Deena Larsen, Writer
Deena Larsen has written over 30 elit pieces. You can find out more about elit—and get writing exercises to try this out on your own—from her textbook introduction, Fundamentals. She will speak about elit Tuesday March 23 at 4 pm in the Memorial Union. This is the second in a series of posts designed to suggest ways to incorporate The 41st Annual Writers Conference into classes on campus. Check out Crystal Albert’s introduction to this series of posts, Deena’s first post, and check back on next Tuesday for the next installment.
An introduction to electronic literature, Link Spot Link, will be provided in conjunction with the 41rst annual Writers Conference on March 23. Deena Larsen, electronic literature writer, will introduce you and your students to the immense possibilities of meaning inherent in electronic literature. Electronic literature provides new rhetorical devices that were not available until the mid-1990s. Using the web and HTML, we can now link to documents. Using Flash, we can animate sequences of text and imagery and incorporate sound. Electronic literature uses these devices to add meaning to texts. This introduction will examine just how electronic elements (links, sound, navigation, imagery, sound, animation, and structure) can highlight textual meanings, add subtle references, subvert the overt meanings, and play lots of wonderful tricks with what once was a simple text.
You can get your classes involved—and add new layers of meanings to the materials you are teaching now. This packet explains four electronic literature elements (links, imagery, sound, and secrets) and connects them with pedagogical suggestions for courses in Literature, History/Political Science, Math/Physics/Sciences, Art/Music/Drama/Dance, Languages/English, Philosophy/Religion, and Education.
You can use these handouts as they are or customize them to your classes. These assignments can provide a way to integrate students’ common experiences of surfing the web, watching movies, texting, etc. to the works you are teaching and the concepts you are conveying now. These can be used for extra credit assignments—without taking up any class time— or can be incorporated into a class discussion.
- Enhance your current lectures and assignments with electronic literature rhetorical devices. The first part explains the element and provides a short explanation of how you can use that element to enhance your teaching or to assign some “extra credit” to students to help them explore the concepts you are conveying now. The exercises are divided into different academic disciplines based on the thought techniques and assumptions used in each.
- Explore some electronic literature works. The second part shows how these elements work in two simple electronic literature works. You can pass these around for interested students or assign this part as extra credit as well.
- Attend the lecture and answer questions. The third part has questions that students will be able to answer after attending Deena Larsen’s lecture. You can assign the general questions or use the “Your Class” questions as extra credit assignments for your specific materials.
Starting places for electronic literature
- To see most of what is out there, go to Electronic Literature Organization and click on Directory for a list of electronic works and journals that feature elit.
- To get a longer explanation of these devices and examples of how these are used in electronic literature, see Fundamentals.
- To find a quick read, go to Deena Larsen’s webshelf that lists electronic literature organized by the time it takes to read that work (from simple to complex).
Part 1A. Links
A link in hypertext (and electronic literature) is like a door into a new portion of the text (usually called a “node”). The link has three parts:
- The origin node (or room where the door is)
- The link itself, which is usually a phrase or a word in the origin node (the door itself)
- The destination node (or room where you end up after you go through the door)
Each of these parts has a meaning that is influenced now by the other parts of the link. So when you have a node with a link, you no longer just have that node to consider—you have the added meanings of the linked word or phrase and the connection with the destination node.
Discussing links is a great way to understand connections in general: cause and effect, time sequence, similarities, opposites, necessary conditions, etc.
Literature
Links add layers of meanings and relate themes. Literature works within a series of themes and connected ideas. To see this in action:
- Take two pages from the book you are reading now as your “nodes.”
- Choose one page as an origin node and the other page as a destination node
- Highlight a word or phrase in the origin node as the link
- Read the origin node, then the linked words, then the destination node out loud
Write a short paper about how the meaning changed. What words in the origin text now relate to the destination text—in ways that they would not have had you simply turned the page? What new insights do you now have into the characters or the situation?
Note that this may add meaning to the original text that the author may or may not have intended—which can be a discussion in and of itself. This exercise is really a lesson in interpretation and in extending the text—in effect, you become a cowriter as you extend the meaning inherent in the text by using these new rhetorical devices.
History/Political Science
Links and connections provide insights into actions and reactions. Choose two events in the period or theories you are studying. List as many connections as you can—and explain how these connections work. (Are the same people involved—how did one aspect of what they did tie into another aspect? How are people related or connected—how did these relations affect what happened? Did people read or believe the same materials—how did these common beliefs influence their actions?)
