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Electronic Writing II
LITR 0210D
CRN:20421

Tuesdays 4-6:20pm
305 Sayles Hall

Lab Thursdays 5-6:20pm
Grad MML

Instructor: Samantha Gorman
office hours:
Tuesdays 1:30-3:45pm
and by appointment
68 1/2 Brown Street, rm 304

EW2 is a workshop/production course where theory and readings augment our creative practice. To augment the class and our writing practice, we will have lab sessions to learn the tools we need to create our work. However, it is important to remember that simple and effective work can be created with little technical skill. This is because focus will be directed on Conceptual Writing that takes advantages of the possibilities afforded by digital technologies.

Because the notion of defining Digital Literature as a concrete genre is still in opposition and has pretty recently begun to merit serious investigation in academia: Many terms and definitions are used. There is no ready consensus among the community that would consider themselves practitioners and artists in this field. Brown has had a great impact on crafting this field.

* Cave
* Hypertext
* First Ewriting Program

The aim of the class is not to further define the field, but rather interrogate its properties and innovate them further.
personal view

Many definitions and terms used: Digital Literature/Writing Digital Media
current listing by Prof. John Cayley

language-driven work that requires one or more of the following properties/methods and
inscribes these properties/methods into the work using programmable and networked writing tools:

* hypertextuality (in Ted Nelson's sense)
* intermedia/transmedia (using digital encoding to cross-refer from medium to medium)
* temporality (that is enabled or generated by digital media, e.g. animation)
* expressive processing
* network-enabled collaborative/social composition/performance

Brian's Notion: http://www.arras.net/brown_ewriting/?page_id=54

Class Website!

* basic class flow + expectations
* blog
* resources
* previous schedule on wiki

Broad Examples of Work

ELO

Justin Katko:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JU5TINKATK0&rclk=pc
http://somedope.blogspot.com/2008/03/death-of-pringle-closing-song-reprise.html

Brian Kim Stefans:
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/stefans__the_dreamlife_of_letters.html

Ian Hatcher:
http://clearblock.net/stn/

Talan Memmott:
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/memmott__self_portraits_as_others.html

Judd Morrissey:
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/poundstone__project_for_tachistoscope_bottomless_pit.html

Rob Wittig:
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/wittig__the_fall_of_the_site_of_marsha.html

William Poundstone:
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/poundstone__project_for_tachistoscope_bottomless_pit.html

Lot Amoros:
http://mcm.feenelcaos.org/index_en.html

Student work from last semester:

Delia
Emily

Assignments and Readings

posted to blog for week 1.

After you have completed this week's project prompt:
take a look at the following. Please comment on this post with a paragraph of text that responds to the readings. The content of your comments are up to you. However, they can reflect what you find useful in your practice, notes you want to remember, points to discuss in class, or concerns you had. I will be checking these on Monday in order to prepare for Tuesdays class.

Please read:
Brian Kim Stefans
http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/firstperson/databased

and take a look at:
Hayles, N. Katherine. "Electronic Literature: What Is It?" Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 2008, p. 1-42. Earlier web version at Electronic Literature Organization: PAD (2007).

Announcements

Possible change of location

MEME!
GDAY!
more GDAY!
shine on me: digital spectacle

MEME!

SPAGHETTI CAT!!
Parry Gripp "Spaghetti Cat I weep for you"

Mystery Google Reading

Mystery Google: http://www.mysterygoogle.com/
How To Receive/Give Google Mystery Missions And Why They Are Fun

Workshop

Week 1 Exercise

Class Discussion

Week 1 Readings
Lecture Notes

Announcements

next weeks readings
lab: where to meet what to bring.
upcoming lit arts events: 1st year reading:

Tues., 9 Feb. The Night of a Thousand Readings and One Reading
7:30 pm McCormack Family Theater

Assignments and Readings

1. Listen to Writing Techniques / Selection from “The Last Words of Hassan Sabbah” by William S. Burroughs
2. Read: “The Cut-Up Method of Brion Gysin” in New Media Reader pg. 89-91
3. Read “For a Potential Analysis of Combinatory Literature” in The Oulipo section of the New Media Reader. pg. 177-187
4. engage CODE POEMS pg. - and “a short interlude to discuss voices” pg. 126-127. by Hannah Weiner in Hannah Weiner's Open House. (class-handout)
5. Williams, Emmett. Selected Shorter Poems 1950-1970. New York: New Directions, 1975: (email pdf)

Writing workshop/Lab. Cut-up method of Brion Gysin and William Burroughs. Meet at class chosen destination. Please bring “sources”, scissors, glue, tape..etc.

see projects here

Labs

Discuss Last Week's Lab and view posted student work for "the cut-up method" on class blog.

