Hyper Text Theory

In his widely acclaimed book Hypertext George P. Landow described a radically new information technology and its relationship to the work of such literary theorists as Jacques Derrida and Roland Barthes. Now Landow has brought together a distinguished group of authorities to explore more fully the implications of hypertextual reading for contemporary literary theory. Among the contributors, Charles Ess uses the work of Jürgen Habermas and the Frankfurt School to examine hypertext's potential for true democratization. Stuart Moulthrop turns to Deleuze and Guattari as a point of departure for a study of the relation of hypertext and political power. Espen Aarseth places hypertext within a framework created by other forms of electronic textuality. David Kolb explores what hypertext implies for philosophy and philosophical discourse. Jane Yellowlees Douglas, Gunnar Liestol, and Mireille Rosello use contemporary theory to come to terms with hypertext narrative. Terrence Harpold investigates the hypertextual fiction of Michael Joyce. Drawing on Derrida, Lacan, and Wittgenstein, Gregory Ulmer offers an example of the new form of writing hypertextuality demands.

George Landow's widely acclaimed Hypertext was the first book to bring together the worlds of literary theory and computer technology to explore the implications of giving readers instant, easy access to a virtual library of sources as well as unprecedented control of what and how they read. In hypermedia, Landow saw in a strikingly literal embodiment of many major points of contemporary literary theory, particularly Derrida's idea of "de-centering" and Barthes's conception of the "readerly" versus "writerly" text. "Landow['s]... presentation is measured, experiential, lucid, moderate, and sensible. He merely points out that the concept 'hypertext' lets us test some concepts associated with critical theory, and gracefully shows how the technology is contributing to reconfigurations of text, author, narrative, and (literary) education." -- Post Modern Culture, reviewing the first edition

"In this insightful and readable volume, Landow explores the relationship between contemporary literary and social theory and the latest advances in computer software."-- "Voice Literary Supplement.""A useful book for understanding the effect technology is having on scholarship."-- "Semiotic Review of Books.""Landow 's ... presentation is measured, experiential, lucid, moderate, and sensible. He merely points out that the concept hypertext' lets us test some concepts associated with critical theory, and gracefully shows how the technology is contributing to reconfigurations of text, author, narrative, and (literary) education."-- "Post Modern Culture.""Good news for teachers who are not too sensitive about their intellectual authority... Bad news for print culture."-- "Times Literary Supplement"

From St. Jerome to Hypertext is an ambitious attempt to chart the terrain of literary translation - its history, theory and practice. It examines translation from linguistic, extralinguistic and philosophical perspectives and poses a range of important questions, including: the extent to which a linguistically creative original text should be reduced to fit existing norms in translation; whether translators should render the author's voice or the author's vision; how a translator might bridge the gender gap, generation gap, cultural gap, geographical distance, and distance in time; the way in which one translates texts which are themselves multilingual; whether the Bible is a technical book, a primary source, a drama or a revelation; the impact that processes of internationalization, multimedia communication and technological innovations might have on literature in translation. Individual chapters offer detailed treatmemnt of topis such as the relationship between author and translator, wordplay and language games, syntax, cultural biotes, understanding and meaning, and the process of translation.

Written in hypertext and read from a computer, hypertext novels exist as a collection of textual fragments, which must be pieced together by the reader. The Possible Worlds of Hypertext Fiction offers a new critical theory tailored specifically for this burgeoning genre, providing a much needed body of criticism in a key area of new media fiction.

The essays in Hypermedia and Literary Studies discuss the theoretical and practical opportunities and challenges posed by the convergence of hypermedia systems and traditional written texts.Consider a work from Shakespeare. Imagine, as you read it, being able to call up instantly the Elizabethan usage of a particular word, variant texts for any part of the work, critical commentary, historically relevant facts, or oral interpretations by different sets of actors. This is the sort of richly interconnected, immediately accessible literary universe that can be created by hypertext (electronically linked texts) and hypermedia (the extension of linkages to visual and aural material). The essays in Hypermedia and Literary Studies discuss the theoretical and practical opportunities and challenges posed by the convergence of hypermedia systems and traditional written texts. They range from the theory and design of literary hypermedia to reports of actual hypermedia projects from secondary school to university and from educational and scholarly to creative applications in poetry and fiction.ContentsHypertext, Hypermedia, and Literary Studies - Theory - Reading and Writing the Electronic Book - From Electronic Books to Electronic Libraries: Revisiting Reading and Writing the Electronic Book. - The Rhetoric of Hypermedia: Some Rules for Authors - Topographic Writing: Hypertext and the Electronic Writing Space - Reading from the Map: Metonymy and Metaphor in the Fiction of Forking Paths. - Poem Descending a Staircase: Hypertext and the Simultaneity of Experience - Reading Hypertext: Order and Coherence in a New Medium - Threnody: Psychoanalytic Digressions on the Subject of Hypertexts - Applications - Biblical Studies and Hypertext - Ancient Materials, Modern Media: Shaping the Study of Classics with Hypertext - Linking Together Books: Adapting Published Material into Intermedia Documents - The Shakespeare Project - The Emblematic Hyperbook - HyperCard Stacks for Fielding's Joseph Andrews: Issues of Design and Content - Hypertext for the PC: The Rubén Dario Project - Hypermedia in Schools