Syllabus
“Carving is the prototypical kind of inscription, though every other kind of writing partakes in this modification of one substance by another: the particles of ink lodge themselves within the roughness of the paper and will not leave without a trace. Even invisible ink enters the pores of the paper upon which secrets are trusted. Visibility itself is not a measure of inscription, modification of the substratum is.”
—Marcos Novak, “TransTerraForm”
Spring 2006
Dr. Matthew G. Kirschenbaum
Office phone: 301-405-8505
Department of English &
Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities
B0131 McKeldin Library (MITH)
Office hours by appointment, Monday-Wednesday.
Description
The knotted strings of the Inca khipu; the binary “strings” projected live on nightclub screens as techno DJs perform real-time hacks to mix their sets; the etched wax grooves of a Victorian recording cylinder; the 35 individual atoms of Xenon scientists at IBM used to spell out the letters of the corporate brand in the first documented instance of nanowriting . . . “Inscriptions,” writes Lisa Gitelman, “are interventions.” In this seminar we will examine media that inscribe and media that are inscribed by a variety of social, scientific, and imaginative interventions. Our coverage will necessarily be selective rather than comprehensive, and generally from the late 19th century forward. Topics will include Victorian writing machines, especially the typewriter and the phonograph; automatic writing and haunted media; microfilm and Cold War document technologies; graffiti and tattoos; computer hard drives; software code; and nanotext. A major focus throughout will be the work of German media theorist Friedrich Kittler, best known for his radical “post-hermeneutic” theories of literary history. We will read selections from his first and most important book, Discourse Networks 1800/1900 (the so-called “black book” that reportedly almost cost him his professorship) as well as his more recent investigations of gramophone, film, typewriter, and microprocessors. (“At night after I had finished writing, I used to pick up the soldering iron and build circuits,” recalls Kittler. “I knew what was in store.”) Other theorists will include Lev Manovich, Johanna Drucker, Alan Liu, Bruno Latour, Jeffrey Sconce, Lisa Gitelman, Scott McCloud, Nelson Goodman, Jacques Derrida, Susan Stewart, Patricia Crain, and Jerome McGann. While the emphasis will be on theoretical and secondary works, we will read at least one novel (Ellen Ullman’s The Bug) and some shorter texts by authors including Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, and Shelley Jackson. We will also study a film, Christopher Nolan’s Memento and some sound works (William Basinski’s “Disintegration Loops”). The content of the seminar will be relevant to students working in literary theory, textual and digital studies, science and technology studies, and media and cultural studies.
Requirements and Grading
· A seminar paper of exceptional quality (20+ pages) on a topic of your choosing, or an electronic project of equivalent “length” and substance [60%]. You should meet with me at least once to discuss your paper or project, which will be due the last day of class.
· One presentation [20%] and two response papers [10% each]. Once during the semester you will each be responsible for a semi-formal presentation of 10-15 minutes on the week’s reading, coupled with discussion leading. You will also write two response papers. The response papers, as well as written material associated with the presentation will be entered on the class blog (see below).
· Active preparation and class participation. Active preparation means not only doing the reading, but also coming to class with specific questions and passages to discuss.
· Regular attendance. Weekly attendance is expected and required of everyone registered for the course. I will confer with anyone who seems to be having trouble meeting the attendance requirement, and reserve the right to ask such persons to drop the course if necessary.
Note that participation and attendance are not “graded” per se, but I will use them to adjust final course grades if either is unsatisfactory.
Auditors
Auditors are expected to give a presentation and/or write one response paper. Please register the course if at all possible.
Books
There are six books on order at the University Book Center, plus a Course Packet at the Maryland Book Exchange. The books are:
· Bruce Clarke and Linda Dalrymple Henderson, eds. From Energy to Information: Representation in Science and Technology, Art, and Literature, (Stanford, 2002).
· Friedrich Kittler, Discourse Networks 1800/1900 (Stanford, 1992).
· Friedrich Kittler, Literature/Media/Information Systems (G+B Arts, 1997).
· Friedrich Kittler, Gramophone, Film., Typewriter (Stanford, 1999).
· Lev Manovich, The Language of New Media (MIT, 2002).