Talk about time-conflicts and which labs are essential vs. those that are optional*

*Tech Labs are for the most part optional. However, if you plan to work with the technology or software involved: please attend. If there is a lab that is relevant to your project, and you are unable to attend please speak with me. If you have already spoken with me, you may be able to work on your own time as long as you progress steadily, throughout the semester, show significant progress in class, and don't ask for help learning a platform the week before our final readings.

Planning for Video 1 Lab this Thursday Feb 18

In Class Reading

Perform Hannah Weiner's CODE POEMS from Hannah Weiner's Open House

Points of Reflection:

a.role of voices
b.symbols/signs
c. message modifier

In-Class Discussion of Week 2 Readings

Week 2 Readings
last Thursdays Feb 11 cut-up Lab
Points of Reflection/Lecture and Discussion

Workshop

any work, progress, projects up for sharing and discussion before our official assignment to do so?

Next Week

no class. Short Readings TBA due on March 2nd.
please start with “Inventing the Medium” by Janet H. Murray in the New Media Reader pg. 3.
also due on March 2nd: first presentation of your idea/project.

MEME!

http://www.chrisdaneowens.com/3rd_entry.html

Video Lab part1 or Max/Jitter beginner

Assignments

Respond on the class blog @ http://ewriting2.blogspot.com/2010/02/reading-week-3.html
1. Review this site: http://thomasbroome.se/mm_1.htm. What are the ways text has a materiality here?
2. Read Chap 5. pgs. 159-186 in Hayles, Electronic Literature
3. Read the section "What is New Media? Eight Propositions" by Lev Manovich on pgs. 16-24 in The New Media Reader.

Recommended: Read the section "From a Thousand Plateaus" by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari on pgs. 401-409 in The New Media Reader.

Prepare for Lab and/or familiarize yourself with these artists

1. Listen to Nico Muhly's composition: Mothertongue: I. Archive. How is this a composition of “memory data”.
2. The Books: explore http://www.thebooksmusic.com/ and find an instance of the cut-up method as applied to audio tapes. The flash is simple, there are some effective integrations of media used here. Is this more a promotion site or art piece?

Audio Lab part1
with Edrex Fontanilla and James Hinton. Cover basic approaches to waveform editing, samples, and work in Logic Pro and Amadeus.

Part 1: Evolution-Critical History Digital as a contemporary form? Digital Literature...a new genre? “Digital Born”? “Medium/Message/Material”?

Workshop Review

20 min Listen to “MotherTongue” show simple Flash by “The Books”

Discussion

20-40 min.

1.Are we heading towards a “genre”.
2.Marshall McLuhan's phrase “The medium is the message” indicate for our purposes?
3.What does it mean to be “Digital Born”?

Workshop

Each student should present their initial idea in 5 to 10 min.

Assignments

1.Quickly read Chap 1. pgs. 1-42 in Hayles, Electronic Literature. Familiarize yourself with the "genres" she defines. Choose either a Project mentioned here or one that is housed at the Electronic Literature Collection: http://collection.eliterature.org/1/ to present to the class next week in 5-8 min. Email with me your choice before Sunday.
2.Read the section "You Say You Want a Revolution" by Stuart Moulthrop pgs. 691-703 in The New Media Reader.
3.Flash Review: From “Computer Lib/Dream Machines” check out the introduction on page 301 and Ted Nelson's early thoughts about “hyper” forms pgs. 314-316 in the New Media Reader. Also check out the section “Thoughts about Media” pgs.318-319.
4.skim “Proposal for a Universal Electronic Publishing System and Archive” by Ted Nelson in New Media Reader. On pg. 441 “What does it mean that Literature is Debugged?”

