470c F20 Fan

470c

ENGL 470c: Literary Studies in Electronic Forms

Version 1.2: Sept 14, 2020

Professor Lai-Tze Fan [my name is pronounced Ligh (light without the “t”) + Chee] E-mail: L29fan@uwaterloo.ca

Fall Term 2020 (virtual)

Video lectures and relevant URLs: Uploaded to Learn every Tuesday

Readings: Linked in syllabus or on Learn

Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 3 – 4pm, by appointment; all other times by appointment

“An interactive narrative (which can also be called a hypernarrative in an analogy with hypertext) can ... be understood as the sum of multiple trajectories through a database. A traditional linear narrative is one among many other possible trajectories, that is, a particular choice made within a hypernarrative. Just as a traditional cultural object can now be seen as a particular case of a new media object (i.e., a new media object that has only one interface), traditional linear narrative can be seen as a particular case of hypernarrative” (227).

• Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media (2001)

Course Description:

This course is designed to explore the concept of the digital narrative: narratives that are affected, shaped, represented, and supported by digital media—including digital textuality, aesthetics, and poetics. Students in this course are offered a multi-faceted approach to digital narrative through the specific field of electronic literature. Through e-lit, they will learn about emerging literary genres and forms in online culture as well as the specific coding and software programs that enable these narratives.

The course will be composed of both theory and practice.

Students will be introduced to the development of critical ideas and concepts of digital narrative through e-lit, including interactivity, multilinearity, and the re -conceptualization of the literary reader as a media “user.” Particular attention will be paid to the reader’s agency to shape the development of digital narratives through exploration and choice, taking into consideration textual, spatial, and subjective representations.

Students will also be taught to apply theoretical ideas of digital narrative to practice. They will be trained to tinker with the code of an existing piece of generative poetry; use popular social media platforms to produce e-lit; and will ultimately design and code their own work of e-lit through the digital authoring program Twine (Harlowe version). Please note that no prior knowledge of any coding language is needed. Whether you already like to code or you’re starting from scratch, you are welcome!

Note: normally, a course with hands-on practice requires grading in participation; however, given current requirements for distanced learning, extra marks are allotted to each assignment and a “walkthrough” with the professor will take the place of a final presentation.

If you have problems with accessing any of the creative works through Flash, please let me know. For further examples of e-lit, you may always look at any of the texts from the Electronic Literature Collections 1, 2, and 3: http://collection.eliterature.org/

Class Schedule

Week 1: Introduction; What Is E-lit? (Sept 8)

• discuss digital narrative from the field of electronic literature
• • other terms: born-digital literature, hypertext, cybertext
• WORK: Kaitlyn Tremblay. “Lights Out, Please.” 2014.
  • https://kait_zilla.itch.io/lights-out-please
• WORK: Lai-Tze Fan and Nick Montfort. “Dial.” 2020.
• • https://nickm.com/fan_montfort/dial/

Week 2: The History Of Electronic Literature (Sept 15)

• N. Katherine Hayles. “Electronic Literature: What is it?” 2007.
  • http://eliterature.org/pad/elp.html
• Scott Rettberg. Pgs 10 – 17. Electronic Literature. 2019.
• WORK: Talan Memmott: Lexia to Perplexia. 2000.
• • http://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/memmott__lexia_to_perplexia.html

Week 3: Narrative Vs. Database (Sept 22)

• Lev Manovich. “The Forms.” The Language of New Media. 2001.
• N. Katherine Hayles. “Narrative and Database: Spatial History and the Limits of Symbiosis.”
• WORK: excerpt from Rick Moody’s “Demonology” (in Manovich text; also to be read by Prof. Fan over video lecture)

Week 4: Interactivity And Multilinearity (Sept 29)

• Leonardo Flores. “Third Generation Electronic Literature.” 2019. https://electronicbookreview.com/essay/third-generation-electronic-literature/
• WORK: txtstories. “LAZY CAT.” (2018)
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKanP1OQS5A
• WORK: Eugenio Tisselli. The Gate. http://www.motorhueso.net/thegate/

Week 5: Creative Coding & Collaborative Writing (Oct 6)

• Mark C. Marino. “Generative Code.” Critical Code Studies. 2020.
• WORK: Nick Montfort. “Taroko Gorge.” 2009.
• • https://nickm.com/taroko_gorge/
• workshop: how to edit the code of “Taroko Gorge”

Reading Week (OCT 10 – 18)

[+ Mid-way assessment of how the course is going for everyone.]

