Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Blog 6: Literature and the Internet
The last few texts that we're reading are all in some ways influenced by changes in how people read. In particular, the evolving role of technology in people's lives has led to changes in the way people get, process, and create sources of information. Discuss the ways that, in your opinion, literacy (and literature) have changed as technology becomes more advanced. In other words, what's the connection between literature and technology?
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Technology is constantly changing and advancing to make tasks in life faster and more efficient. Whether it is a new cell phone that allows one to send e-mails and surf the internet, or an online database that allows a person to research articles from your own computer, these technological advances allow people to do so much more by working less. These improvements have also greatly impacted literature. For example, no longer does one need to purchase a dictionary or go to the library to look in an encyclopedia – it is all on the internet! And when a research paper is due, a student can research thousands of scholarly articles from the comfort of his/her own home by using an online database. Technology has enabled people to read almost anything they want on their computer screen. In a way, these advancements have made literature more accessible to the public. With just the click of a button, a person can explore hundreds of thousands of articles, short stories, etc. As I read the hypertext novel, Patchwork Girl, I also learn that technology can enhance an author’s creativity by allowing them to format a novel in a way that would be impossible on paper. By adding links and story maps, the author enables the reader to choose how he/she wants to interpret and explore the story, ultimately impacting their interpretations of the outcome of the novel. With technology continuously improving, a whole new world opens up for the creativity of literature in a cyber universe.
Technology has always had an enormous impact on literature, literacy, and communication. With technology advancing at an exponential rate, I believe that communication continues to become faster, more efficient, and more widespread. People who would not have needed to communicate in the past are now forced down the path toward literacy in order to communicate and keep up with today’s more technological and fast-paced world. In the realm of literature, I think that technology is, and will continue to, have an impact on the medium and method of conveyance. Technology has had an enormous impact on the academic literature field. Every day, it becomes easier to find any sort of research on the web, which also allows access to numerous dictionaries, encyclopedias, and books that even 10 years ago I would have to travel to the library to read. While new methods of producing literature continue to emerge, I don’t think that it will be quite as quickly changing and evolving as communication and technology. Technology is, however, having an enormous impact on how literature is distributed. A great example of this is how many films based on House of Leaves are on YouTube. While technology is changing how literature is enjoyed, I don’t think that there will be a replacement for the simple joy of reading anytime in the near future.
A decade ago, in order for me to write a paper, I would have had to go to a library, check out a book, take it home to use it as a source, and then go back to the library to return it. Now, due to the advancement of technology, all I have to do is type in a keyword in the Google search box and Google itself can find scholarly sources for me. Then, I can just go to that website and read that journal that I would have originally gone to the library in order to access it. Communication of information has accelerated at a rapid rate, and while literature for research has become faster, I don’t think that literature for enjoyment’s sake will become popular on the internet. I actually do like to read, and if other people are anything like me, there’s nothing like curling up on a cozy, warm sofa to relax and read a book. However, technology has also given rise to books like the Patchwork Girl and the House of Leaves, which apparently was first seen on the internet. Patchwork Girl allows each person to interpret the story in their own way depending on which section of the book that the reader decides to click and explore. This also gives way to the question: Who is getting the accurate interpretation of the novel? Is it a novel? Also, in the House of Leaves, because there are other “versions” of the book because parts may have been added or left out due to technology, how does this affect how another reader may interpret what is read? Technology has basically improved how fast we as a reader can obtain information, but also allowed for a variety of interpretations of literature to result from it.
In response to Caroline Patterson:
I agree that technology allows for an author’s creativity to flourish, like in Patchwork Girl, but how can one know if the reader is interpreting the story correctly? What if the reader’s interpretation is completely different from how the author intended it? While technology is great for creativity, the point of the story can be completely blurred between when the author wrote it and when the reader actually reads it. On the other hand, the author’s purpose of writing the story may be to create varying interpretations and that there is no one point to make. In this sense, technology has allowed for a revolutionary style of literature to emerge.
