39 | 2009
Recent Submissions
- ArticleDigitale Medien in der Erlebnisgesellschaft: KapitelabstractsSimanowski, Roberto (2009) , S. 1-7
- ArticleOn Analytic Method in the Digital ReadingRicardo, Francisco J.; Simanowski, Roberto (2009) , S. 1-5Presented with the modality of the new work of art, which, being interactive, sculptural, filmic, or ludic, is in nature and structure so different from prior aesthetic production, literary critic and historian of art alike are now confronted with questions as to preferable modes of reading new media art that can do justice to its unique ontologies. In this conversation (from the book Literary Art in Digital Performance: Case Studies and Critical Positions) with Francisco J. Ricardo, Roberto Simanowski lays out a phenomenology that goes beyond the formalism of the work and opens to a critical reading while, in harmony with the thinking of Lyotard, viewing the encounter of the work as possessing greater importance than specific commitments to interpretation, that is, of experiencing “not what happens but that something happens”.
- ArticleEphemeral passages - LA SÉRIE DES and PASSAGE by Philippe Bootz: A close readingSaemmer, Alexandra (2009) , S. 1-18The lability of digital works, mainly due to the changes undergone by programs and operating systems, as well as to the increasing speed of computers, has been taken for granted by a certain number of critics over the last years. The artists, therefore, have four options when dealing with the potential instability of the electronic device which will display their work: − In keeping with “the aesthetics of surface”, the artists simply ignore this instability. − The “mimetic aesthetics” takes into account the instability of the electronic device, but it also tries to reduce its impact by providing the work with a stable experimentation frame. − The most radical approach, the “aesthetics of the ephemeral”, consists of letting the work slowly decompose, accepting that, through its changing forms and updates, unexpected mutations may even, sooner or later, lead to the obsolescence of the artistic project. − The fourth approach, called the “aesthetics of re-enchantment”, mystifies the relationships between the animated words and images, between the sounds and gestures of manipulation in a digital artwork, in order to advocate an “unrepresentable”, something that words can not describe and yet, that one can “feel” by experiencing the work. The poems La Série des U and Passage by Philippe Bootz seem to perfectly fit in the aesthetics of the ephemeral: the author was among the first ones to theorize both about the lability of the digital device and the eventual obsolescence of digital creation, and also one of the first ones to experiment them in his poetic projects. Yet, in these digital poems, the mimetic aesthetics, the aesthetics of the ephemeral and of re-enchantment alternately intertwine, merge or mutually exclude one another, so that their conflicting relationships allow us to raise a certain number of fundamental questions about digital poetics.
- ArticleTeaching Digital Literature: Didactic and Institutional AspectsSimanowski, Roberto (2009) , S. 1-17Digital media is increasingly finding its way into the discussions of the humanities classroom. But while we have a number of grand theoretical texts about digital literature we as yet have little in the way of resources for discussing the down-to-earth practices of research, teaching, and curriculum necessary for this work to mature. The book Reading Moving Letters, edited by Roberto Simanowski, Jörgen Schäfer and Peter Gendolla, addresses this need and provides examinations by nine scholars and teachers from different national academic backgrounds. While the first section of the book provides definitions of digital literature as a discipline of scholarly treatment in the humanities, the second section asks how and why we should teach digital literature and conduct close readings in academia and discusses institutional considerations necessary to take into account when implementing digital literature into curricula. The following text is the introduction to section two.
- ArticleDissoziierte Autoren: Netzliterarische Autorschaft zwischen Tradition und ExperimentHartling, Florian (2009) , S. 1-25Die 'Geburt' des "World Wide Webs" war begleitet von sehr großen Hoffnungen seitens autorkritischer Literaturtheoretiker. Diese waren zuversichtlich, dass die neuen Medien 'endlich' die poststrukturalistische Missbilligung traditioneller Autorkonzepte in der Literatur umsetzen und den Leser 'befreien' würden. Diese Vorstellungen haben sich offenkundig nicht erfüllt, stattdessen sind auch in digitaler Literatur immer wieder Strukturen traditioneller Autorschaft festzustellen. Erstens haben singuläre Autorkonzepte im Internet 'überlebt' und werden mit teilweise sogar größerer Intensität umgesetzt. Zweitens: Im Gegensatz zur reichen kollaborativen Textproduktion in informierenden Zusammenhängen sind literarische, kollektive Projekte immer noch recht selten. Zudem kann - drittens - auch in kollaborativen Arbeiten oder in den sogenannten "Codeworks" der Autor nicht verschwinden, sondern seine Funktionen werden über verschiedene Personen und Entitäten verteilt. Dies kann sogar zu einer maximal verteilten, "dissoziierten" Autorschaft führen. Insbesondere die netzliterarische Konzeptkunst und die damit verbundene stark verstreute Autorschaft sind mit Hinblick auf Autorschafts-Konzepte hochinteressant. Sie wird daher im Artikel sehr intensiv anhand des Projektes "Search Lutz!" (2006) von Johannes Auer diskutiert. Die dazu notwendige Verortung dieses speziellen Autorschaftskonzeptes unter den online möglichen leistet eine Autorschaftstypologie, die außerdem vorgestellt wird.
