Reorienting Electronic Literature

Abstract

Abstract

The First panelist will be tracing the historical evolution of electronic literature studies, shifting attention from tracing the historical development of creative practices to the changing scholarly frameworks that might have shaped the creative practices or might get depended upon and shaped by the evolving technological and creative practices since its inception. The talk aims at mapping five overlapping phases, by highlighting the development of technologies, experimentation in development of theoretical frameworks, to establishment of institutions, finally highlighting how electronic literature studies as a mature field whose scholarly history reflects the broader transformations. The second panelist shifts the focus of electronic literature scholarship from historiography to the underlying logic of creation and reception of electronic literature from a global perspective. While prior studies have mapped the terrain of electronic literature and proposed theoretical approaches to reading, playing, and viewing e-lit works, this talk extends these approaches by foregrounding Space, Temporal, and Cultural (STC) axes as constitutive conditions of engagement. It proposes a turn toward “methods-first poetics,” arguing that interpretive and creative methods are not externally imposed but intrinsically constructed by both creators and readers through their situated STC contexts. By conceptualizing electronic literature as a co-constructed methodological practice, the talk advances a grounded framework in which poetics emerge from the dynamic interaction between platform, temporality, cultural location, and user experience. The third panelist’s talk “Slipping into the Future” discusses present trends in electronic literature as they face current creative practices and the rise of ubiquitous AI. AI’s arrival brings us tremendous potential to boost electronic literature and digital writing production, but it also brings a negative backlash against or indifference to bots and computational writing. This talk will chart a few paths to a prosperous future for electronic literature and digital writing practices.