It appears to me that as the times are progressing, Technology is starting to make a run at the title; in literature that is. I don’t necessarily agree what this world is coming to but I guess the only way to avoid it is to rebel. Works of literature such as “Patchwork Girl” are starting to appear in modern literature, which make it rather difficult for technologically challenged individuals to comprehend the plot. Mainly, the market still appears to be flooded with traditional texts, which is a good thing but electronic texts are on the rise. It is an interesting approach to stray away from conventional methods; however at times it appears to lack direction and can be more inviting for non-conformists. When a work is written in the form of an electronic version, it leaves certain decisions for the reader that allow for different means of interpretation. This can either be a good or a bad thing; if a person has difficulty navigating the epic journey they can become lost in thought without a sense of direction. On the upside, conquering an electronic text is somewhat of a mystical journey. However, electronic texts are not the only direction technology is leading us. A creative form of art know as, “The House of Leaves” made a huge impact on modern literature, mesmerizing many. This literary breakthrough can be troublesome at times but for the most part is rather entertaining and leaves the reader with a positive feeling.
Technology has had a great change on literacy. There is more available to people who already know how to read, and more programs to teach those who have not yet learned to read. Technology has made learning to read much easier that it was even 5 years ago. The abundance of technology being incorporated into every day lives has helped many children learn to read faster than those resources and teaching methods that my generation was taught with. Video games, interactive books, and other sources that help children to have fun have improved the reading ability of kids everywhere. Technology has made it possible for parents to get their children to have fun while learning how to spell and sound out words or respond with new words by using technology that has been created. Emailing, text messaging, and instant messaging have also changed literacy. All new vocabularies and words have been “invented” to make communicating more advanced for those with the basic skills already learned. Acronyms have made literacy more confusing for those who don’t understand basic reading skills as the same time that it makes it easier for those who have those skills. Overall, technology has drastically changed literacy and the way people access and process information, in both good ways and bad.
In response to pryiaa:
I agree. There's nothing I enjoy more (that I can think of) than opening a book and reading for as long as I can. I like being able to take them with me, mark pages, make notes and interact. When you read books online or on the computer or from a screen it's not the same. If someone likes reading real books, the thought of literature moving to be completely computerized is terrifying. There's so many ways to read the story! I agree with the fact that it's harder to get the point that the author is trying to make. Also, I don't know about others, but my eyes get tired and I can't sit straight up staring at a screen for hours on end. Double vision ensues and there are only so many comfortable ways to sit in a chair. This is why I don't think all literature could be transformed with all the new technology; traditionalists and comfort will ultimately keep it from going to far. I do however agree that I LOVE having journals and books available for research purposes online. It makes my life so much easier!
The rise and success of the series of tubes known as the Internet and modern technology has greatly altered popular culture. Technology has not only made literature available to the masses, but it also inspires writers to work with a new media. Today’s world runs on multitasking and scattered bits and pieces of information everywhere. Despite a certain Alaskan senator’s claim, the Internet is like a dump truck. Information is everywhere and scattered. In Patchwork Girl and House of Leaves, scattered and not cohesive style seems to be a running motif of the novels. From the idea of a hypertext and the footnote secondary story of Johnny, the break in stories is like the multitasking that technology has allowed people today to experience. The connection between literature and technology is one that is like an upgrade. The more technology evolves, the more innovation and creativity can be expressed in and with literature. It is like Nam June Paik and his artwork with televisions. He took up a new media that went along with the rising technology. With more people reading news on the web, it would be strange if literature did not upgrade with it. Not only can novels be read over the Internet, but authors can use the Internet as a new means of writing.
In response to general:
Even in traditional texts, I don’t think it’s possible to accurately with full confidence interpret the stories as the author intended them to. A nicely chronologically ordered book may be easier to have bases for the book; however, plot twists can turn stories on their heads. Having text in a vague order, makes the reader think and try to piece the story together. In a sense, the reader may have an even better understanding of what the author means because they would be thinking critically about the work.
