26
Jan
09

Best of Class Projects

My World: A WoW Blog (fiction blog, or “flog”)
By Arriel Widdes
http://darkravenxi.wordpress.com

English Project (animated poem)
By Yaqian Liu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1OCzJYjnA

The Truth About Science (wiki story)
By Megan Ritter
http://fiction.wikia.com/wiki/The_Truth_About_Science

I Wish I Knew How to Quit You (flog)
By Jenna Butkovic
http://joker-ledger.blogspot.com/

The Peterson & Sons Bank Incident (wiki story)
By Jeff Gratton
http://fiction.wikia.com/wiki/The_Peterson_%26_Sons_Bank_Incident

Springfield Talk (fictional photoblog…phlog?)
By Parashar Trivedi
http://www.photoblog.com/SpringfieldTalk

William Blythe MySpace Page (social networking page parody)
By Claudio Sayan
http://www.myspace.com/blythewilliam

Lost Girl Literally (flog)
By Monique Schulmann
http://lostgirl1993.blogspot.com/

Preface (hypertext poem)
Robert Coffman
http://www.terpconnect.umd.edu/~byrnejo/coffman_proj.htm

T.O.’s Loung (flog)
Chris Palm
http://toslounge.blogspot.com/

16
Dec
08

ENGL278W Final Exam

The final exam is all essay and is divided into two parts: two short essays, and one longer essay. You have until 3pm to complete the exam. By that time, I should have your completed exam in my email inbox. PLEASE SEND IT TO ME AS AN ATTACHMENT AND AS TEXT PASTED INTO YOUR EMAIL. Note also that I have pasted in below a comprehensive list of links to our class readings for your reference and convenience. I will be checking email during the first two hours of the exam and will be able to answer any clarification questions (my email: byrnejo@umd.edu).

PART I: SHORT ESSAY. Choose TWO of the following FOUR questions and write a short response (1 long paragraph of approximately 4-6 sentences minimum; it can be more than 6). This portion of your exam is worth 50% (25% for each short essay).

1. We have defined “digital” as incorporating four different qualities: multimedia, interactive, immersive, and database in format. Matthew Kirschenbaum has said that books, more or less, share the same qualities. So are books digital objects? And are they multimedia, interactive, immersive, and database in the same ways as other digital objects? If not, how are they different? In your response, in addition to answering some of these questions, make a case for whether books belong on the syllabus of a digital literature class, and if so, what kind of books would work best? You may want to refer to my class notes, particularly “books and the digital.”

2. Compare/contrast the experience of virtual immersion in three different works from the class syllabus (list below). For instance, how does the experience of immersion in a book differ from that of an interactive fiction “game”? How does immersion in an interactive fiction game differ from that of the MOO? In your response, you may want to refer to the term “immersion” in the glossary of terms, and to my class notes on immersion.

3. All of us today appear online in various guises, which we often call “avatars.” Many of us have MySpace or Facebook profiles; email, cell phone, and chat accounts; and various other names and technological incarnations, including gaming avatars. How do you change when the technology changes—or do you? Do you like to play with identity online, or does that kind of play make you uncomfortable? Describe your experience with your own avatars and, referring to “subjectivity” in the glossary of terms and to my class notes on the subject, discuss the ways in which digital subjectivity is healthy, and/or unhealthy, for individuals and society.

4. We have (briefly) discussed in class the ways in which Web 1.0 digital literature differs from Web 2.0 literature. Identify one work from the class syllabus that epitomizes Web 1.0, and another which epitomizes Web 2.0, and do a compare/contrast evaluation. In what ways has Web 2.0 improved upon Web 1.0 in regards to digital literature? What Web 1.0 features have been left behind that should be retrieved and re-incorporated into Web 2.0? In making your response, you may want to refer to the terms “Web 1.0″ and “Web 2.0″ in the glossary of terms.