Recommended: Frequently Asked Questions about “Hypertext”.
1. http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/holeton__frequently_asked_questions_about_hypertext.html
2.Read “Nonlinearity and Literary Theory” by Espen J. Aarseth pg. 760 in New Media Reader

Prepare for Lab and/or familiarize yourself with these artists

Review http://karibaily.tumblr.com/, kieran daly's blog dealing with net poetics.
Look at some of Jason Nelson's work: http://www.secrettechnology.com/

 

Open Lab and Individual meetings

Old School and First Generation: Hypertext, Hypercard, ELO collection v.1

Logistics

attendance
one-on-one meetings
assignments
engagement with material

Workshop!

Engage with the following
Select a Hypercard work to read from John Cayley file:///Volumes/NewMediaReader/1990s/Cayley/index.html
or William Dickey file:///Volumes/NewMediaReader/1980s/Dickey/index.html
Read:Jew's Daughter http://www.thejewsdaughter.com/

Discussion

Jay Bolter quoted in The New Media Reader pgs. 618-619

'Although the computer is not necessary for topographical writing', bolter Bolter notes, 'It is only in the computer that the mode becomes a natural and, therefore, also a conventional, way to write.' For the computer 'provides a writing surface with an extension and structure unlike previous technologies,' one in which 'topics...have both an intrinsic and extrinsic significance...they have a meaning that may be explained in words, and they have meaning as elements in a larger structure of verbal gestures.'

Project Review

student project goals, check-in and review

Prepare for Lab

Review http://karibaily.tumblr.com/, kieran daly's blog dealing with net poetics.
Look at some of Jason Nelson's work: http://www.secrettechnology.com/

Assignments

Read “Seeing and Writing” by J. David Bolter in New Media Reader pgs.679-689.
Read “Responsive Environments” by Myron Krueger in New Media Reader pg.
Interactive Video Art by Lynn Hershman: /NewMediaReader/1970s/Hershman/index.html
Read excerpts from Four Selections by Experiments in Art and Technology in New Media Reader
focus on “The Pavilion” pg 223-225 and flip through section to view other installation work by E.A.T.

Showcase

"TextArc" http://textarc.org/Alice.html
"Unphotographable Blog" as conceptual writing http://www.unphotographable.com/
"Emoji Dick" http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fred/emoji-dick

MEME!

Tron Legacy trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P78pl1FUXfA

lecture in net.art

Sound/Video Installation. Text as Materiality.

Class Presentations of Works

Joanne:
Integrated review with discussion last week

Shoma:

Diane:
ELC v.1 http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/waber__strings.html
http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/kendall__faith.html

Joshua:
Diagrams series 6 http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/rosenberg__diagrams_6_4_and_10.html

Gabe:

Darren:

went last week:
Frazer:
Yoshi Sodeoka http://www.sodeoka.com/

Jonathan:
Crusing http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/ankerson_sapnar__cruising/cruising.htm
http://thelibrary.hauntedink.com/reviews/basinski-disintegration.html

Workshop!

In class reading

1. Read: Deviant-how is this literary? http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/leishman__deviant_the_possession_of_christian_shaw.html
2. Critique text rain: http://www.camilleutterback.com/textrain.html
3. Consider Missing Voice by Janet Cardiff http://www.artfocus.com/JanetCardiff.html
4. Consider the work of Jeffery Shaw: and http://www.jeffrey-shaw.net/html_main/show_work.php3?record_id=83

Assignment:

engage with the works posted to the blog for this week

Prepare for Lab

Glance over the critical assesments of “Patchwork Girl” written by past Brown students here: http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/ht/pg/pglinks.html

Engage with “PatchWork” girl by Shelly Jackson. Bring up problems of archiving and the dissemination of digital work.

Warm-up

1. Is Vook "Innovating"?
http://www.vook.com/aboutus.php
http://www.vook.com/product.php?book_id=18

2.Marketing Writing Warm-up
discuss/compare YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES http://www.yhchang.com/ AND the films of Michael Snow. with: http://www.diesel.com/be-stupid
how can this be used as a writing/performance platform? Create a 10 min exercise for the class.

Review of Patchwork Girl Lab

any additional comments?
how to view the work

Catch-up from March 16th

1. In class Reading, Discussion of Sound/Video Installation. Text as Materiality.
2. Remaining 5 min Elit presentations: Shoma, Jonathan?