What has technology come to today? Everything that we need can be accessed through the internet whether it be shopping, booking hotels, renting cars, searching for books, using databases, reading the newspaper, etc. Although this may be a great commodity to most people since they don’t having to leave the comfort of their home, it does make our community lazier and less active. Although most of these things can be helpful I believe that literature should not go all the way and only become internet based. As the first novel that I’ve read on a computer, The Patchwork Girl has let me see that not only may the reader may also loose some important information but it can also be hard for people that don’t have access to a computer to keep up with the new literature. Although having a computer based book may be really interesting and add a great amount of creativity to the novel, by adding a map, it does leave the reader wondering if they read the novel in the correct manner. When picking up a book there is only one way to read which is from start to end, yet a book online has various links to click possibly letting people miss certain links that provide very useful amounts of information. Technology and literature have become connected I believe that literature should remain in the form of a novel and not completely turn to computer based. Book provide the reader the comfort of being able to take then anywhere to read, whether it is on the bus, to beach, to work, etc. Being able to actually hold a book and place a bookmark to continue from the next time.
Karen Esquives
In response to Kristine Raddatz, when writing my response I completely forgot about how the new technology is helping children and adults better their vocabulary and their speech. The new technology is helping out with teaching people how to read and better their pronunciation of words yet I still believe that the new technology should not take the place of traditional novels. In addition, if the new technology is helping children and adults learn it is also keeping them indoors and without much interaction. The new technology is making our worlds more dependable on technology to the point where now a day most people can’t do simple mathematics without the help of a calculator. Children are not even encouraged to learn basic mathematics past elementary school, this just shows that as technology improves humans become more reliant on only technology.
Without a doubt, the evolving world of technology has made a significant impact on literacy and literature. One of the positive impacts on literature is easy access to the global literary world, whether it is newspapers, magazines, novels, short stories, critiques, or any other work imaginable. All of this becomes easily available at the click of a mouse. A reader of any age can find something to read twenty four hours a day whether it be for fun or for intellectual pursuits. Technology allows a reader to have access to works they may not have chosen to read before thereby expanding a reader’s perceptions while at the same time stimulating intellectual thinking. Enhancing one’s thirst for knowledge is almost effortless due to technology as all of this can be accomplished in the comfort on one’s room and world. On the other hand, I can’t think of anything more relaxing than going to the library or bookstore, thumbing through books and choosing one to read. Curling up with a good book is something I enjoy and look forward to having the time to do. Therefore, in my opinion, although technology does allow quicker and easier access to all forms of literature which stimulates thinking and improves communication, nothing should ever replace the good old fashioned book.
Technology has drastically changed the way in which many people consider writing, literature, and literacy. Today, you don’t even need to step foot in a library to research a subject or get sources for a paper. The best example of this was the last paper I wrote for this class. I was able to use scholarly articles that are physically kept in the library without ever going to the library. Anyone can do a search for any subject online and come up with thousands of responses. Of course not all of these sources are trustworthy, so you still have to be careful which ones you trust. As more and more literature can be found on the internet or saved on a computer (hypertext…) people don’t automatically think of books as the only source for reading and research. But still, people will typically read an actual book for pleasure, and do research online. Technology has affected literacy also, but not to the same extent. It has provided many more ways to learn how to read, such as interactive computer programs or video games, television shows, and responsive digital books. But technology has not necessarily brought literacy to more people than before. Books are still cheaper than any new reading tool and so anyone who can afford new technology can afford books, but technology has not brought literacy to illiterate and impoverished areas. I think that new literature technology has definitely made my life easier as a student. I no longer need to travel to a library and look up each individual book to get the information I need. Literature on the internet and in technology has been a useful advance.