PART II: LONG ESSAY. Choose ONE of the following TWO questions and write a long response (3-5 paragraphs minimum; it can be longer). This portion of your exam is worth 50%.

1. Media-mash-bash. Take three digital works from the class syllabus; remediate them (in your imagination) using another, different media format; then discuss the results. For instance, imagine reading Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl on your cell phone. How would this change your reading experience? How would this change the work itself? How about Patchwork Girl as an interactive fiction game? As a wiki? In making your response, you can use works that we didn’t actually read as a class, chosen from directories listed below. You will also want to refer to class notes and readings, particularly those that consider the digital genres you may be playing with (e.g. hypertext, interactive fiction, wiki), as well as those that deal with remediation.

2. Where will literature be in ten years? Will it be more or less digital? What kind of things will we be reading? Begin with a thorough assessment of where we are now, in terms of reading and literature, before making your future predictions. Make sure your predictions are based on trends observed in class or in class readings, such as those assigned for December 9 (especially the NEA report “To Read or Not to Read”). You may also want to refer to “literature” in the glossary of terms, and my class notes on literature. In your response, you will need to discuss at least two other digital objects on the syllabus.

CLASS READINGS:

Glossary of Terms

Class Notes

Class Syllabus

Neil Hennessey, Jabberwocky Engine: <http://www.poemsthatgo.com/gallery/winter2004/jabber>
W. Bradley Paley, Textarc: <http://textarc.org>
The Blake Archive: <http://www.blakearchive.org>
Frankenstein Electronic Edition (at Romantic Circles): <http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/frankenstein>
Electronic Literature Collection: <http://collection.eliterature.org/1> [archive]
Shelley Jackson, Patchwork Girl
Geoff Ryman, 253 <http://www.ryman-novel.com>
Jason Nelson, Poems: <http://www.heliozoa.com> [archive]
Poems That Go: <http://poemsthatgo.com> [archive]
Interactive Fiction Archive <http://www.ifarchive.org> [archive]
Interactive Fiction Database <http://ifdb.tads.org> [archive]
Stuart Moulthrop, Pax <http://iat.ubalt.edu/moulthrop/hypertexts/pax/>
Natalie Bookchin, The Intruder: <http://www.poemsthatgo.com/gallery/fall2003/intruder>
Julian Dibble, A Rape in Cyberspace: <http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle.html>
FrankenMOO (or the MOO in general): <http://www.rc.umd.edu:7000/>
Jillianne Hamilton, Flogalicious <http://www.jillianne-hamilton.com/flog>
Newsgroper <http://newsgroper.com> [archive]
“Horton Carew,” Horton’s Folly: <http://hortonsfolly.blogspot.com>
“Jason X,” The User Pool, <http://www.theuserpool.com>
Fiction Wikia <http://fiction.wikia.com/wiki/Novelas> [archive]
Conworlds Wiki <http://conworld.wikia.com>
Wesley Allsbrook, Leviathan <http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=comic&id=625&page=1>
TOR website <http://www.tor.com> [archive]

09
Dec
08

Exercise: “Blue-Ribbon Panel” Evaluation of Digital Literature

1. Individual Evaluation. From the list below, choose three examples of what you consider successful works of digital literature, and three examples of works that fail as digital literature. For each, write a sentence justifying your choice. You might want to consider the criteria for the digital (multimedia, interactive, immersive, and database) and literature on the class blog. NOTE: for each example that is an archive [in brackets], choose individual works that you think are successful or unsuccessful (rather than praising or condemning the entire archive). Leave your list in your online lab folder.

2. Group Evaluation. From the list below, choose three examples of what you consider successful works of digital literature, and three examples of works that fail as digital literature. For each, write a paragraph (3-4 sentences) justifying your choice. You might want to consider the criteria for the digital (multimedia, interactive, immersive, and database) and literature on the class blog. NOTE: for each example that is an archive [in brackets], choose individual works that you think are successful or unsuccessful (rather than praising or condemning the entire archive). When you are finished, paste your findings into a comment to this blog entry. Make sure your group number is included.

