Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary (Yusko Ward-Phillips Lectures in English Language and Literature)

Electronic Literature: New Horizons for the Literary (Yusko Ward-Phillips Lectures in English Language and Literature)

by N.KatherineHayles (Author)

Synopsis

A visible presence for some two decades, electronic literature has already produced many works that deserve the rigorous scrutiny critics have long practiced with print literature. Only now, however, with Electronic Literature by N. Katherine Hayles, do we have the first systematic survey of the field and an analysis of its importance, breadth, and wide-ranging implications for literary study. Hayles's book is designed to help electronic literature move into the classroom. Her systematic survey of the field addresses its major genres, the challenges it poses to traditional literary theory, and the complex and compelling issues at stake. She develops a theoretical framework for understanding how electronic literature both draws on the print tradition and requires new reading and interpretive strategies. Grounding her approach in the evolutionary dynamic between humans and technology, Hayles argues that neither the body nor the machine should be given absolute theoretical priority. Rather, she focuses on the interconnections between embodied writers and users and the intelligent machines that perform electronic texts. Through close readings of important works, Hayles demonstrates that a new mode of narration is emerging that differs significantly from previous models. Key to her argument is the observation that almost all contemporary literature has its genesis as electronic files, so that print becomes a specific mode for electronic text rather than an entirely different medium. Hayles illustrates the implications of this condition with three contemporary novels that bear the mark of the digital. Complementing the text is a website offering resources for teachers and students, including sample syllabi, original essays, author biographies, and useful links: http://newhorizons.eliterature.org. Together, these provide an exceptional pedagogical opportunity.

$25.62

Quantity

10 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 240
Edition: 1
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
Published: 01 Mar 2008

ISBN 10: 0268030855
ISBN 13: 9780268030858

Media Reviews
No critic, save N. Katherine Hayles, has the wide grasp of literary criticism, new media history and technology, cyberculture and its philosophical implications, and the interplay between electronic and print imaginative writing. Now, in the five straightforward, readable chapters of Electronic Literature, she supplies the tools and builds the contexts necessary for everyone to grasp the importance of her topic and integrate it into her or his own knowledge base. Her book and CD package will be snapped up by scholars and students alike. - DEE MORRIS University of Iowa
Author Bio
N. KATHERINE HAYLES is John Charles Hillis Professor of Literature and Distinguished Professor in the departments of English and Design/Media Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles. * Produced under the aegis of the Electronic Literature Organization, and edited by Hayles, Nick Montfort, Scott Rettberg, and Stephanie Strickland, The Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 1, brings together numerous genres by many of the most innovative writers in the field. The ELC 1 runs cross-platform on Macintosh, PC, or Linux.