It’s clear, especially in this day and age, that technology has had a profound influence on the literature people are exposed to. Everything from roadside billboards to encyclopedias on any subject on the Internet are examples of how literature has evolved from handwritten texts to the computer programs which publish them. In today’s society, where computers have become somewhat of a necessity, it’s no wonder that literature has made the move from print to computer script. With the advent of the Internet, information about the most obscure topics has been made readily available to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Ideas have essentially been given the power to circumnavigate the globe in a matter of seconds. Literature especially has developed to accommodate this new technology by allowing books to be scanned into the Internet. Paper, ink, and machinery are no longer limiting factors of available literature. The manner in which literature is absorbed has also changed. Technology has allowed books to be diverse in terms of structure and format. The words that make up a given story are no longer the only aspect of the book to be analyzed. As seen with novels such as House of Leaves and Patchwork Girl, the format and style of the text has an affect on our understanding of what the story is truly about. Without technology, these variations in physical style would not be made possible.
A few years back, when the internet wasn’t advanced as it is today, I found tangible works to be more useful with more complete information. The progress that it’s made up until now has changed my opinion of its utility. A quick Wiki search will not only provide me with a general foundation of something’s information, but resources at the bottom of the page provide links to varying perspectives on a topic, something that one wouldn’t find in a written work with one standpoint. I once felt that technology slowed me down, when the internet was once slower with dialup and guesswork search engines. But now, I can use google scholar to find direct links to sources which otherwise may only be provided by one book in the library. And even if that work it checked out from the library, the internet gets through that barrier of limitedness. Google scholar not only showed the direct links to pdf and ebooks, but also gave a link to where it could be found in our school’s library. I love sitting and reading a book in my actual hands, but the internet becomes most useful when the library is closed and I’m cramming to find sources for a paper. Even when I do have the book at hand, when I cannot think of the exact page that I was thinking of, all I have to do is type a word into the ebook search bar, and it lists every page with it and a link to bring me to the full text. No longer are pdfs in image form, but you can search within the same way as ebooks. There’s even ways to highlight information/lines online, just as you might make notes on the hardcopy. My once disparaging views have changed towards these developing technologies.
Just today, a neighbor of mine showed me that he found a journal article that referenced a paper that he wrote when he was in the UK, but in an Australian anthropology journal. He found it by searching online. There would have been no way to find this other article online, unless by some chance, he subscribed to the Hawaiian journal that the other person published it in. And there no way that the other person would have been able to reference it unless they read that Australian journal. And both men published their articles in journals from countries in which neither of them lived. They were both able to do research and on various cultures and share them across cultures in ways which would be impossible without our current technology.
As technology advances, literatures is forced to become more creative, accessible and digitally based. In today’s advanced world, it is no longer necessary to go to the library or buy books. Many libraries have thousands of ‘e-books’ in which you can read the book online, page-by-page, just as you would when reading the actual book. It doesn’t matter if the hard copy is checked out because hundreds of internet users can read the online copy at a time. Also, literature is needing to be more creative to hold reader’s attention because of the advancements in the entertainment industries. Movies, music and video games all tell stories and individually require more from typical literature. Authors have to use technology in their plots and even character design to captivate audiences. Neglecting to incorporate technology into a piece of literature, whether it be in the story or the actual accessibility of the text, can make or break an author. With the help of technology, authors have opportunities to reach audiences more and retain readers. They can create online fan clubs and blogs and participate in chat rooms. Technology advancements make reading more cost effective but also takes away from the creative side of some students. Before when students were asked to summarize or analyze books, they had to do it using their imagination. Now they can just by an essay online and not even have to read the book.
