Monday, January 22
In class:
- What is digital writing? What is digital literature?
- The Marble Canyons in Beautiful Taroko National Park, Taiwan
- Nick Montfort, "Taroko Gorge"
- Strategies for reading generative writing
Assignment:
- Read
- Rettberg, Electronic Literature, Chapter 2: Combinatory Poetics
- “White-Faced Bromeliads on 20 Hectares” by Loss Pequeño Glazier
- “A Shifting Electronic Text: Close Reading White-Faced Bromeliads on 20 Hectares” by Leonardo Flores
- Lilliam-Yvonne Bertram, "Forever Gwen Brooks"
- In our forum, write a brief response to Loss Pequeño Glazier's or Liliam-Yvonne Bertram's poem. Take a look at the source code and see how that might help you understand what they are doing.
Wednesday, January 24
In class:
- Taroko Gorge and its Remixes
- Lilliam-Yvonne Bertram, "Forever Gwen Brooks", Gwendolyn Brooks, "An Aspect of Love, Alive in the Ice and Fire"
- This is Just to Say Bot, "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams
Assignment:
Materials for Asynchronous Class- Read Chapter 1: Introduction to Critical Code Studies, by Mark C. Marino
- Flores, “Distant Writing” (recorded lecture)
Friday, January 26
Asynchronous class:
- In our forum, write a 250 word (approximately) post in which you read the output and code of one of the following works:
- “Dial” by Lai-Tze Fan, Nick Montfort
- “Emoji Horoscopes” by Aleyshka Estevez
- "The Two" by Nick Montfort
- any of the poems in Memory Slam
- Discuss what insights you find about the work. This is due by Saturday morning.
- Read and respond to one classmate's postings before class on Monday.
Assignment:
- Read
- Flores, "Chapter 11: Artistic and Literary Bots" in Electronic Literature as Digital Humanities.
- Explore the bot collection in the Electronic Literature Collection, Vol. 3
- Write a reaction/response to two of the bots you read in the collection. This is due before class on Wednesday.
Monday, January 29
In class:
- Discussion of Memory Slam poems.
- Discussion of the bot collection in the Electronic Literature Collection, Vol. 3
Assignment:
- “Pentametron” by Ranjit Bhatnagar
- “Two Headlines” by Darius Kazemi
- “Bot Carrión” and “Bot Poesías Carrión” by Élika Ortega
- “Tiny Protests / Protestitas,” “Taco Hell,” and "Puerto Rico Status Debate" (plus standalone versions of Tiny Protests, Taco Hell, and It's Complicated) by Leonardo Flores
- Write a response to one of the bots we haven't discussed yet.
Wednesday, January 31
In class:
- Discussion of assigned bots
- Creative Project #1
- I will demo hacking a digital work, my Generative Template, and answer questions you might have.
Assignment:
- Explore Taper and read at least one full issue.
Friday, February 2
Asynchronous class:
- Explore Taper and read at least one full issue.
- Write a 250 word post in which you discuss the two works that most captured your attention in that issue. Provide links to the works. Discuss how the engine worked to help develop the work. This is due by Saturday.
- Read and respond to a classmate's post, after reading the works they refer to.
Assignment:
- Read the assignment for Creative Project #1 and start exploring the works to select a template for your generative writing or thinking about an engine you'd like to develop. Start hacking!
- Write a brief post on a work that you're interested in hacking for Creative Project #1 or describe the kind of generative engine you'd like to develop. Discuss the work, the potential the engine has for expression, and how you seek to modify it for your own purposes.