Geoffrey Sauer
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Sauer is an American new media
theorist who researches technologies including open source
software and collaborative multimedia
development in the context of the history of publishing. He is the director of the open-access electronic text archive the EServer
, an electronic text archive, which is according to Alexa
the most popular website in the arts and humanities. He is also the director of the Studio for New Media at Iowa State University
, as well as an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
and Professional Communication
in the ISU
English Department.
, and grew up from age three in Mobile, Alabama
, the son of an English professor (David) and an academic librarian (Janice). He began working at age eight on his father's accounts on PDP-11
and VAX-11/750
minicomputers at his father's university.
's Honors Program and there was influenced by the work of scholars such as Jacques Derrida
, and Pierre Bourdieu
. In 1990 he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to study at Carnegie Mellon University
and in 1998 received a PhD in Literary and Cultural Theory, with a dissertation about miscommunication between employees and managers in 1990s Internet projects, and its origins in British and French publishing history.
While he was at Carnegie Mellon
, he was a founding member (and later, director) of the English Server (later the EServer
), which he led to publish writings in arts and humanities free of charge online.
In 1998 he received a postdoctoral fellowship at CMU
. In 2000 he took a faculty position at the University of Washington-Seattle. In 2003 he moved to the Rhetoric and Professional Communication program at Iowa State University
in Ames, Iowa
, where he remains to the present day.
Sauer has argued that U.S. publishing is dominated by interests that are decreasingly interested in publishing books that won't sell a lot of copies greatly reducing academic book choices in the sciences and humanities and leading to increasing commodification of academic knowledges.
Since 2003 he has written increasingly often about professional writing, arguing for the historic increase of openness in a range of workplace communication practices, and the increasing importance of open, database-driven, professional resources.
, an open-access online publishing project in the arts and humanities.
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
theorist who researches technologies including open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software and collaborative multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
development in the context of the history of publishing. He is the director of the open-access electronic text archive the EServer
EServer.org
The EServer is an open access electronic publishing cooperative, founded in 1990, which publishes writings in the arts and humanities free of charge to Internet readers. It is rated by Alexa as the most popular arts and humanities website in the world. As of 2005, the EServer published more than...
, an electronic text archive, which is according to Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
the most popular website in the arts and humanities. He is also the director of the Studio for New Media at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, as well as an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and Professional Communication
Technical communication
Technical communication is a method of researching and creating information about technical processes or products directed to an audience through media. The information must be relevant to the intended audience. Technical communicators often work collaboratively to create products for various...
in the ISU
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
English Department.
Biography
Sauer was born in 1968 in Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, and grew up from age three in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, the son of an English professor (David) and an academic librarian (Janice). He began working at age eight on his father's accounts on PDP-11
PDP-11
The PDP-11 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a succession of products in the PDP series. The PDP-11 replaced the PDP-8 in many real-time applications, although both product lines lived in parallel for more than 10 years...
and VAX-11/750
VAX-11
The VAX-11 was a family of minicomputers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation using processors implementing the VAX instruction set architecture . The VAX-11/780 was the first VAX computer.- VAX-11/780 :...
minicomputers at his father's university.
Education
Sauer attended the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
's Honors Program and there was influenced by the work of scholars such as Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida
Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, born in French Algeria. He developed the critical theory known as deconstruction and his work has been labeled as post-structuralism and associated with postmodern philosophy...
, and Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu
Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher.Starting from the role of economic capital for social positioning, Bourdieu pioneered investigative frameworks and terminologies such as cultural, social, and symbolic capital, and the concepts of habitus, field or location,...
. In 1990 he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to study at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
and in 1998 received a PhD in Literary and Cultural Theory, with a dissertation about miscommunication between employees and managers in 1990s Internet projects, and its origins in British and French publishing history.
While he was at Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, he was a founding member (and later, director) of the English Server (later the EServer
EServer.org
The EServer is an open access electronic publishing cooperative, founded in 1990, which publishes writings in the arts and humanities free of charge to Internet readers. It is rated by Alexa as the most popular arts and humanities website in the world. As of 2005, the EServer published more than...
), which he led to publish writings in arts and humanities free of charge online.
In 1998 he received a postdoctoral fellowship at CMU
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. In 2000 he took a faculty position at the University of Washington-Seattle. In 2003 he moved to the Rhetoric and Professional Communication program at Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
in Ames, Iowa
Ames, Iowa
Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
, where he remains to the present day.
Scholarship
Sauer's scholarly research study how material circumstances from the history of publishing have both hampered and facilitated contemporary open-access publishing ventures.Sauer has argued that U.S. publishing is dominated by interests that are decreasingly interested in publishing books that won't sell a lot of copies greatly reducing academic book choices in the sciences and humanities and leading to increasing commodification of academic knowledges.
Since 2003 he has written increasingly often about professional writing, arguing for the historic increase of openness in a range of workplace communication practices, and the increasing importance of open, database-driven, professional resources.
EServer.org
Sauer is the founder and director of The EServerEServer.org
The EServer is an open access electronic publishing cooperative, founded in 1990, which publishes writings in the arts and humanities free of charge to Internet readers. It is rated by Alexa as the most popular arts and humanities website in the world. As of 2005, the EServer published more than...
, an open-access online publishing project in the arts and humanities.
Works
In addition to his online work, some of his writings in print include:- Bad Subjects, based in Berkeley, CA, touted as the first leftist publication on the Internet (originally published via gopher)
- Bad Subjects: Political Education for Everyday Life (New York University Press, 1998)
- Online Communities: Commerce, Community Action, and the Virtual University. (Pearson Education, 2001)
- 'コミュニティ、コースウェア、' In オンライン・コミュニティ: ｅコマース、教育オンライン、非営利オンライン 活動の最先端レポート. Chris Werry and Miranda Mowbray, eds. Ken'ich Ikeda, Ed. Supervisor. Midori Shimoda, Kiichi Obata, Ko Ito and Yumiko Koiwa, translators. (Tokyo: Pearson Education Japan, 2003)