Apps, memes, and bots. Literature in the Age of the Internet

LITR 2850. Apps, Memes and Bots: Global Literature in the Age of the Internet
Spring 2019. MW 2:50-4:30pm @ Ryder Hall 275

Prof. Élika Ortega
e.ortegaguzman@northeastern.edu
220F Renaissance Park
Office hours: Monday. 1pm-2pm, Thursday. 12pm-1pm, or by appointment

Description

In our age, we are witnesses of rapid technological developments. Often aimed at optimizing information circulation, enhancing our productivity, or just making life easier, digital technologies are also used to create exciting and unique works of literature. Augmented reality animated poems, literary i-Pad apps, computer generated novels, memes, and social media bots are a few examples of electronic literature or e-lit created and circulating around the world. As a global phenomenon and largely based online, e-lit is a contact zone for various languages, cultures, modes of expression, and literary traditions. Works of e-lit raise important questions like how we read in digital devices and what is literary creativity in the age of the internet. As a radically contemporary aesthetic form, e-lit offers a way to begin understanding the impact of digital technologies in human cultures.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

• Learn to analyze and examine works of electronic literature (e-lit)
• Acquire the necessary knowledge and vocabularies to analyze and examine works of e-lit
• Create a couple of electronic literature works
• Understand the impact of digital technologies in culture and literature
• Assess the historical trajectories of technological and cultural developments
• Appreciate the global connections and the local specificities in works of e-lit