50169 Writing and New Media
UTS: Communication: Creative PracticeCredit points: 8 cp
Result Type: Grade, no marks
Handbook description
This subject explores the impacts of new media on writing. Students examine a range of works in which writing and new media intersect, with a focus on blogs, hypertexts and other nonlinear interactive works. They investigate the emergence of the Internet as a publishing space for writers, the rise of blogs, and approaches to writing nonlinear works. They look at the relationships of image and text in new media writing, and explore emerging spaces for writing such as mobile phone/sms delivery. They learn how to structure writing projects for online/interactive delivery, and issues concerning writing for the Internet. Students gain skills in developing basic online works, develop a piece of collaborative writing in the form of a hypertext, and an individual project.
Subject objectives/outcomes
On completion of this subject students are expected to:
- Be aware of the impacts of new media on writing practices
- Be aware of the use of the internet as an alternative publishing space for writers
- Develop skills in writing and planning new media works
- Develop a collaborative writing project using new media
- Gain skills in critically reflecting on new media writing/ hypertext projects
- Develop basic technical skills in developing hypertexts
- Extend writing practice through developing a hypertext or other new media writing project.
Contribution to graduate profile
On completing this subject, students will:
- have a critical understanding of new media and contemporary cultural forms that support their writing in relation to these media and the formal innovations within them
- be able to think critically and creatively about future developments in cultural industries
- have a broad range of skills and knowledge, making for creative and critically informed communications professionals
- have both general and specific skills in creative writing across a range of genres
- be able to function within groups and be sensitive to the multiple dimensions of social and cultural difference.
Teaching and learning strategies
Lectures, tutorials, workshops, discussions, in class exercises, concept development, group and individual project development.
Content
This subject explores the impacts of new media on writing. Students will gain an overview of a range of works in which writing and new media intersect, with a focus on blogs, hypertexts and other non-linear interactive works. They will investigate the emergence of the internet as a publishing space writers, the rise of blogs, and approaches to writing non-linear works. They will look at the relationships of image and text in new media writing, and explore emerging spaces for writing such as mobile phone / sms delivery. They will learn how to structure writing projects for online/ interactive delivery, and issues concerning writing for the internet. They will examine key projects in the fields of literary hypertext and new media. Through workshops they will learn the basics of developing online projects using Dreamweaver. Students will gain skills in developing basic online works, will develop a piece of collaborative writing in the form of a hypertext, and an individual project.
Assessment
Assessment item 1: New media writing/ hypertext report
| Objective(s): | a, b, e |
| Weighting: | 20% |
| Task: | Working individually, will research a hypertext or piece of new media writing and report on it to the class as a 5-10 minute class presentation. It may be a blog, 'literary' hypertext, online poetry, new media narrative, game or other project as approved by the lecturer. Students will critically reflect upon the work, discussing key points of interest eg innovation, creativity, integration of image and text, use of non linear narrative, use of alternative distribution methods etc. The report will be verbal, supplemented by relevant audio visual materials to be provided by the student. A summary of key points must also be submitted to the lecturer, either in Powerpoint or as a written item. |
| Assessment criteria: |
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Assessment item 2: Collaborative hypertext project
| Objective(s): | b, c, d, f |
| Weighting: | 40% |
| Task: | Working in a small group; collaborate to conceive, plan, write and produce a hypertext involving multiple narrative pathways. While the concept for the hypertext is to be devised by the group, the various paths are to be written by individual members of the group. |
| Assessment criteria: |
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Assessment item 3: Individual writing project
| Objective(s): | b, c, f, g |
| Weighting: | 40% |
| Task: | Working individually, students will develop an individual writing project that engages with the intersections of writing and new media. This may take the form of a hypertext, blog, treatment for a more complex /media rich new media work or game, or project for sms/ mobile phone delivery. The length of the individual project is in the vicinity of 2,500 to 3,000 words. |
| Assessment criteria: |
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Minimum requirements
Students are expected to read the subject outline to ensure they are familiar with the subject requirements. Since class discussion and participation in activities form an integral part of this subject, you are expected to attend, arrive punctually and actively participate in classes. If you experience difficulties meeting this requirement, please contact your lecturer. Students who have a reason for extended absence (e.g., illness) may be required to complete additional work to ensure they achieve the subject objectives
Indicative references
literary precursors
Jorge Luis Borges: The Garden of Forking Paths
http://www.cybergrain.com/ remediality/ borges.pdf.