Math/Physics/Sciences/Engineering
In the topics you are discussing, look for connections. How does this topic relate to the previous topic of discussion? Do the exercise shown for literature with one of the texts you are using. How do the concepts relate to each other? Describe these relationships. Could x work with or happen without y? Why or why not?
Art/Music/Drama/Dance
Themes provide the basic connections between various portions of a work and function as links. In the work you are creating, studying, or performing, what are the themes? How does repetition work as a link to connect various portions? Can you perform or create something and over-emphasize these links? What happens when these connections (which are usually in the background) come out into the foreground?
Languages /English
Connections between words have their own field of study: Etymology. Choose several words you are working with and look up their origins. What other words are connected to these words? How are the concepts connected? Write a short paragraph about the ideas behind these connections. (For example, in English “disaster” is connected to “stars” as people blamed their fates on the movements of the stars and planets. What other words are connected to “stars”? Why?)
Philosophy/Religion
What are the connections between two ideas you have been studying? Explain their relationships. Do the exercise shown for literature with one of the texts you are using. How do the author’s ideas relate to each other? (For example: Are there underlying assumptions common to both? Are they opposites or contradictions? Does one idea require the other?) Explain these relationships in a short paper.
Education
Take the lesson materials you are designing now—describe how you could link from one part of the material to another part of the material to show a connection between concepts. Show how this can help explain concepts—why is the first concept {an opposite of/the same as/an effect from/a cause of} the second concept?
Part 1B. Imagery
Imagery can also add tone and emotional meaning. Images in electronic literature can be colored text, a montage of pictures, a navigational image (where you click on parts of the image to reach other parts of the work), a movie, etc.
Literature
First, place one image by a page of the text you are reading. Then read the same page with a different image. Write a short paper about how the reading experience changed. What elements in the images you chose relate to the page (text, character, situation, etc.)? What words on that page take on a different meaning when contrasted with a different image?
History/Political Science
Images deeply influence zeitgeist, thoughts, and subsequent actions (for example, how did the tricolor image of Obama influence the election?). But images also inform our current thinking about that age. What image or icon “defines” the moment of history or exemplifies the theory in Political Science that you are studying? For example, the Life photo of the sailor kissing the girl may define World War II. Create a “quiz:” Choose 4 popular images of various time periods and ask your classmates to identify the era based on the image you chose. Or choose 4 popular images of movements or activities in a particular time period and ask classmates to identify those movements or activities (for example, suffragettes or Gibson girls).
Math/Physics/Sciences/Engineering
How can visually showing a concept make it easier to understand the concept? Think about the diagrams we use (molecular models, geometric figures). How do these diagrams convey concepts? What are the conventions for displaying concepts you are working with? How did these conventions arise? What would happen to your—and the conventional—view of these concepts if you used other ways to display these concepts?
Art/Music/Drama/Dance
What happens to a piece of art when viewed with different background music (jazz, Rachmaninov, 14th century madrigals, etc.)? What happens when art is viewed in contrast with other images or venues (for example a sculpture placed in a backdrop of a kindergarten vs a convent)? How does a dance or a musical performance differ when performed against various stage backdrops (for example, a blank curtain, an indoor scene, an outdoor scene)?
Languages/English
Find a painting from your culture and an explanation of that image both in English and in your language. List words used to describe that image in both English and in your language (for example: warm, colorful, bright, simple, light). How do the words differ in English and in your language? Now find another painting and an explanation and list the words used to describe this painting (for example: cold, bitter, frenetic). Take both paintings and the lists of words in your language (without English translations) and ask your classmates to match up the word lists with your paintings. How did these match up?
Philosophy/Religion
Throughout the ages, people have illustrated philosophies and religions to explain concepts (think of the sculptures around the doors of gothic cathedrals). What images have been used to explain the concepts you are studying now? What other images could you use to explain these concepts?
Education
How can you incorporate drawing into your lesson plans to draw out visual learners? How can merging art and text make meanings clearer?
Part 1C. Sounds
Sounds provide tone, rhythm, meter, and tension and are an integral part of meaning in electronic literature. Even before IPods, sounds permeated our lives. Electronic literature uses sound to convey emotional tone, provide a sense of place, and to overlay meaning onto the text. Sound may be spoken words (which may or may not mirror the text), music (which may emphasize the mood or suggest other possible underlying moods), sound effects (which may emphasize the action or hint at other actions), etc.
