Class March 10

We talked about "These Waves of Girl" to open up some more possibilities for building electronic lit texts. Take a look at Raine Koskimaa's essay on "these Waves. . ." - she points out connections among structure and narrative that might slip by on a quick read. Think about how your next text can use the structure (and the animation/presentation) as an element of storytelling.

We also talked about what makes texts literary - and what factors you need to take into consideration to make sure Project 2 is a "literary" text. For example - which is more literary = Nio, or Singing Horses? Storyland? Why? What are the features that make a text literary?

We then spent some time brainstorming - coming up with ideas, what you might do + how you might do it. Project 2 is another opportunity to experiment - to help you figure out what you can do for your major opus => the final project.


Schedule for presentations on reviews (see assignment sheet posted below for details).

Nic All Roads + Sam Red Ridinghood 3/24
John Bad Machine 3/29
Lisa Dawn & Yvonne to be determined 3/31
Ryan Nio & Justine Storyland4/7
Anna & Melissa 4/12 => evidently I didn't write down your texts - let me know.


For Monday, March 22:
WORK ON PROJECT 2
Blog 11: Yeah, this time REALLY post the map for Short project 2 and write a draft intro for your piece.

In class you will talk through what you have so far + workshop your piece.

Assignment sheet for Project 2:

Project 2: a work of digital literature that is interactive , involves codework, is generative art or is flash-based; you may use some combination of these new features and hypertext – but for this assigment you need to go beyond hypertext structures to incorporate motion, audio or video content, animation, and etc. As with Project 1 = structure should be integral to the project’s meaning.

Purpose: to gain deeper understanding of the purposes, forms, technologies, and reading strategies associated with non-hypertext electronic literature; to experiment with composing practices for creating a range of forms for digital literature; to explore software that can present images, sounds, and text in the forms associated with digital literature; and to design and publish a work of digital literature that is not exclusively a hypertext.

Description of assignment: create a work of digital literature where image, sound, movement, spatial relations and other visual, audio cues are significant components of the work . You may use powerpoint, flash, windows moviemaker, or any software which allows you to create a text that incorporates sound, images, and movement into your text.

The complete assignment will include:
- a short introductory statement or “abstract” to characterize what the text “does”
- any instructions or suggestions for readers to have a successful experience
- a readable/playable digital text linked to or embedded in your blog
- a folder visual & sound files, and lexia associated with the text
- a schematic, “map” or timeline to describe the design of your text

Criteria for grade: The hypertext itself will have:
- a navigation or interactive system that is integral to the text’s meaning
- elements where sight, sound, movement, configuration, and other active features of the text play a role in the texts’ reading
- a thematic, symbolic or conceptul focus that allows for a “literary” reading;
- elements that are creative, well composed, and appropriate to the text’s theme/focus

The abstract & suggestions for reading will be patterned on the introductory material in the Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 1.