Week 6: Women & E-lit I: The Pioneers Of E-lit (Oct 20)

• Shelley Jackson. “Stitch Bitch: The Patchwork Girl” (1997)
• • http://web.mit.edu/m-i-t/articles/jackson.html
• WORK: Shelley Jackson. Patchwork Girl. 1995.
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHUR6phuOrc
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21YxTeV1t1c
• • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPnKbegz050
• WORK: Ana Maria Uribe. Multiple visual poems. 1997 – 2003.
  • http://www.vispo.com/uribe/anipoems.html

Social Media E-lit Assignment Due: Tuesday, October 20

Week 7: Women & E-lit Ii: The 21st Century Practitioners (Oct 27)

• WORK: Caitlin Fisher. These Waves of Girls. 2001.
• • http://www.yorku.ca/caitlin/waves
• WORK: Kayte McKnight and Kara Stone. Cyborg Goddess.
• • https://karastone.itch.io/cyborg-goddess?download
• • click “take me straight to the download” to download for free; donate if you wish
• WORK: Margaret Rhee – Kimchi Poetry Machine. 2014.
• • http://collection.eliterature.org/3/work.html?work=kimchi-poetry-machine

Week 8: Twine 2.0 part I (Nov 3)

• class demonstration of the cultural, creative, and critical applications of Twine 2.0
• WORK: Ruqiyah. If Not Us. https://ub4q.itch.io/ifnotus
• Twine Harlowe Guide. http://twinery.org/wiki/harlowe:reference
• Adam Hammond. “A Total Beginner’s Guide to Twine 2.1.” (note Hammond’s preference for Snowman version over Harlowe)
  • http://www.adamhammond.com/twineguide/

Week 9: Twine 2.0 part II (Nov 10)

• Twine Cookbook. https://twinery.org/cookbook/
• Twine Reference (FAQ). http://twinery.org/wiki/twine_reference

Taroko Gorge Remix Due: Tuesday, November 10

Week 10:Multimedia, Multimodality, & Games (Nov 17)

• Espen J Aarseth. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. 1997.
• Daniel Punday. “From Synesthesia to Multimedia: How to Talk about New Media Narrative.”
• WORK: Cecile Richard. Endless Scroll
• • https://haraiva.itch.io/endless-scroll

Week 11: How Digital Media Affect Print Narratives (Nov 24)

• N. Katherine Hayles. “The Future of Literature: Print Novels and the Mark of the Digital.”

Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary. 2008.

Week 12: Guided Walkthroughs With Prof. Fan (No Videos Uploaded) - I will put up a virtual sign up sheet for times in this week, from Nov 25 to Dec 2

Twine Project Due: Friday, December 11 (deadlines are fairly flexible ^_^)

Assignments

Formatting requirements for all submitted documents

• 1-inch margins all around, 12-point font, Times New Roman, double spaced.
• MS Word preferred, but let me know if it’s not possible
• Citation style: up to you, as long as it’s consistent. Google “Owl Purdue” for a helpful guide.
• All assignments will be submitted electronically to my e-mail: L29fan@uwaterloo.ca
• Please put your name in the document/file name.

Content restrictions

• When asked to incorporate content or create your own content, please omit any of the following: porn, content of a violent or potentially triggering nature

•  If a content warning (CW) is needed for sensitive material, please include it at the very beginning of the work
• If you’re not sure whether something is considered sensitive material, please write to me directly, not to the class

Also see the grading rubric at the end of syllabus, which will be used for all grading except the Taroko Gorge remix’s mini-essay and the walkthrough meeting.

OCT 20: Social Media E-Lit (approx. 2 – 5 minutes of reading/playing time + 2-page formal reflection)

Do you find any popular social media platform particularly literary, cinematic, or good for storytelling? Have you ever wanted to experiment with its constraints for creative use? Here is your chance! Choose any popular social media platform and compose an interactive and/or multilinear story. It can be fiction or non-fiction, it can be text-based, photo-based, video-based, or a combination (multimedial).

Depending on what platform you use, submission methods will vary: if it’s a Twitter thread, send me the URL or screenshots. If it’s a Snapchat or TikTok video, save the video and send it to me. If it’s a series of stories on Instagram, SnapChat, Facebook, etc., save those and send them to me. If you want to send someone on a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story through a series of websites (even your own sites), a bunch of YouTube comments, or a even by jumping among platforms, go ahead! Just make sure I can follow along.

