March 8: Network Writing

Read: Network Writing, Rettberg

Blog: Explore the works below so that you get familiar with some of the genres of network writing as described by Rettberg. How is the network, often invisible to us as we “engage” online, made visible in these works? What is the literary value of these works?  Do they engage emotionally? Do they stimulate your thinking about the networks we live with?

• degenerative and regenerative, Tiselli (flarf)
• I Love Alaska, by Lernert Engelberts and Sander Plug (flarf)
• The Fall of the Site of Marsha, by Rob Wittig (webpage fiction)
• MEZANGELLE, by Mez Breeze  _cross.ova.ing ][4rm.blog.2.log][_
• Blue Company, Rob Wittig (email novel)
• heyharryheymatilda by Rachel Hulin (instagram novel)
• The Listeners, John Cayley (net critique)

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IN-CLASS TOPICS/ACTIVITIES: 

 

CODEWORK:

• Lexia to Perplexia, Talan Memmott
• Internet Text, Alan Sondheim
• Jodi
•  _cross.ova.ing ][4rm.blog.2.log][_, by Mez Breeze

FLARF:

• Textual Skyline, Jason Nelson
• degenerative and regenerative, Tiselli
• I Love Alaska, by Lernert Engelberts and Sander Plug

Grafik Dynamo about

WEBSITE (Homepage) FICTIONS:

• Mouchette.org
• The Fall of the Site of Marsha, by Rob Wittig
• Blackness for Sale, by Keith Obadike

EMAIL NOVELS:

• Blue Company, Rob Wittig
• Kind of Blue, Scott Rettberg
• Implementation,Scott Rettberg and Nick Montfort

BLOG FICTIONS:

• lonelygirl 15
• Kaycee Nicole

TWITTER FICTION:

• Black Box, by Jennifer Egan
• The Right Sort, David Mitchell

INSTAGRAM FICTION:

• heyharryheymatilda by Rachel Hulin (instagram novel)

COLLECTIVE WRITING:

• The Impermanence Agent, Wardrip-Fruin
• Flightpaths, by Kate Pullinger, Chris Joseph

NETPROV:

• Netprov
• I Work for the Web, by Mark Marino and Rob Wittig
• Friday’s Big Meeting, by Rob Wittig
• The Ballad of Work Study Seth, by Mark Marino
• One Star Reviews, Mark Marino
• Monstrous Weather

NETWORK CRITIQUE:

• How it is in Common Tongues, John Cayley and Daniel C. Howe – Reader’s Project
• TrackMeNot, AdliPo, AdNauseam
• Word Replacer
• Scaremail, Bejnamin Grosser
• The Listeners, John Cayley

DIGITAL VERNACULAR FICTION:

 

IN-CLASS EXERCISE:

Network Writing with Pods: Flarf, Collaborative, Codework

 

Final Essays (40%)

Write an 2500-3000 word digital essay or research paper about a particular work or a comparison of 2-3 works; or about processes, techniques, themes and/or genres discussed in class. The topic is quite open. Use in-class scholarly readings, screen grabs/captures and any outside resources that you find helpful. Please provides a bibliography for all resources and citations.

OR

Create a work of electronic literature (with Twine or HTML) that explores themes/topics/processes discussed in class. The creative work should include a 500-1000 word artist statement discusssing the ideas you are exploring in the work. It should engage with class readings.

• Topics must be emailed to me for approval.
• You may use Twine or HTML to present your paper.
• Drafts of essays will be posted on the blog for proof-reading by peers in class and by me. These drafts will be graded 10% of the final grade.