Neil Hennessey, Jabberwocky Engine: <http://www.poemsthatgo.com/gallery/winter2004/jabber>
W. Bradley Paley, Textarc: <http://textarc.org>
The Blake Archive: <http://www.blakearchive.org>
Frankenstein Electronic Edition (at Romantic Circles): <http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/frankenstein>
Electronic Literature Collection: <http://collection.eliterature.org/1> [archive]
Shelley Jackson, Patchwork Girl
Geoff Ryman, 253 <http://www.ryman-novel.com>
Jason Nelson, Poems: <http://www.heliozoa.com> [archive]
Poems That Go: <http://poemsthatgo.com> [archive]
Interactive Fiction Archive <http://www.ifarchive.org> [archive]
Interactive Fiction Database <http://ifdb.tads.org> [archive]
Stuart Moulthrop, Pax <http://iat.ubalt.edu/moulthrop/hypertexts/pax/>
Natalie Bookchin, The Intruder: <http://www.poemsthatgo.com/gallery/fall2003/intruder>
Julian Dibble, A Rape in Cyberspace: <http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle.html>
FrankenMOO (or the MOO in general): <http://www.rc.umd.edu:7000/>
Jillianne Hamilton, Flogalicious <http://www.jillianne-hamilton.com/flog>
Newsgroper <http://newsgroper.com> [archive]
“Horton Carew,” Horton’s Folly: <http://hortonsfolly.blogspot.com>
“Jason X,” The User Pool, <http://www.theuserpool.com>
Fiction Wikia <http://fiction.wikia.com/wiki/Novelas> [archive]
Conworlds Wiki <http://conworld.wikia.com>
Wesley Allsbrook, Leviathan <http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=comic&id=625&page=1>
TOR website <http://www.tor.com> [archive]

04
Dec
08

Literature: Definitions

In English literature, the definition of literature has changed many times, usually in response to historical and cultural realities. It is not surprising that at a time in which the digital has started to eclipse print—the main medium for literature for 400 years—we find the former definitions lacking, and seek to find a place for literature in the digital age. What follows is a brief time-line of literature, encompassing a few different definitions, and ending with a proposed definition for digital literature.

Before the 18th Century. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines literature at this time as an “acquaintance with ‘letters’ or books; polite or humane learning; literary culture.” In other words, literature is equated with literacy. Those few who can read are literary and what they read is literature.

Early 18th Century.
At this time literacy had become more widespread, and print works a valuable commodity. The OED definition of literature at this time reflects this: literature is “literary work or production; the activity or profession of a man of letters; the realm of letters.” At this time, literature becomes the specialized work of a few, a professional enterprise, or what we now call journalism.

Later 18th Century.
This period in England is known as the Age of Enlightenment. An important enlightenment thinker in Britain was William Godwin, who defined literature as “the diffusion of knowledge through the medium of discussion, whether written or oral.” For Godwin and other British enlightenment figures, literature was knowledge that is shared; it was the means by which people become enlightened and society improved. Note that Godwin includes in his definition oral dissemination—that is, an element of sociability, of community. For Godwin and others like him, literature was the “republic of letters,” or what we might now call the “public sphere.”

19th Century:
In the wake of the French Revolution, enlightenment ideals fell out of favor, since many considered these ideals to be the inspiration for the bloody excesses of the Revolution. At this point, literature becomes identified not with the public good but with private, often emotional, experience. Thus, Raymond Williams defines literature at this period as “well-written books of an imaginative, creative, aesthetic, or artistic kind.” Literature is now defined as having cultural and artistic value, as writing that transcends historical circumstance or market realities. This is largely the legacy of the Romantic movement in the early 19th century and it is important to note that this definition was the dominant definition of literature for the entire 19th century and most of the 20th.

