When one thinks of literature, the foremost image that comes to mind is, of course, a book – the printed word. But as new media and digital technologies have proliferated and evolved in the last decade or so, storytellers have begun to explore new ways of crafting narratives. While much of the world of digital culture is dismissed often as mere distraction or entertainment, artists and authors have increasingly embraced these new forms as a means both to weave tales that sweep us away, and to engage us with complex themes. Most exciting, digital tools have allowed the most innovative of these storytellers to craft narratives in ways not possible in printed form, immersing audiences in their works – and in their themes – as never before.
This website presents the course projects, blog posts, and random thoughts of Dr. Tony R. Magagna and the students who have worked with him in his “Digital Literatures” course at Millikin University. As noted above, the class sets out to explore the intersections of digital technology and literature. We explore contemporary literature that experiments with the new forms and techniques made possible through digital media, including video games, interactive app-based fiction, and such experimental forms as “Twitterature” and transmedia narratives. We apply the traditional tools of literary study to investigating these artifacts as texts, as tales not only worth reading, but worth studying closely. Ultimately, we come to consider the ways in which our work as readers, writers, and future teachers in the 21st century can evolve and expand to engage with these digital literatures.
This course builds on the previous work done by Dr. Magagna’s “Hybrid Literatures” course, an archive of which can be found on its course website.
This website presents the course projects, blog posts, and random thoughts of Dr. Tony R. Magagna and the students who have worked with him in his “Digital Literatures” course at Millikin University. As noted above, the class sets out to explore the intersections of digital technology and literature. We explore contemporary literature that experiments with the new forms and techniques made possible through digital media, including video games, interactive app-based fiction, and such experimental forms as “Twitterature” and transmedia narratives. We apply the traditional tools of literary study to investigating these artifacts as texts, as tales not only worth reading, but worth studying closely. Ultimately, we come to consider the ways in which our work as readers, writers, and future teachers in the 21st century can evolve and expand to engage with these digital literatures.
This course builds on the previous work done by Dr. Magagna’s “Hybrid Literatures” course, an archive of which can be found on its course website.
Prior to the pilot “Hybrid Literatures” course in Fall 2015, Dr. Magagna offered a public lecture in February 2015 as part of the Millikin English Department's Faculty Lecture Series, in which he introduced some of the ideas that have motivated his new research and course offerings, including “Digital Literatures.” The talk was entitled "Mash-Ups, Remixes, and Hybrids: The New American Literature." Related interviews with Dr. Magagna can be found in Decatur's Herald & Review newspaper and in Millikin's campus newspaper, The Decaturian.
Dr. Tony R. Magagna is Associate Professor and Chair of the English Department at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. He specializes in modern and contemporary American literature and has twice served as a Fulbright Lecturer in American Studies: from 2012-2013 in Germany and from 2018-2019 in Japan. His interest in “digital literatures" has grown out of his curiosity about how American literature has evolved in the 21st century, not just in content and theme, but in form as well.
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