberfeminism, criticical voices towards a male
tradition of academic discourse have been raised. With my own position as a
lecturer within such an institution, I feel attacked by these words. I
think it is important to allow free choice for the place and way of
performance of cyberfeminism in society. For me, it is necessary to get
feedback from these institutions, so it is unavoidable to be close to them.


Knowledge Transfer and Teaching
Since Aristoteles, women have had a long history of being excluded from
education and teaching. Still today, a female teacher in elementary schools
is nothing unusual, while female academic teachers still are. For me, this
situation is challenging. Experimenting with my vision of history. Trying
to create methods of seeing connections instead of repeating facts in a
linear way. And using the internet as a research, writing and presentation
tool.

Josephine Bosma pointed out that *the definitions of rationality, science
and art, all restrictive, male academic traditions should have trouble
surviving* the *revolutionary force of the new media*.

I am fascinated by the possibilities of the internet, but as a teacher, the
feedback of the students, the development of thoughts and insights through
spoken language and discussions are more important to me than my webpages
or texts as products. These I feel still have a comparible function as the
writings of the early female visionaries had: to produce something that can
be processed by an academic machinery that is something I am dealing with
as a product of history.

Susanne Ackers