and
http://www.geocities.com/ papanagnou/ cover.htm
George Perec: Life A User's Manual
ONLINE RESOURCES
Theory/ culture
Jill Walker, online e-thesis- 'Fiction and Interaction: how clicking a mouse can make you part of a fictional world' especially Chapter $: Addressing the Reader
http://jilltxt.net/txt/Walker-Fiction-and-Interaction.pdf
http://www.altx.net mark amerika's online portal
Fibreculture, http://www.fibreculture.org
Empyre .net http://www.subtle.net/empyre/
Ctheory, http://www.ctheory.net/ default.asp A huge array of digital / culture articles
Lev Manovich online http//:www.manovich.net
http://www.netartreview.net/
Sarai www.sarai.net/ compositions/ texts/ texts.html
Trace online writing http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/ index.htm
Art meets literature- Born magazine http://www.bornmagazine.org
blogs
Salam Pax' infamous Iraq war blog 'Where is Raed?' http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/
About blogging http://www.guardian.co.uk/ arts/ guesteditors/ story/ 0,14481,1194724,00.html
Rebecca's pocket http://www.rebeccablood.net/ index.html
http://rhodri.livejournal.com/
Mark Bernstein (Eastgate Systems) on blogs and identity http://www.markbernstein.org/ Apr0501/ BlogandIdentity.html
Adrian Miles on new media, education and video blogs http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/ vlog/
Blogger.com
artist/ writer's works/ hypertexts online – as a starter
http://www.dreamingmethods.com/ eg The Flat, Dim O'Gauble @ Dreaming Methods
Mark Amerika http://www.markamerika.com/ check out grammatron especially
BORN magazine http://www.bornmagazine.com/
UBU web
Mr Beller's Neighbourhood http://www.mrbellersneighborhood.com/
World Without Oil http://worldwithoutoil.org/
Donnie Darko http://www.donniedarkofilm.com/
http://www.theorganiccity.com
http://www.invisibleideas.org/
http://knifeandfork.org/
Mark Amerika http://www.markamerika.com/ check out grammatron especially 253 – a hypertext http://www.ryman-novel.com/
Beehive http://beehive.temporalimage.com/
Electronic writing research ensemble http://ensemble.va.com.au/
Deena Larsen www.deenalarsen.net her own projects plus a huge amount of electronic writing/ hypertext resources and links to other writer's online works
Shelley Jackson http://www.ineradicablestain.com/ esp. My Body
Talan memmott/ Lexia to Perplexia http://trace.ntu.ac.uk/ newmedia/ lexia/ index.htm
Inflect http://www.ce.canberra.edu.au/inflect/
Komninos Zervos – poetry http://www.gu.edu.au/ ppages/ k_zervos/
Young Hae Chang Heavy Industries – Korean poet http://www.yhchang.com/
Jason Nelson http://www.secrettechnology.com/ resident/ residency.htm
Walker Art museum net art http://gallery9.walkerart.org/
Joseph Squire http://theplace.walkerart.org/ esp Urban Diary
http://www.digitalfiction.co.uk/digitalfiction
Melinda Rackham's early work eg a.land http://www.subtle.net/ aland/ index1.html
http://www.walksquawk.org/
MILK milkproject.net
books
Aronson, L. (2000) Scriptwriting Updated: New and Conventional Ways of Writing for the Screen, Allen and Unwin, Australia.
Bolter, J (1998 ) Remediation: Understanding New Media, MIT press
Bushoff, B (ed.).(2005). Sagasenet reader: Developing Interactive Narrative Content. München: High Text Verlag.
Garrand, T (1997) Writing for Multimedia, Boston: Focal Press.
Goggin, G (2006) Cell phone culture : mobile technology in everyday life, New York, NY : Routledge
Michael Joyce, (2000).Of Two Minds; hypertext pedagogy and poetics MIT Press, Leonardo Books
Korolenko, M (1997) Writing for Multimedia: a guide and sourcebook for the digital writer, Belmont: Integrated Media Group
Manovich,L. (2001). The Language of New Media. MIT Press
Mayakovsky, V and Lissitsky, L (2000) For the Voice, Vladimir Mayakovsky and El Lissitsky, MIT Press
Andrew Murphie and John Potts, Culture and Technology, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Stansberry, D. (1998) Labyrinths: the art of interactive writing and design, Belmont: Integrated Media Group
Tofts, D (2005). Interzone: Media Arts in Australia, Australia: Craftsman House/ Thames and Hudson
Tofts, D, McKeich, M. (1998) Memory Trade : A Prehistory Of Cyberculture, North Ryde, N.S.W. : Interface
