Syllabus – ENGL 761 Topics in Postmodern Literature – Summer 2006
Media Materiality Poetics
Dr. Kenneth Sherwood
Sherwood@iupl.edu   
www.chss.iup.edu/sherwood
Class: M-Th 10:15, Leo 102
Office: Sutton 340; see web for regular hours; messages 724-357-2261

Overview

Literature has been directly engaged with technological change and its mediation of language for at least the duration of the modernist period—from telegraph, radio, magazine, newspaper and book typesetting, to the fax, tv, personal computer, desktop publishing, networking, and digital multi-media production.   In this session, I will be interested for us to consider the poetics of electronic literature (i.e. the text-oriented subset of new media) from experiential, aesthetic, theoretical, and historical perspectives.   Some initial questions that may inform our study are:

• How do art makers integrate technological concepts and their social implications into art? (database, interactivity, algorhythm, open source, modularity)
• How does the saturation of the social world and the terms of specific media devices (cable tv, video-game, mobile phone) inform literature?
• What are the important concepts, genre conventions, and "APIs" organizing the varied kinds of work within electronic literature: hypertext, net.art, e-poetry, vispo, blogs, wikis, podcasts?
• What reconfigurations to prior genre conventions and understanding of text objects can we observe? How does the "remediation" of classic genres transpire? Do multi-, hybrid- and inter- media overwhelm genre thinking?
• How can the tools of literary study be adapted to their reading? Where do new media leave the material book?
• Does the advent of "new media" constitute a paradigm shift, a fresh chapter, or only the illusion of literary change? To what degree is new technology enabling,   determining, or limiting?
• What do we gain by considering new media from the perspective of electronic literature, rather than such disciplinary categories as performance, experimental music, or computer science?
• How is the writer and the activity of writing reconceptualized? (FLARF, singular genius vs. collaborative writing)   How is the reader and the activity of reading/consuming reconceptualized? (navigate, launch, operate)

Organization

The five-week session will be loosely choreographed to acquaint you with current digital practices, leading you toward becoming a fluent reader/viewer/user, while buttressing these engagements with research into the development of new media as a textual art, and the history of human/computer interaction.     Our study themes will oscillate between close encounters with new media artifacts and more distanced reflections on theoretical and historical issues--supported by assigned critical readings, student-led panel presentations, collaborative online work, and student-curated exhibitions. We will communally work through a number emerging new media "classics" and "foundational" critical texts with the aim of enabling students to develop a conceptual framework for producing review-quality critical writing about new media and introducing it into their teaching.  

Activities and Grading

Discussion 10%

Presentations   20%

• Formal/Group: you will collaborate in preparing two group presentations on self-selected articles/objects of interest; selections may be made from unassigned textbook readings, reserve articles, suggested artists, or other approved topics. (each student will participate in two groups; weeks 3 and 4)
• Individual: prepare one, 15 minute "media-specific analysis" to share with the class, reflecting upon a digital artwork of your choice. You deal with an artwork scheduled for class discussion on the day it is assigned to the whole class, or you may identify a new work to bring to the attention of the class (weeks 1-3)

Portfolio 30%

Over the course of the session, you will individually and collectively generate formal and informal writing. We will use a dedicated course Wiki to assemble, link, and share these materials, which I will encourage you to log on your personal wiki pages and gather into a printed portfolio for submission at the term end.   The following provisional list of portfolio materials includes items that will be generated out of assignments further explained below.

• Blog notes:   individual responses to reading and class discussion posted on your personal page (at least once per week, on or before the last class meeting) [minimum 5 entries]
• Article discussions: you will contribute to at least 2 entries per week, during weeks one and two; following that, you will be responsible for the collective entry pertinent to your group article/object once each in weeks three and four; (see presentations; minimum 6 entries)
• Collective glossary (generation or editing of entries)
• Media-specific analysis: compose an entry introducing a digital work of your selection (see presentations)
• Other experiments, mini-media projects, collaborations, or wiki contributions as logged on your personal pages

Final/Formal Projects    40%

5-7 pp. review essay of publishable quality discussing a new media artwork and drawing on theoretical/conceptual materials from the class OR a new media project of your own, exhibiting a critical intelligence and exploration of media. You will submit a proposal (for instructor review and class discussion) no later than the end of week 3 (7/28)   and submit the final project Monday 8/7,sharing it with the class during week five. (10-15 minutes)

Media in the course

Interested and capable students are encouraged to explore and integrate non-print media into their coursework: presentations, wiki entries, portfolio, final project.   Of course, beyond contributing to the class wiki and blog, technology use is not required.   I recognize that students may bring varied media and technology skills to the class, and do not want to disadvantage those who are new-media "freshman" even as I regret the schedule and scope of this course do not allow us to schedule class studio time.   However, I would still like to emphasize the value of applied investigation of new media.   You may find that even the most primitive experiment will provide you with a learning experience! I have some self-taught expertise in this area and will gladly provide you guidance or point you to on-campus resources should your interest and time lead you to acquire or utilize some applied skills.  

