What is Digital Humanities? Essay

Here's an essay on Digital Humanities

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tqa9zk6wwVidIENiQQ0sXtrDbs64-fA5ARgLUQLesVw/edit

Reaction to Week Seven Literature

 

 

Ok, I need to get my reaction to CTheory's NetNoise out of the way before I discuss some of the other electronic literature pieces that I viewed this week. For me, NetNoise was totally confusing; a hodgepodge of sounds, distorted voices, flashing words, colors, etc. I couldn't make sense of what I was viewing so I moved on after a few minutes.

 

I then viewed Red Riding Hood by Donna Leishman. We all read the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood who was stalked by the big, bad wolf and saved at the end. It is interesting to see how a fairy tale can be interpreted when done electronically with basically no words. This interactive piece is definitely a more adult version of the tale (a baby, a gun) where the viewer can choose a path of either allowing Red to dream or waking her up when she "falls asleep" in the field. Since I wanted to know a little more about this literature piece than I was interpreting on my own, just as I had with the AH piece previously, I did additional research. There are a lot of reviews and interpretations out there on this piece which were helpful. I found one in particular that was short, easy to read and provided more insight about the piece; click the link if interested. https://shasthriellegedara.wordpress.com/2012/03/22/leishman__redridinghood/

 

Finally, I viewed selections from Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.  I looked at the ones that were recommended: "Dakota," "Lotus Blossom," and "The Sea" in addition to "Mr. President" and "What Now?"  The pieces were not interactive, moved quickly, and at times the music would distract me from following the stories, but I still found it challenging to figure out what was happening. An interesting note about "Dakota" is that right after the author and title are shown, profanity appears on the screen. At that point, you knew you were in for a trip which is exactly where the group was headed in their car with beer cases in the trunk. However, the selection I enjoyed the best was "Mr. President" about a letter written by Maria Cuervos to the president. It was easier to follow than the others since it was slower moving. Even though there was humor in the letter, Maria who was experiencing many troubles, was reaching out for help. The fact is that the problems she wrote about depicted real-life for many Americans such as the death of a spouse, losing a job, being evicted, living on a small pension, dealing with numerous accidents and health issues, and having scary neighbors. When I have more time, I would like to view some of the other selections presented by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries.

 

Google maps essay

 

As  a sports enthusiast and die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I had a dream come true when I had the chance to attend Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in February 2011. I take you from the start of the regular season in Pittsburgh to the Super Bowl in Texas.

 Join me as I relive my emotional round trip journey of the highs and lows of the Steelers 2010 season. Here We Go!!!

Introducing "Going for the Seventh Ring"
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zS4367TaCUes.kXQOWOg9uowk

Reaction to Week Five Literature

 

 

There were a number of different electronic literature pieces that I viewed and read this week. For this blog, I am going to discuss two particular ones. Since I have never been one to read much poetry in hard copy, I thought an electronic piece might be more interesting. The Sweet Old Etcetera by Alison Clifford which is based on the poetry of E.E. Cummings is a totally interactive piece. You go nowhere unless you click on various spots (usually red highlighted words) on the screen starting with the branches of a tree that sprouted out with words. Clicking on the words to move forward with the poetry wasn't always easy since the tree sways back and forth. I was able to read and understand the areas where the words formed sentences; other areas were more confusing and I couldn't make sense of what was on the screen. Also, it was frustrating because there were times that I wanted to leave the screen, but couldn't until I clicked on all the highlighted words. This piece did have sound - when clicking on a highlighted word, you hear a single beat similar to a chime sound. There were spinning stars you could click on and make "music" (similar to playing a piano with one finger). All in all the piece was too confusing and didn't give me a better appreciation for poetry.

 

The second piece I am going to discuss is the total opposite of Clifford's especially from the standpoint of being interactive. AH by K Michel and Dirk Vis shows words flowing across the screen, most of the time in a straight line, at a fast pace to the point where it made me dizzy as I was trying to make sense out of it. There was nothing to click on, no color, no sound and nothing else to see except this flow of words that were meant to represent the moves between the breathing and singing of someone in the shower. In order to figure out more about this piece, I did some research and found an analysis of AH that gave me some additional insight. Check it out if you are interested. http://nkelber.com/engl278w/?p=2089#