· Ellen Ullman, The Bug (2003).
All of the above except The Bug are on reserve at McKeldin Library. I will also make a copy of the Course Packet available by Reserve, as well as most of the books represented in the Course Packet.
If you must prioritize your spending: the Course Packet, Gramophone, Film, Typewriter, The Language of New Media, and The Bug are essential to own. From Energy to Information, Literature/Media/Information Systems, and Discourse Networks are less vital to own, but meaning it will be more practical to access those readings via the Library Reserve system and not that the readings themselves are any less significant.
Electronic Resources
The class Listerv is is: engl758as06@listserv.umd.edu . Subscription is mandatory. Please get into the habit of checking your mail at least once a day; you will be responsible for the content of any email message 24 hours after it has been posted.
The course also has a blog:
http://www.mith2.umd.edu/teaching/courses/s06/engl758a/
The blog will serve as a venue for response papers and discussion materials, including any associated with your presentation (these should be posted at least 24 hours in advance). Others forms of threads and discussion on the blog are also welcome. Everyone will have an account and the ability to publish entries.
Speakers and Events
The English department and MITH are co-sponsoring a number of speakers and events this semester that are relevant to the subjects of this seminar. While attendance is optional, it is highly encouraged. First, Jerome McGann and Johanna Drucker, both from the University of Virginia, will be here on March 14th. In addition, this year the English department’s annual Petrou Lectures will have the theme of New Media Storytelling. Our guests will be Shelley Jackson, author of the hypertext Patchwork Girl and “Skin” on April 17th (date tentative), and Scott McCloud, the author of Understanding Comics on May 2nd. All of these dates are Tuesdays, which are also the day of MITH’s lunchtime Digital Dialogues brownbags (12:30-1:45 every week). Please save these dates and times if at all possible and consider them an immediate supplement to our class meetings.
Reading Schedule
Abbreviations: CP=Course Packet; GFT=Gramophone, Film, Typewriter; FEtI=From Energy to Information; LMN=The Language of New Media; LMIS=Literature/Media/Information Systems; *=deemphasized reading.
1/31. Extreme Inscription
- Nancy Mayer, “Reclaiming Our History: The Mysterious Birth of Art and Design”:
http://futurehistory.aiga.org/resources/content/2/2/6/8/documents/n_mayer.pdf
- Silicon Zoo: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/index.html
2/7. Wires, Cords, Cables, Strings
- Frank Salomon, from The Cord Keepers (11-39). CP
- Friedrich Kittler, “Introduction” (from GFT).
- Matthew Griffin and Susanne Hermann, “Technologies of Writing: Interview with Friedrich A. Kittler.” New Literary History 7.4 (1996) 731-742. Access via UMD Library Research Port (Project MUSE).
- Neil Stephenson, “Mother Earth, Mother Board” (Wired 4.12 , Dec. 1996):
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html
- Clarke and Henderson, “Thermodynamics to Virtual Reality” (in FEti).*
2/14. Alphabetization
- Kittler, from Discourse Networks. “The Mother’s Mouth”(25-69).
- Patricia Crain, from The Story of A. “That Mother’s Kiss: The Alphabet, Gender, and Narrative” (103-140). CP
- Robin Rider, “Shaping Information: Mathematics, Computers, and Typography” (39-54). CP*
- Nelson Goodman, from Languages of Art. “Art and Authenticity” (99-123). CP
- Philip K. Dick, “The Preserving Machine.” CP
- Lev Manovich, “What is New Media” (from LNM).
2/21. Gramophone
- Kittler, “Gramophone” (from GFT).
- Lisa Gitelman, “Souvenir Foils: On the Status of Print at the Origins of Recorded Sound.” CP
- Nathan Brown, “Needle on the Real: Technoscience and Poetry at the Limits of Fabrication.” CP
2/28. No class.
3/7. Film
- Kittler, “Film” (from GFT).
- Manovich, “What is Cinema” (from LNM).
3/14. Typewriter (and Keyboard)
- Kittler, “Typewriter” (from GFT).
- Kittler, from Discourse Networks (175-264).