Schedule 1.0

Key: {{optional related reading}} . Author/Artist-exhibit . NMR= New Media Reader . NMP= New Media Poetics .

Week 1 (7/10-14)

1. [Introducing E-poems]

Brian Kim Stefans - Dreamlife of Letters

http://www.ubu.com/contemp/stefans/dream/index.html

http://www.arras.net/web_poetry.htm

Caroline Bergvall - Ambient Fish

http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/bergvall/amfish/cbflash.html

Erik Loyer – Hollowbound Book, a response to Hayles' Writing Machines

http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books/mediawork/

2. [Programming and Presentation]

Morris - Introduction, New Media Poetics: As We May Think/How To Write, NMP 1

{Poundstone NMP – 246-48}

{Glazier- Io Sono at Swoons   NMP 210-216}

Loss Glazier - Io Sono at Swoons

http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/glazier/java/iowa/        

William Poundstone - 3 Proposals for Bottle Imps

http://www.williampoundstone.net/Bottle.html

3. [Structure and Thought]

Introduction - Manovich: New Media from Borges to HTML NMR 01 pp. 13-25

Bush - As We May Think NMR 2 pp. 29-

Jim Rosenberg – Diagrams Series 5 (for web) http://www.p0es1s.net/p0es1s/bio_e/rose.htm

http://www.well.com/user/jer/index.html#menu

{Englebart - Augmenting Human Intelligence NMR 08 pp. 93-}

{Nelson: File Structure for the Complex, the Changing and ...   NMR 11 pp. 133-}

4. [Machines and the Social]

Turing - Computing Machinery and Intelligence NMR 03 pp. 49-

Eliza/Doctor by Joseph Weizenbaum (NMR CD)

Weizenbaum - Computer Power and Human Reason (NMR 24 pp. 367-)

Turkle - Video Games and Computer Holding Power (NMR 34 pp. 499-)

Atari Games (NMR CD)

{Haraway: A Cyborg Manifesto NMR 34}

Week 2 (7/17-21)

5 [Page/Screen Kinetics]

Stephanie Strickland – Vniverse

http://vniverse.com/

Perloff - Screening the Page/Paging the Screen: Digital Poetics and the Differential Text, NMP pp. 143-

Hayles - The Time of Digital Poetry: From Object to Event NMP pp. 181-209

Vniverse, Stephanie Strickland and Cynthia Lawson     NMP 165

6 [Pedagogy/Disciplinary Configurations]

epc.buffalo.edu/

www.ubu.com/

writing.upenn.edu/pennsound

The Bride Stripped Bare: Nude Media and the Dematerialization of Tony Curtis, Kenneth Goldsmith             NMP 49

Riding the Meridian, Jennifer Ley             NMP 95

Kinetic Is As Kinetic Does: On the Institutionalization of Digital Poetry, Alan Filreis NMP 123

7 [Sound]

Paul Miller / DJ Spooky

http://www.djspooky.com/sounds.html

Spinelli - Electric Line: The Poetics of Digital Audio Editing NMP 5 pp. 99-

Radio Radio (especially broadcasts 1 or 12) http://www.writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/RadioRadio.html

Audio Lingo (especially podcasts 31 or 54):

http://audiolingo.org/

8 [Social Intersections]

Stallman - GNU Manifesto NMR 36 pp. 543-

Berners-Lee et al: The WorldWideWeb NMR 54

Critical Art Ensemble – Nomadic Power NMR 53 pp. 781-

http://www.critical-art.net/

Yes Men

http://www.theyesmen.org/

{Open Democracy / Creative Commons / Open Content:

http://www.opendemocracy.net/media_and_the_net/index.jsp}

{Stefans/Wershler-Henry - Towards a Poetics for Circulars NMP 3 pp. 65-

http://www.arras.net/circulars/}

Week 3 (7/24-28)

9 Procedure/Chance/Change

Giselle Beiguelman – Egoscopio

http://www.desvirtual.com/portfolio.htm

Beiguelman NMP 285-290

{Beiguelman Interview - http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Eiareview/tirweb/feature/stefans/index.html}

