Brief Thoughts (about this week's literature)

 

 

The Last Performance by Judd Morrissey is somewhat confusing to follow. There are three sections: The Dance has words dancing in different formations; The Performance Space introduces you to the 6 "C's"; sectors such as Consider the style of old words in new times and Collaboration as architecture: double building and The Dome where you see hundreds of words and non-words all across the screen. The Dome which has most of the information takes you through different  sectors and lenses. To be honest I became more confused - too much information that didn't make sense, at least to me. I did get to one quote that was just plain and simple; it read "Last words by Conrad Hilton, founder of the international hospitality empire. Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub." Ok, so where does this fit into a dance performance??? And also why do we hear goat sounds???  I clicked on the bottom right of the page which cleared up the goat sounds and the meaning of the title - Morrissey was a member of Goat Island, a Chicago-based collaborative group, who gave their Last Performance in 2009.

 

88 Constellations by David Clark is another e-lit piece that takes you "all over the place." It focuses on the philosopher Wittgenstein's thoughts on life. When clicking on LEO, I did learn a bit of trivia on how the MGM studio mascot lion got his name - from one of the founders Samuel "Leo" Goldwyn. I also got a laugh when some of Goldwyn's sayings were mentioned like "anyone who goes to a psychologist needs to have their head examined" or "this verbal agreement isn't worth the paper it is written on." I clicked on Blog and it links to a website dedicated to 88 Constellations and gives you Clark's own view of the piece. It also helped clear up why the words "to be played with the Left Hand" are in parenthesis next to the title - it was a tribute to Wittgenstein's concert pianist brother Paul who lost his right arm in WWI but still played with his left hand.

 

Almost Goodbye by Aaron Reed contains no sound, just text. The story is about Muriel Ross, a scientist leaving the earth forever who has yet to say goodbye to 5 people on her list. The reader has the option to click on who (her daughter, former lover, biggest fan, mentor and best friend), where she should meet them (diner, the park, etc.) and how the conversation should end (always a choice of two, for example, say you will or say you won't). As you move through each person, no matter which order you use, Muriel doesn't get to see the last person on the list because the time has come for final boarding. She does have the option of sending a message to that person or not; if you click on send message, you see that it is only one word, "Goodbye." This is an interesting piece that gives you a snapshot into Muriel's life where you can sense the sadness and even the regrets that she has about her life.

Reaction to E-Lit

Reaction to E-Lit

 

Since I am someone who learns better visually, electronic literature, or E-lit, makes the learning more interesting for me. However, until this class, I never really read literature on my computer - I always read it the old-fashioned way - in print. But when a story is on the computer, it really comes alive especially with the graphics which are more vivid than still photographs. Pictures and sounds can really tell a story. And the story so far that I thought showed E-lit at its best was Public Secrets. The black and white color images which resembled prison walls, the various sections where the quotes are in different sizes, and the hypertext links to the sounds of the women at the Central California Women's Facility really did as author Sharon Daniel said in her introduction - made us more of a witness than a tourist to what goes on inside the facility. Navigating through this E-lit piece was a little like walking through a maze - what do I click on now, where will it take me to, what's next if I click on "more"? The reader has the option to listen to the women's voices as well as read the transcript. To hear the women talk about the living conditions and how they are treated within the prison walls was fascinating as well as very sad.  "One comment in particular that troubled me was "A prisoner's attempted suicide is considered destruction of state property...How insane is that? The prison makes you crazy enough that you try to kill yourself and then they charge you with that so they can keep you longer." The title itself is very telling. Sharon Daniel is an advocate for the organization Justice Now and she had an agenda in telling this story so the "public" would know about the women's "secrets", their prison experiences. She includes a section that focuses on what the reader can do whether it be write to their politicians or join an organization focused on human rights in prison. I never really thought about the suffering that occurs for people in prison. I believe that if someone commits a crime then they deserve the consequences. But this story definitely had an impact on me, both through how it was told and what was told.

 

 

What is Digital Humanities?

If I start by taking each word separately, digital means the use of technology and humanities relates to the study of human society through subjects such as history, literature, music and philosophy. Connecting the two words, digital humanities means to me learning about the traditional humanities disciplines through digital born material. The description for this course focused on some key points that were interesting to me and can help further clarify the term such as the fact that digital humanities was an emerging field in which we would be exploring contemporary themes of social media, examining virtual environments and investigating virtual worlds as spaces of creation, inquiry, political upheaval and social change. Digital humanities has definitely caught on and this is referenced as such by Matthew Kirschenbaum's in his article, What is Digital Humanities and What's It Doing in English Departments? where he states that "In the space of a little more than five years, digital humanities had gone from being a term of convenience used by a group of researchers who had already been working together for years to something like a movement." This whole concept of digital humanities appears to be definitely having an impact on our world today. Using digital tools and methods to collect and analyze information, do research, engage in conversations and ask/answer questions can be an exciting way to learn. The resources available through the use of technology are unlimited. Using an electronic format can also be an effective way to communicate with others whether it be a blog, twitter, or some other online media tool. Furthermore, using technology as a learning tool provides opportunities to be creative and flexible which can further enhance learning. I know for me, using digital devices helps me better understand what I am studying. During this semester, I am looking forward to learning more about the whole culture of digital humanities through the discussions and experiments such as designing a website among other activities.