The many advancements in technology leading up until today have created changes in how we act in society. From communication and transportation, to even literature technology has effected us greatly, and unfortunately made us quite lazy! When it comes to literature, many books have been placed on tape record now so we don’t have to read, just listen and multitask. This actually really effects what we get out of a book because often times we are driving, cleaning, or distracted by some other tasks while listening to the book. In addition to tapes, literature has also moved to the internet in both good and bad ways. For the better, authors have been able to challenge their creativity with hyper texts like Patchwork Girl. This allows authors to expand the way novels are read and readers to take the book in the perspective that works best for them. Unfortunately, internet has also allowed easy access to summary’s of almost every published novel. This has made society even more lazy and miss out on many of the “smaller” parts of the book that may effect the readers opinion. In general, technology has really changed the world right down to literature. It has many good and bad effects and it really depends on individual life style and what is easier. Some people need books on tape because they just don’t have time. Some students prefer not to read a book and love to get a brief overview that will supply them with the true purpose of a novel. In either situation, technology has proved to be very beneficial in expanding literature options to suite every persons lifestyle.
Today we see the spread of technology reaching everyone across the globe. This spread of technology has caused our world to shrink, while there are more people in this world (and the number grows exponentially), with people across the globe able to participate in instantaneous communication the miles between individuals has shrunk to the space between you and the mode of media. With technology being more readily available to anyone who can access a computer or even a cell phone we are given more and more opportunities each day to access books, literary criticisms, and loads of knowledge. Because of this easy access we not only have more opportunities to learn and read, we have different modes and means that a story can be told and delivered. We already know two works of literature where the computer plays a small or large portion. House of Leaves and Patchwork Girl. In the House of Leaves information was disseminated through the internet to mislead the public about the history of the book, and following a “full” release it now has a huge fan group online discussing and criticizing various aspects of the story. In Patchwork Girl we see a novel completely made through hypertext. The story is accessed through computer and because you have the computer at your fingers you can access certain parts of the story at your own choosing. One other example I have of the power of the internet to enhance or shape your experience is with the television show Lost. In the show we are presented with an evil corporation conducting scientific experiments. While the entire show is fictional the creators of the show have created a website for that corporation that you can access to gain further information on their “experiments.” This allows for a richer experience in the show. Technology also allows for free access to some classics. The classic novels Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are can be viewed online for free, as I’m sure many other classics are. With anyone able to read these novels more people can be touched by their genius, maybe inspiring otherwise uninterested individuals to write and learn.
Ben Farias
Technology has greatly influenced the spread of literature. Thanks to inventions like the printing press and the internet, literature has been able to reach larger and larger audiences. Technology has also influenced the mediums for which we view literature- whether that medium is a book, a computer screen, an audio CD, etc… But as for technologies impact on the actual content of literature, I think is much less dramatic. The basic technology of language and story-telling have not changed much in thousands of years- words are still just words whether on a page or a screen- and stories still have the same basic characteristics that they have always had. Yes, the content of literature certainly has advanced but not because of technology. The content of literature has advanced because of the great literary minds of the time. A computer never wrote a novel- only a person can do that. Who knows, maybe one day computers will write our books for us. Until then I’m sticking to my story that technology doesn’t as much influence the content of literature as it does the medium through which we view it and the dissemination of it.
In our society, technology is becoming more and more advanced at pace that it is hard to even keep up with and understand. I think this rapid changing has a great influence on many works of art such as music, movies, and literature. The changes in literature, though, are a bit different than the changes in the other art forms. TV, Movies, and music have changed in the ways that they are produced and in their content. Technology has not so much changed the way that literature is written or its content, aside from the occasional hypertext, which may become more popular over time, but it has made it much more accessible to more people. Not only can people buy and sell books on the internet but many texts or parts of texts are available for reading online. This makes more literature affordable to more people and, certainly, much more convenient. On the one hand this is a good thing, as it may make people more well-read but it kind of takes away the traditional form of going to the library and doing research from books. People are so connected to technology that they rely on it in nearly all circumstances. This may cause people to receive less legitimate sources of writing and information. Overall, I think that technology has had a positive influence on the circulation of literature but it may be beneficial for people to rekindle the old connection with traditional book references.
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