Oulipo NMR 12

Burroughs: The Cut-up Method of William Burroughs NMR06

Kaprow: Happenings NMR:

Charles Hartman's software (eg PyProse, or Concord at http://cherry.conncoll.edu/cohar/Programs.htm); surrealism poetry generator

Student Assigned Readings/ Panel Presentations:

A1 B1 C1
Collaborative Wiki Work

Week 4 (7/31-8/4)

10. Digital Media

Talan Memmott – Lexia to Perplexia

http://www.uiowa.edu/~iareview/tirweb/hypermedia/talan_memmott/index.html

Hayles – reserve/Writing Machines

Watten – Poetics in the Expanded Field: Textual, Visual, Digital NMP 335-66

Memmott - NMP 294-306 http://memmott.org/talan/works.html

{{Talan Memmott's "Lexia to Perplexia", by Thomas Dreher, www.dichtung-digital.com/2004/4-Dreher-engl.htm}}

Student Assigned Readings/ Panel Presentations:

A2 B2 C2

Collaborative Wiki Work

Week 5 (8/7-10)

11 [Genre Dissembling]

Coover: End of Books NMR 49

Bolter: Seeing and Writing NMR 47 pp. 679-;

Noland – Digital Gestures NMP 11 pp.   217-

Language Writing, Digital Poetics, and Transitional Materialities, Alan Golding NMP 249

Beyond Taxonomy: Digital Poetics and the Problem of Reading, Talan Menmott   NMP 293

Individual Presentations,   Demonstrations

Optional/Background   Readings

Benjamin – "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"

Enzenserger: Constituents of a Theory of the Media (NMR 18)

Haraway: A Cyborg Manifesto NMR 34

Landow – Hypertext. Johns Hopkins

Manovich - The Language of New Media. MIT

McLuhan, The Medium is the Message (NMR 13 pp. 203-09)

McLuhan, The Medium is the Massage

Nichols: The Work of Culture in the Age of Cybernetic Systems (NMR 43)

Articles and Chapters Available on E-Reserve

DigitalPoetics-Glazier-Epoetries

DigitalPoetics-Glazier-Introduction

FirstPerson-Cayley-LiteralArt

FirstPerson-Strickland-MovingThroughMe

HowWeBecamePosthuman-Hayles-C1_TowardEmbodied

HowWeBecamePosthuman-Hayles-C8MaterialityOfInformation

LanguageMachines-Introduction

MediaEcologies-Fuller-C4

MediaEcologies-Fuller-Introduction

MyMotherWasAComputer-HaylesC2-SpeechWritingCode

MyMotherWasAComputer-HaylesC4-TranslatingMedia

NewPhilosophyForNewMedia-Hanson-Intro

Poesis-AestheticsofDigitalPoetry-Introduction

ReimaginingTextuality-Drucker-IntimationsofImmaterialty

ReimaginingTextuality-Bernstein-Response

Remediation-Bolter-C3-NetworksOfRemediation

Remediation-Bolter-Intro

WritingMachines-Hayles-Sels-C1C4

Books on LIBRARY Reserve

Glazier – Digital Poetics

Landow - Hyptertext

Stefans – Fashionable Noise

. . . .

Key SITES and Exhibits

Iowa Review Web - http://www.uiowa.edu/~iareview/mainpages/tirwebhome.htm

Electronic Literature Association - http://www.eliterature.org/

Beehive - http://beehive.temporalimage.com/bee_core/index.html

EPC E-Poet List - http://epc.buffalo.edu/e-poetry/

UBU Web - http://www.ubu.com/

Poems that Go - http://www.poemsthatgo.com/

Poesis Gallery http://www.p0es1s.net/p0es1s/main_e.htm

Turbulence Net Art - http://turbulence.org/archives/06.html

EBR http://www.electronicbookreview.com/

Alt-X http://www.altx.com/

Key FIGURES

Loss Glazier

John Cayley:   http://www.shadoof.net/in/

Jim Roseberg: http://www.well.com/user/jer/

Stephanie Strickland http://www.stephaniestrickland.com/

Brian Kim Stefans http://www.arras.net/ (Brian Kim Stefans)

Ana Maria Uribe http://amuribe.tripod.com/anipoems.html

Alan Sondheim http://www.thegatesofparadise.com/alan_sondheim.htm

Jessica Loesby http://www.rssgallery.com/

Eduardo Kac http://www.ekac.org/

Golan Levin http://www.flong.com/

Web CRITICISM

Electronic Book Review:   http://www.electronicbookreview.com/

Lev Manovich:   http://www.manovich.net/