Electronic Literature

Level of Study

Bachelor

Teaching semester

Irregular. Spring or/and autumn.

Place of Instruction

Bergen

Objectives and Content

Electronic literature is literary fiction and poetry created for the computer and the network. Genres of electronic literature, while focused on poetics, have connections to other forms of digital culture such as network art and computer games. In this course, students will read works of electronic literature as for instance hypertext fiction, digital poetry, and interactive fiction. Students will also study theoretical and critical studies of electronic literature.

Creative practice is an important component of the course, and all students will participate in the production of collaborative work of electronic literature, either created from scratch as a website or similar, or modifying an existing work of electronic literature. The necessary technical skills will be taught as needed. Students will also receive practical training in analyzing electronic literature, in particular in analysis of how the elements that are common in electronic literature, such as images, motion, time and space and interactivity influence the text of experience and reader experience, and how this also problematizes our understanding of traditional narrative and poetry.

Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing this course, students will have:

• an overview of the history and genres of electronic literature
• familiarity with key works of hypertext fiction, digital poetry, and interactive fiction.
• an understanding of how visual, kinetic, temporal and interactive features work in narrative and poetry in electronic literature, and how they complicate our understandings of the reader and of the literary in general
• an understanding of the basic principle within the programming

After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:

• apply theories about electronic literature in their own interpretations of specific works
• reflect upon their own creative practice and use feedback to improve their work
• write specifically for digital environments
• grasp elementary principles of programming

understand coding and design as elements of writing practice.

Required Previous Knowledge

None

Recommended Previous Knowledge

DIKULT103

Access to the Course

The course is open to students at the bachelor programme in Digital Culture and exchange students. Other students at bachelor and master programmes at The Faculty of Humanities may apply to take the course if there is capacity (via email to studieveileder@lle.uib.no). After the registration deadline (1 September), applicants that have attended as regular students before the deadline, with preparations, will be eligible to participate in a random selection for available spots.

Teaching and learning methods

There are ten lectures and eight sessions in the lab over thirteen weeks. In addition, each student will have one supervision meeting with the lecturer in connection with semester thesis.

If less than five students are registered to a course, the department might reduce the teaching, please see the department¿s guidelines regarding this on "My page". Regarding a course where this is a possibility the students get information about this at the beginning of the semester, and before the deadline regarding semesterregistration 1.February/1.September.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

There are two compulsory activities. 1) Students will participate in a collaborative practical project. 2) Each student will choose a work of electronic literature to they present orally to the class and write a critical account of the about 400 words. In order to take the exam it is required that the student has participated in at least 75 percent of the teaching and classroom activities. Course participation is approved by the course leader.

Forms of Assessment

Create a work of electronic literature and write an introduction to the work of 1,500 words that sets it in a critical context.

Examination Support Material

-

Grading Scale

Grade scale A-F.

Assessment Semester

Autumn or spring, but not regularly.

Reading List

About 1000 pages of assigned reading.

Course Evaluation

Course evaluation: Evaluation will be conducted in accordance with the University of Bergen's quality assurance system.