- Bukatman, from Matters of Gravity. “Gibson’s Typewriter” (32-47). CP
- Arthur C. Clarke, “The Steam-Powered Word Processor.” CP
- Jacques Derrida, “Word Processing” (to be distributed).
- Matthew Fuller, from Behind the Blip. “It Looks Like You’re Writing a Letter” (137-65). CP*
- Tomoko Takahashi, Word Perhect:
http://www.e-2.org/commissions_wordperhect.html .
3/21. No class, spring break.
3/28. Automatic Writing
- Bruno Latour, from Science in Action: “Centres of Calculation” (215-257). CP
- Michael John Gorman, “The elusive origins of the immutable mobile”:
http://www.stanford.edu/~mgorman/immutablemobile.htm
- Jeffrey Sconce, from Haunted Media: “Mediums and Media” (21-58). CP
- Robert M. Brain, “Representation on the Line: Graphic Recording Instruments and Scientific Modernism” (in FEtI).*
- Manovich, “The Forms” (in LNM).
- Jerome J. McGann, “The Textual Condition.” CP
4/4. Cold Storage
- Vannevar Bush, “As We May Think”: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/194507/bush .
- Paul N. Edwards, from The Closed World: “Why Build Computers: The Military Role in Computer Research” (43-73). CP
- John Guillory, “The Memo and Modernity.” Critical Inquiry 31.1 (Fall 2004). Access via UMD Library Research Port.
- Peter Galison, “Removing Knowledge.” Critical Inquiry 31.1 (Fall 2004). Access via UMD Library Research Port.
- Kittler, “Media Wars” (in Literature, Media, Information Systems).
- William Basinksi, “The Disintegration Loops” [sound recording].
- Kirschenbaum, “Extreme Inscription: Towards a Grammatology of the Hard Drive.”*
4/11. Aerosol, Adhesion, Stain, and Engram
- Susan Stewart, from Crimes of Writing: “Graffiti as Crime and Art” (206-233). CP
- Julian Stallabrass, from Gargantua: “Advertising the Invisible” (135-150). CP*
- Nick Montfort and Scott Rettberg, Implementation:
http://nickm.com/implementation/ .
- Shelley Jackson, Skin: http://ineradicablestain.com/skin.html .
- Christopher Nolan, Memento [film]; Jonathan Nolan, “Memento Mori,” Esquire (March 2001), access via UMD Research Port.
4/18. Graphesis and Graphicality
- Johanna Drucker, “Graphesis”; short pieces from Figuring the Word (all to be distributed).
- Scott McCloud, from Understanding Comics (to be distributed).
- Morris Eaves, “Graphicality: Multimedia Fables for ‘Textual’ Critics.” CP
- Lane Robson and Joseph VIscomi, “Blake’s Death”:
http://sites.unc.edu/viscomi/death.html .
- The William Blake Archive: http://www.blakearchive.org .
- Kirschenbaum, “The Word as Image in an Age of Digital Reproduction.” CP
- Marjorie Perloff, from Radical Artifice: “Signs Are Taken for Wonders: The Billboard Field as Poetic Space” (93-133). CP*
- Richard Shiff, “Puppet and Test Pattern: Mechanicity and Materiality in Modern Pictorial Represenation” (FEtI).*
- Bruce J. Hunt, “Lines of Force, Swirls of Ether” (FEtI).*
4/25. Screens
- Manovich, “The Interface” and “The Illusions” (from LNM).
- Marcos Novak, “TransTerraForm”:
http://www.krcf.org/krcfhome/PRINT/nonlocated/nlonline/nonMarcos.html
- Marcos Novak, “Eversion: Brushing Against Avatars, Aliens, and Angels” (FEtI).*
- Digital Art (selections TBA).
5/2. Code
- Ellen Ullman, The Bug.
- Kittler, “There is No Software” and “Protected Mode” (from LMIS).
- Alan Liu, “Transcendental Data: Towards a Cultural History of the New Encoded Discourse.” Critical Inquiry 31.1 (Fall 2004). Access via UMD Library Research Port.
- Steve Ramsay and Geoffrey Rockwell, “Programming as Writing as Programming.” Available here: http://www.otal.umd.edu/~mgk/wap.pdf .
5/9. Coda: TBA
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