Electronic Literature: From the Hypertext Novel to twitterature

Teacher(s)

Gribomont Isabelle;

Language

French
> English-friendly

Prerequisites

A good passive knowledge of English.

Main themes

Electronic literature includes any born-digital literary work whose meaning is intimately linked to the affordances of the digital. It generally excludes printed literature that has been digitised or works whose digital dimension is limited to the distribution format. Therefore, unlike LCLIB2130, this course does not address the topic of eBooks.
The course will cover the following topics:

• The literary background of electronic literature.
  
• The history of electronic literature from the 1950s to the present.
  
• The archiving and preservation of this form vulnerable to technological obsolescence.
  
• The reading strategies needed to understand electronic literature.
  
• The challenges which these works pose to literary codes and critical vocabulary.
  

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1.	Contextualise the emergence and evolution of electronic literature in history, the history of literature and the history of the digital.
2.	Propose a critical reading of a work of electronic literature, taking into consideration its historical, kinetic, temporal, non-linear and/or interactive characteristics.
3.	To master the challenges of archiving digital literature.
4.	Understand the connections between print literature and digital media in the contemporary context.
5.	Relate the literary canon to electronic literature.
6.	Assess the challenges and critical potential of electronic literature in a digitally dominated society.
7.	Situate the place of electronic literature in the contemporary literary milieu and offer a reflection on the literature of the future.

Content

A Twitter account publishing random excerpts from Moby Dick. Computer-generated love letters. A poem designed to fade away after being read once. Interactive fiction powered by Artificial Intelligence. All these works are part of the world of electronic literature.
Electronic literature is multidisciplinary in nature and often disconcerting since it questions our understanding of the writing and reading acts.
This course outlines the history of electronic literature, starting with authors who pioneered its characteristic interactivity and non-linearity (e.g. Queneau, Calvino and Cortázar). We will explore the different genres that have marked the history of electronic literature at the turn of the 21st century, such as interactive literature, hyperfiction and e-poetry, as well as its current manifestations which mobilise social networks, smartphones and augmented reality.
Second, we will explore the critical language and reading strategies best suited to this form whose development constantly challenges established codes and genre boundaries. We will examine the critical potential of electronic literature in a digitally dominated society.
Finally, we will address the issue of archiving and preserving digital literature considering its sensitivity to the rapid obsolescence of the software used to create and distribute it. We will look at different archiving processes and their challenges.

Teaching methods

Interactive ex-cathedra lectures.

Evaluation methods

• Written assignement.
• Oral exam on the course material and the written assignment.
• Continuous evaluation (in-class discussions, short presentation in preparation for the written assignment).

Faculty or entity

ELAL