MIDTERM and Project Progress

Next Lab?

Begin Discussion of Performance/Intervention

1. Examine the following interventions: http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/07/27/news_6103575.html MEZ's discussion of MMOG https://mail.cofa.unsw.edu.au/pipermail/empyre/2008-March/000282.html Blast Theory: Uncle Roy All Around http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/bt/work_uncleroy.html

2. Familiarize yourself with the Second Life Texts of Alan Sondheim http://www.alansondheim.org/echo.txt This is the text of the .echo book, published by Alt-X; and review his comments here: http://www.alansondheim.org/trace.txt

(Open Lab for Individuals with specific project needs)

No Class: Mar. 30

Assignments

Prepare your projects for their 10-15 min class critique

Open, Flash, or Web Development

***MIDTERM PRESENTATIONS ***

Begin Discussion of Performance in Public and Virtual spaces

In class Reading

1. Discuss “Glide” by Diana Slatterly as performance http://www.academy.rpi.edu/glide/

2. Discuss the interventions of Alan Sondheim and Mez.

(discuss before showing) AVATARS.TXT at http://www.alansondheim.org/AVATARS.TXT
How is this an intervention?: http://www.easylife.org/desktop/desktops/mez.jpg
http://www.easylife.org/desktop/desktops/breeze.jpg
Mez Archive: http://www.hotkey.net.au/~netwurker/resume2e.htm-list

Assignment Game Play!

In the New Media Reader CD

1. first briefly Play “Adventure” in “the Interactive Fiction” 1970s designation of the html CD. Also try getting there from file:///Volumes/NewMediaReader/1970s/IF/index.html
2. Have a significantly more thorough engagement with “Galatea” in the CD that comes with Hayles Electronic Literature ELC Vol. One/For_Mac/Galatea.z8
3. Read mez's Directory.Linking 2: /The Immersive State of Reality[Game]Play @ http://www.hz-journal.org/n7/mez.html
5. Review the website for the Path http://grandmothers-house.net/ and play: the path prologue at http://grandmothers-house.net/and-stay-on-the-path/
6. Explore this Blog:http://grandtextauto.org/

Open, or Max/Jitter

Narrative, Play Games, Video Game Culture and IF

Finish Discussion of Performance in Public and Virtual spaces

See Class links for April 6th.
Talk about catching up and comment system.  Please review and comment on any blog assignment/postings/lab you have missed.  Again, I will be checking these at the end of the semester.

Distribute

Table 38.1 “The six qualitative elements of structure in drama and human-computer activity” found in “Two" by Laurel pg. 565 of The New Media Reader.

Workshop!

what progress have you made that we discussed last class? Remember to post any documentation to the blog, so that I can review it before class.

Discussion

Distribute
Table 38.1 “The six qualitative elements of structure in drama and human-computer activity” found in “Two" by Laurel pg. 565 of The New Media Reader.

Review the Path and Play in Class
the Path: http://grandmothers-house.net/
free prologue at: http://grandmothers-house.net/and-stay-on-the-path/

Assignment:

1. Read http://www.electronicbookreview.com/thread/electropoetics/literal
2. Mez: http://disapposable.blogspot.com/ and http://www.javamuseum.org/mez/solo/index.html check out some of her projects in “Mezangelle”
3. look at http://codepo.blogspot.com/2006/04/tlt-vs-ll.html

Recommended:

1. Stops and Rebels: a critique of hypertext by Brian Kim Stefans in Fashionable Noise on Digital Poetics. Pg. 63
2. Read: Cox, Geoff, et al. The Aesthetics of Generative Code http://www.generative.net/papers/aesthetics/

visit to the CAVE

Generative Literature and CodeWork

Workshop!

Discussion

Prepare for Lab

Review Chapter 4 Electronic Literature as Technotext: Lexia to Perplexia pg. 47-63 of Writing Machines by Katherine Hayles.

Assignment:

Consider the problem of archiving and disseminating Writing Digital Media.
Explore the archive at trAce http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/links.asp
review one content from the trAce archive

View “Lexia to Perplexia” on old PC

Final In-clas Critique + prep for refining project at Labs.

Project based

Project based

Project based

Class Party/Rehearsal
Final Presentation