If you can’t send me something for any reason and don’t want to share your user handle (totally understandable), consider opening a new account. If that’s not possible, please write to me and let me know.

NOV 10: Taroko Gorge Remix (remixed code + 3-page mini essay)

Joining the many e-lit practitioners who have taken their own creative spin on Nick Montfort’s “Taroko Gorge,” you will modify his code to make the poem your own piece of creative generative writing.

The point of this assignment is not to grade your creativity, but rather, your understanding of how to tinker with code syntax without messing up the grammar of the generated poem, or perhaps how to tinker with the aesthetics and behaviour of the webpage itself. If your final generative poem doesn’t make sense, or if the code breaks, it will show.

For inspiration, it’s a great idea look at the source codes of other remixes, the URLs of which are included at the bottom of Montfort’s code. By comparing the codes of multiple remixes, you can see what can and cannot be changed.

In addition to this exercise, you will submit a 3-page (double spaced) mini-essay on the process. Suggested personal questions to answer: did you enjoy tampering with existing code or would you have preferred to do something from scratch? What would you like to learn more about in the future? What do you think of collaborative writing? Suggested scholarly questions to answer: What problems did you run into in the process of design? What course readings have we done that relate to this exercise or to your experience as a practitioner, a collaborative writer, and a user? Besides the words, what else did you tinker with, and what were the results?

DEC 11: Twine Project (approx. 5 – 6 minutes of reading/playing time; if you need any more time/space, please write to ask first)

You are going to design and code your own work of electronic literature using the digital storytelling platform Twine. Twine is a great way to combine creative writing (fiction or non-fiction) with powerful digital tools. You may choose to write something from scratch or expand on something you’ve already started in class workshop exercises.

You may also consider using something you’ve written in the past: an essay, a story, a series of poems, a speech, a letter.

You may also consider adding to or remixing a piece of existing print or digital writing. For example, I once copied + pasted parts of a novel that only featured [Character A’s] point of view, then I linked all of [Character A’s] dialogue to new windows that featured [Character B’s] true feelings, which I wrote myself.

NOV 25 – DEC 2: Twine Walkthrough (10 – 20 minutes, depending on troubleshooting)

A one-on-one virtual chat (video or audio, your choice) with me, Professor Fan. Besides

office hours, this is your main opportunity to have me find + fix any red flags with your project before you submit it for grades.

Please walk me through what you have so far for your Twine project (half-way done would be optimal): tell me about the content or plot, tell me why you chose to design it this way, show me some of your code, ask me questions about how to fix x or y.

I’ll ask you light questions along the way, mostly to understand more about the project’s development, what inspired you, and maybe a sneaky question about one of the readings.

Any difficult code that I can’t fix during our meeting, I’ll make note of and get back to you via e-mail after our meeting.

Assignment Grading Rubric

Originality and Imagination

• No original or creative effort; copies similar ideas and projects
• Some creative endeavours and design; inspired by other ideas and projects
• Good creativity and imaginative efforts (including in adapting others’ projects and ideas); new approaches and methods tested
• Highly creative and unique; takes imagination (including in adapting others’ projects and ideas) to a challenging level

Use of Language

• Plain, un-creative language that is too simple or that is poor in clear communication
• Some effort shown in trying to be effective in communication and storytelling
• Good storytelling that considers diction, tone, genre, and the overall message
• Excellent storytelling with effective use of diction, tone, genre convention, and the communication of messages

Structure (movement, momentum, navigation, endings)

• Code or template not used to student’s advantage in designing the structure
• Structure reflects basic knowledge of thinking about digital structure and design in comparison to other communication formats (print, for example)
• Structure and form tries to experiment with what is possible in design in this specific platform of communication
• Structure demonstrates student challenging themselves in what is possible for design in this specific platform of communication

Use of Technology (code, material devices, archaeology, etc.)

• Minimal or no use of the technological features of the chosen platform or device
• Some engagement with the technological features and affordances of the chosen platform or device
• Good attempts at making use of the affordances of the chosen platform or device, including attempts for medium-specific design
• Rigorous engagement and demonstrates student challenging themselves in new technological forms, including a high awareness of medium-specific design

Awareness of Reader/Reader Agency

• Very little consideration of the reader’s experience in the design; not user-friendly
• Somewhat user-friendly and considerate of the reader, but needs work in terms of content clarity and usability
• Good consideration of reader’s experience and direction in going through the project; allows reader to make choices or at least be reflexive of the project content