Literature
Read a page or paragraph in your current work while playing first a happy, fast piece of music and then read the same material again but with a sadder, slower piece of music. Write a short paper about how the reading experience changed for you. How did you feel when reading the piece? How did your mood change? How did your internal changes change the way you felt or thought about the piece?
History/Political Science
Sounds define an age and influence the ideas and actions of the people. How does sound influence what people do and believe (for example, why did McCain chose “Running on Empty” for a campaign ad)? In the period you are studying, find one popular or iconic song or piece of music. How does that help explain the age and how people thought? What if the music in this age had been different (rap instead of Bach, blues instead of bugles)? Write a short paper on what might have happened.
Math/Physics/Sciences/Engineering
Music has mathematical symmetry; sound has physical properties. Take a concept that you are working on and find appropriate music. What did you consider when you chose this music? How does the concept you are studying relate to the sound?
Art/Music/Drama/Dance
What are the relationships between imagery, sound, and motion? Take an aspect of the piece that you are creating or performing, and experiment with different visual, auditory, and kinesthetic layers. What happens to a slow piece of music when played with a fast video or with a fast dance? What happens to music with different scenic backdrops (played when viewing scenes of mountain landscapes vs battlefields)?
Languages/English
Not only does music define a culture, but each language has its own music. Listen to something in your language—a news broadcast, an explanation of a museum piece. Draw a line on a page as you listen to that piece that represents to you how the language sounds. You could draw short thick lines for fast paces, long loopy lines for dipthong vowels, etc. Listen to the piece again and draw on the same page—only with a different color. How does the music of the language change for you as you hear it again?
Philosophy/Religion
Sounds influence our thoughts and ideas. Think about the historical period of the person who wrote the concepts you are studying now. What music was popular? What sounds would the author have heard? What would have happened to the ideas had the music been different?
Education
How can you incorporate sounds into your lesson plans to draw out auditory learners? How could the use of sound improve a lesson? What would happen if you taught a concept with soft slow music in the background? What if you taught that same concept with a staccato, beat music in the background? Could students create their own music and “rap” the concepts? Write a short paper or give a short demonstration.
Part 1D. Secrets
Some nodes in electronic literature works are hidden–they are not accessible by any visible link in the work and you can find them only if you know where they are or stumble across some invisible link. Secret nodes tantalize the reader, providing more interest in the piece. Readers “in the know” are like players in an online game who have reached a certain level and attained enlightenment. Think about how this works in movies, for example, The Crying Game or the Sixth Sense.
Literature
Take a paragraph or short section from the work you are reading. What would happen if this paragraph were hidden on the inside of the book jacket (so you had to take the cover off the book to read it)? How would that secrecy provide an importance to the text it does not possess “on the open page”? What would the work be like if this text were not visible and only accessible as a secret?
History/Political Science
Were there secret societies or codes in the period/culture you are studying? How were they discovered? What role did secret societies play in the period you are discussing? How do people react when they are “in the know” and are not “in the know”? What happens when these secrets are revealed? What role do secret societies (e.g., the Skull and Bones club) play today?
Math/Physics/Sciences/Engineering
How can hiding something make it more clear? How do detection methods for easter eggs in videos relate to detection/problem solving methods in physics, math, and sciences? How were the topics you are discussing found/discovered/explained (for example, benzene rings)? What was secret about them? How do people make discoveries? What are “clues” to look for? How does looking for secrets inform scientific methods?
Art/Music/Drama/Dance
What meanings are hidden underneath surface of the work that you are creating or performing? Experiment with embodying secrets in your work or performance. What happens when part—but not all—of the audience knows what is going on?
Languages/English
Languages have subtle meanings and nuances. First, think about the “unwritten” meanings of some words in English. Often, even native speakers are not aware of these meanings—which can cause trouble (for example, the latest flap about tea bags). Find a word in your language that has other meanings (google some of the words you are studying and read the contexts or find a book of idioms in your language and examine some of those idioms).
Philosophy/Religion
Many basic concepts are shrouded in mystery. What enticement does this mystery hold? Imagine if the concept you are studying were only revealed to “worthy acolytes.” Would the concept be more appealing? Would it change how you view the concept? Explain.
Education
People like mysteries. How could you make a game of a concept you are teaching? Could you hide something in the room and have a treasure hunt? How can hinting at something and not explaining it overtly help to convey a concept?
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