Part III

Housekeeping... Password for E-RES: dynamic Begin by visiting: Read Lanval and the excerpt from The Book of the City of Ladies by this Thursday

MLA Format: Online Databases

Numerical Representation New media objects are composed of digital code, i.e. numerical representations Example: Every letter of the alphabet is represented by an eight digit number composed only of zeros and ones "R" is " " By extension, every command is represented numerically Because of this, new media objects can be described mathematically and manipulated with algorithms. What Does This Mean for US? Unlike old media, new media is PROGRAMMABLE.

Modularity New media is composed of various independent elements: pixels, images, text, sounds, frames, code These can be modified independently without affecting the new media object as a whole Example: Photoshop The images in Photoshop are composed of many different layers which can be modified independently. Example: The World Wide Web The modular structure of the web is illustrated by various independent sites and pages Each can be independently modified

Automation Computer programs that do the work for us... We can create or modify new media objects using templates or algorithms Example: Rather than create a new media object, we choose from pre-existing images, code, or other elements, such as filters, special effects, etc.

Variability Old media is somewhat set in stone Example: Books New media is infinitely variable and can exist in many different versions Example: hypertext and Wikipedia Can view a site in an infinite number of ways

Transcoding How does computerization affect us??? On the one hand, transcoding refers to the way in which new media objects are translated from one format to another. On the other, transcoding refers to the way computers influence culture and vice versa, i.e. Computers influence the we think and the way we think influences computers Example: MySpace

But Doesn’t Old Media Incorporate at Least Some of These Principles??? Manovich argues that these principles can be found in part in older forms, such as cinema Example: Discrete representation (modularity) in cinema paves the way for new media Though digitally encoded media is discrete, film stills can be seen as samples of time on celluloid.

Other examples... Since digital media share the same code, one machine (computer) can display different media types Cinema can also be seen to do this by combining images, sound, and text into one display

So is new media always better? What about degradation? Truth vs. Reality As Manovich states, “[...] the software and hardware used to acquire, store, manipulate, and trasmit digital images rely uniformly on lossy compression—the technique of making image files smaller by deleting some information” (54). Furthermore, “[...] while in theory, computer technology entails the flawless replication of data, its actual use in contemporary society is characterized by loss of data, degradation, and noise.” In terms of degradation, how does old and new media compare? Medieval Manuscripts Books Floppy disks Memory sticks Hardrives

“Tintern Abbey”

The Author: William Wordsworth ( ) British poet Romantic Movement Characterized by??? Genre? What do we know about the narrator? Diction? Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, consonance, assonance? Figures of speech? i.e. Similes, metaphors, imagery?

How does the poem relate to the theme of the unit? “Thy memory be as a dwelling-place [...]” How does the narrator “access” information? How does he “display” this information? Single-media display or multi-media display? How does this compare to accessing and displaying digital media? How did we access this poem for today? Are there any earlier examples of multi-media displays within old media? Example: Medieval Illuminated ManuscriptsMedieval Illuminated Manuscripts

How does new media affect our understanding of medieval literature and of literature in general? Access How we access Who has access Display Interaction

For Thursday... Continue with Manovich Myth of Interactivity Interface Unit 4: The Medieval and the Modern: Issues of Gender Read Lanval and excerpt from The Book of the City of Ladies, available through E-RES (password: dynamic)