20th Century. Raymond Williams points out that literature in this time period, in addition to its basic Romantic definition, is increasingly defined in opposition to modernity, particularly the field of electronic communications. It also becomes associated with the past, and with unreliable documentation; that is, with fiction. In this sense, literature is escapist, something we use to flee or ward off the more negative aspects of modern life.

21st Century:
We are now, as a culture, in the process of coming up with a more current definition of literature, one that preserves the best of print culture while at the same time makes room for electronic forms. There are still plenty of people who define literature in opposition to electronic communications, and all things digital; and there are plenty of people who think literature has little relevance to our historical moment. A compromise seems to be in order.

Our task in ENGL278W was to think about digital objects in the context of a literature class. At the beginning of the semester, literature was defined in broad terms (just as it was generally defined before 1800), in order to consider as many electronic forms as possible. Our definition of literature was basically “literature is writing to be read.” After a semester’s worth of reflection, it seems that this definition was too broad. There were a number of questions we did not consider initially, such as:

1. Does literature imply works of cultural or artistic value?
2. Who determines that cultural value? (And should there be an approved canon of literary works?)‏
3. Is language (rather than just content) a factor in determining whether something is literary?

These questions came from you the students (though you may not remember voicing them!). They reflect values that you all brought into this class, your own pre-definitions of literature. In response to these questions, it now seems important to point out that some digital objects have more value than others; some are executed better, some become more popular because they reflect the zeitgeist, the current cultural moment. It seems fair that we continue to listen to the opinions of critics and scholars, people who have devoted their lives to literature, in determining cultural value. But frankly, at this point, traditional literary people (critics, scholars) know much less about the value, artistic or otherwise, of most digital objects than the “born digital” regular users of digital forms—that is, all of you! So a popular consensus is also needed.

We also need to consider the question of language. Creative use of language has always been a key part of literature, in every time period; it is the one thing that literature offers that non-verbal, highly-visual art forms do not. In digital culture, which is highly visual, there is a distinct danger that we will lose the play, and continued development, of language. If our texts lose this, they might still be considered art, but they can no longer properly be considered literature.

So for a new definition of literature that will fit our situation I propose this:

Literature is writing that is considered by both critics and consumers to be of a high quality and cultural value, in which the creative use of language is prominent.

How does this apply to the definition of digital literature? How about something like this:

Digital literature is writing that is considered by both critics and consumers to be of a high quality and cultural value, in which the creative use of language is prominent, created (written) and accessed (read) by utilizing electronic technologies.

Is this a satisfying definition of literature and a fair assessment of what we have been doing in ENGL278W? If not, you have the option of commenting upon this post, and I encourage you to do so.

Works Consulted:

Oxford English Dictionary (Online)
William Godwin, An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (Book I, chapter IV, 1793 ed.)
Raymond Williams, Keywords (“Literature”).

30
Nov
08

Leisurely Reading

I found the discussion in class on Thursday interesting because I never really thought of myself as one who reqads in my leisure time. It was brought up that reading things off the internet can be included as a part of leisurely reading and I really never thought of that. I always considered reading having a book and sitting in a quiet place going through chapter by chapter. I actuality I spend a good amount of time leisurely reading as I am on the internet for hours on end evryday. Although Im not reading one specific thing, I am still reading. The same goes for when I am reading magazines. I guess because Ive always had this simple definition of reading as being something boring because it is just you and a book I never really took for what it is and frankly I do it all the time.  Im not a big fan of romantic literature, but I realized that I actually do enjoy reading especially in my spare time.

30
Nov
08

Semester Project Presentation Prompt

We will be meeting in the lab on Tuesday (Dec. 2). As the syllabus states, you will be doing short presentations on your semester projects on Tuesday and Thursday. I will be picking people at random, so that means everyone needs to be prepared with their presentation on Tuesday, not just those at the top of the alphabet!

Your presentation should be 3-5 minutes. You’ll want to give a basic description of your project, and what it will look like when it’s finished. Having something visual to show would be great, though, obviously, you don’t have to present a finished project. Showing something like a table of contents page, or an opening page or entry, would work.