- ArticleThe significance of navigation and interactivity design for readers’ responses to interactive narrative: Some conclusions from an empirical study of readers’ responsesPope, James (2009) , S. 1-22Interactive (or 'hypertext') fiction is a significant new art form because of the highly innovative narrative structures and delivery platforms it embraces, and yet in many extant examples the narrative and the delivery platform, the interface, are not happily wedded. This 'mis-match' can lead to negative experiences for readers. This paper discusses the style and usability of the interface, aiming to offer some guidance to writers. As well as considering the relevant literature, I refer to data from my empirical study of readers' responses to a range of interactive (hypertext) fiction, as supporting evidence for the conclusions offered. I argue that the design of the interface and its navigation systems are of absolutely crucial significance for readers' engagement and absorption with the narrative.
- ArticleNetworxx 2018: eine ZukunftsphantasieMathias, Alexa (2009) , S. 1-5
- ArticleFraming Locative ConsciousnessRicardo, Francisco J. (2009) , S. 1-29A special autonomy contains the word “place” in modernist thought and language. It refers to locations with at least a vague name and an implied prominence over non-places. But aside from traditional monuments, little in current notions of place relies on the role of memory in constituting placemaking. Today, therefore, place exists in disconnection with event, an incorrectly separate term with its own semantic lineage. This disjunction is both the opportunity of postmodern architecture and what locative media art, with its union of place and event, seeks to obliterate, as the argument and examples in this essay indicate.
- ArticleWatching the Game: Video Games as a Function of Performance and SpectatorshipLigman, Kris (2009) , S. 1-9This article deals with non-playing video game audience cultures and their relationships to the gaming experience. We begin by identifying some primary motivating factors behind game spectatorship, including video games’ relationship to other media such as sport and film. The article then proceeds to discuss video games specifically as enacted narratives and their impact as potential audience-friendly media. We conclude by taking another look at the current industrial/theoretical perspective of the medium and assess the possible implications non-playing game audiences may have upon video games as a developing field.
- ArticleDigitale Medien in der Erlebnisgesellschaft: EpilogSimanowski, Roberto (2009) , S. 1-6Der Epilog in Simanowskis Buch Digitale Medien in der Erlebnisgesellschaft. Kultur, Kunst, Utopien unternimmt einen Ausblick auf die aktuelle Rolle der Kunst im Hinblick auf ihre ‚terroristische Sättigung’. Dabei unterläuft die Terrorisierung des Ästhetischen (der Theaterbesuch mit Bombenalarm) ebenso wie die Ästhetisierung des Terrors (die Installation mit Echtzeittodesmeldungen) das Spaßmodell der Erlebnisgesellschaft dadurch, dass sie die ästhetische Erfahrung doppelt an den Tod bindet: als Gefährdung des Publikums und als unmittelbare Zeugenschaft durch das Publikum.
- ArticleFigures in the Interface: Comparative Methods in the Study of Digital LiteratureZuern, John (2009) , S. 1-22This paper, which is part of the collection of essays Reading Moving Letters (see introduction) reflects on what the emerging field of digital literature studies and the more established (but continually evolving) discipline of comparative literature might contribute to one another in terms of defining concepts and methods of literary analysis. My discussion is guided by the tentative proposition that the vexed status of the "national language" for comparative literature can be seen as analogous to the status of the "digital" for scholars undertaking research on computer-based literary texts. Aiming to overcome the ideological strictures of nationalism, many present-day comparatists are returning to the old question "what is literature?" and are placing renewed emphasis on the role of figurative language as a defining feature of literary texts and, consequently, as the appropriate focus of comparative textual analysis. Should scholarship in electronic literature head in a similar direction and cultivate skepticism about the essentialism of the digital, opening up greater possibilities for comparative work across literary media? In support of an affirmative answer to this question, the essay undertakes a detailed comparative analysis of Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "Herbst" ("Autumn") and American artist Rudy Lemcke's digital video poem "The Uninvited."
- ArticleDigitale Medien in der Erlebnisgesellschaft: EinleitungSimanowski, Roberto (2009) , S. 1-13Mit den digitalen Medien scheinen alte Utopien wahr zu werden. Das Publikum steigt auf zum Mitgestalter oder wird sogar zum Autor des Kunstwerks, die Intelligenz der Masse setzt sich durch, Bürgerreporter begründen eine ganz neue Form von kritischem Journalismus. Die Fundamentalkritiker der neuen Medien kontern: Hier tobt ein Jahrmarkt der Eitelkeiten, triumphiert die Banalität des Alltags, die Ästhetik des Mittelmaßes. Die Euphoriker übersehen, dass im Involviertsein bis zur Distanzlosigkeit die Kulturindustrie ihr Überleben sichert. Die Kulturkritiker ignorieren das basisdemokratische Potential der interaktiven Kunst und Web 2.0-Kultur. Simanowskis Buch Digitale Medien in der Erlebnisgesellschaft. Kultur, Kunst, Utopien untersucht die aktuellen Phänomene der digitalen Medien – Weblogs, Werbung, Identitätstourismus, Cybersex, Kontrolle – und stellt sich den Fragen der aktuellen Netz-Debatte: Wie kreativ ist der persönliche Webauftritt? Wie aktiv ist das Publikum interaktiver Kunst? Wie demokratisch ist Online-Kommunikation? Wie kosmopolitisch ist die Online-Nation? Die Einleitung situiert die interaktive Kunst der digitalen Medien im Kontext der Erlebnisgesellschaft und stellt die verschiedenen Positionen zu dieser vor.
- ReviewEncapsulating E-Poetry 2009: Some views on contemporary digital poetryFunkhouser, Chris (2009) , S. 1-60Digital poet and researcher Chris Funkhouser attends E-Poetry 2009 in Barcelona and files a report on what he heard and saw.