Paper 4 - Suggested Topics

There's a lot of flexibility for the fourth paper in terms of topics and approaches. One of the ways to handle this would be to consider the issues discussed in the classes and lab sessions on digital media.

• You might consider the role of hypertext and the changing meanings of digital language, based on Mary Hopper's discussion during the forum on "Hypertext in Historical Context: Vannevar Bush and Ted Nelson Revisited." An argument might problematize one or two of the ideas and predictions of Bush or Nelson, and discuss how certain ideas/predictions continue to inform certain ideas about the way we look at digital media, while others seem way out and rather extreme. What is the role of predictions in discussions of media?

• Ed Barrett's students presented their projects. In lab session there were follow-up discussions about what websites are used for, and what this has to do with our construction of website. Which theoretical concepts from the course could be used to discuss these sites?

• Janet Murray dealt with some provocative issues concerning immersion, the future of the book, and the role of the artist. How does a story change when it is presented digitally? Is interactivity the same thing as immersion?

• Glorianna Davenport's work and projects feature storytelling and the creation of agents in software design. A paper illuminating these ideas further, through your own examples of game playing, for instance, would begin to suggest the implications of these ideas in terms of media in general.

• Discuss the "four essential proprieties" of digital environments as described by Murray. Is there any property that is missing? Is there any property that seems more important than the other? How are these essential properties similar or different to other types of mediated experiences?

• Murray argues that the future of media involves interactivity, and that media like television will soon incorporate choices on the part of the viewer, such as deciding which characters in a given program you want to follow. Watching television today, however, is very much a shared experience among groups of people -- friends, family, colleagues. How might the development of "interactive television" change the way it's used as a group activity or topic of conversation?

• Murray's Hamlet on the Holodeck describes the process of "cyberizing" of many forms of narration and expression. What do you think is gained by this process? What do you think is lost? What are the implications for how we read a story or tell a story?

• Many children's books today are available on CD-ROM, as are many other kinds of stories. There have been numerous reactions about the narratives, particularly for children. On the one hand they present options and different ways of playing. On the other hand, people have argued that the options are still limited. Is the story the same?

• Murray believes that books will never fall out of use with the introduction of hypertext or the digital medium; rather, they will co-exist. How does E-link and the electronic book fall into this argument?

• In participatory literature, is there a difference between the "garden of forking paths" and "choose your own adventure." Could this distinction be applied to video or computer games?

• Murray writes:

  "If digital art reaches the same level of expressiveness as these older media, we will no longer concern ourselves with how we are receiving the information. We will only think about what truth it has told our lives."

  Where does the distinction lie between the media user and the media form and content? To what extent is skepticism a necessary part of the experience? To what extent is immersion necessary? How might digital media be different or similar to other media, and the way we incorporate media into the way we formulate truth(s)?

• Murray addresses the idea of the invisible wall between media and us and how there are unspoken rules about that wall and about how much media is allowed to affect us emotionally. To engage with digital media, how much immersion is important? How is this similar or different to the experiences we've discussed having to do with other media?

• In discussion between Berkerts and Murray the issue of e-mail and letter writing came up. Murray said that having e-mail has allowed her to have more communication with old friends, as it has allowed her to re-new old connections. The person asking the question essentially said that letter writing has ended. Is there a significant difference between letter-writing and e-mail? What does e-mail allow for that letter writing may not? Or vice-versa?

• Interactive novels: Is it possible to combine the "literary aspect" of the book with the visceral aspects/affects associated with other media without sacrificing the experience of reading?

• What are the implications of reproducing or representing works of art digitally, such as an image of the Mona Lisa or a simulated electronic space of the Sistine Chapel, and placing it on the web? Are there things in our world that cannot or should not be represented digitally?

In addition to the above suggestions, you are also feel free to choose a topic that reflects your own interests while also providing a point of entry into the course material.

mehopper@mit.edu