You’ll want to say something about the interface or navigation structure of your project. You’ll also want to discuss the medium you have chosen to work with, and how that medium affects your story or poem. (For instance, if you choose to work with a wiki, how does the fact that other people can change what you’ve done affect how you tell your story—or does it? If you choose to work with hypertext, how does random navigation and a non-linear narrative affect how your tell your story, and how others read it?).

In your presentations, as in your project “manifestos,” you’ll also want to address some of the concepts we’ve dealt with in class. Interface and medium are two concepts that will apply to everyone’s project. There are other concepts that will apply to some projects, but not others, such as multimedia, interactivity, immersion, and database (your project, to qualify as a digital object, must deal with at least one of those four, but not necessarily all four).

I’m intrigued by many of the projects that you’ve emailed me about, and look forward to hearing more about them in your presentations.

See you on Tuesday.

Joseph Byrne
ENGL278W

25
Nov
08

Class for November 25 Canceled

You should have gotten the email in which I announced that class for tomorrow (Nov. 25) is CANCELED.

But, as I said in the email and will paste in here, I would like each of you to email me a description of your semester project and something about how it fits in with the work we’ve been doing in class (key concepts, etc.). You can also ask me particular questions, ask for feedback, etc. Write at least a paragraph, more if necessary. I will reply to your emails with some ideas on how to fine-tune your project.

24
Nov
08

More Wiki Talk

As mentioned last week, digital objects “seek the real by multiplying mediation so as to create a feeling of fullness, a satiety of experience” (Bolter and Grusin 53). I feel like the class accomplished this when we did the wiki exercise in class last Tuesday. From what I can tell by reading the blog, it seems like this was one of the class’s favorite assignments. I personally like the wiki because our group was actually working together to make this digital story. We chose a topic where we could all use our imaginations and really wrote what ever came to our mind. By using the wiki we were able to come up with the main topic of the story then divide the story into chapters. We were each assigned a chapter to write under. It was really neat to see how the story turned out in the end, and to read how we took the topic in our own perspective and made it our own story, even thought it still was just one story. I think the wiki was a good experience for everyone in the class, and hopefully classes after us with do more things like this.

Bray Hill

24
Nov
08

digital literature assessment

          I thought that technology was supposed to make things easier.  Just hearing the term “digital literature” it has this ring to it that makes it more “new” than a book.  The “new” implies the advancement of technology of literature from a book to whatever.  For example, Dreamhold and the MOO.  In my opinion, the technology that they use makes the act of using it much harder.  This is coming from a college student that has grown up in the world of technology, and not from a grandmother who doesn’t know how to use her own cell phone.  The technology that I have been using makes doing things easier.  For example, a CD instead of a tape when trying to find a specific song, the navigation is much easier.  In class we created a Wiki.  This application made creating something so easy.  There was a tool bar on the left to help you out.  When you did something wrong you could easily figure out how to fix it.  The technology made it simple.  That is what it is there for.  When we apply technology to literature I think that there hasn’t been a good job of matching the two.  Maybe they don’t go together well.  If the objective is getting more people involved in reading I think digital technology isn’t doing as good of a job as they could.  For me, I’m not impressed at all with the digital literature that has been represented in class.  Technology can improve literature and it hasn’t done a good job in my opinion from what I have seen so far.

Ross Dubin

22
Nov
08

wiki

The experience of writing our wiki page was on of the more exiting activities we have done in the class.  We have previously worked together in our groups to write an original story, but something was missing from previous assignments.  The fact that the entire world has access to these Wiki pages changes the whole perspective.

Knowing that every single person on the planet has the ability to view our pages afffected the way I wrote my Wiki, and perhaps other students in the class as well.  We could not just collaborate to make a stroy in seperate portions and just publish them as one, they need to flow to some degree.  This challenge was also enticing.