What the Geeks KnowHypertext and the problem of literacy

Hypertext:The electronic linking of blocks of text

(Crane & Mylonas 1991, quoted in Fitzgibbons 2008)

Hyperfiction:Henry the 8th, he had six wives

http://www.rollyourownhypertext.com/stories/88-henry-8th--he-had-six-wives/segments/517

What the geeks know

“[W]e are heading toward a post-typographic world; that is, one in which printed texts are no longer dominant.”

Reinking (1998, quoted by Grisham 2001) further speculates how our literacy is

shaped and limited by the technology that we possess.

“…we should define hypertext as the basis for a new version of general literacy.”

Moulthrop (2005)

To be literate with hypertext

Hypertext is an “archive”(Dalgaard 2001)

Different skill sets

Interactive reading skillsText navigation skills

(as identified by Barnes 1994, cited by Sinitskaya n.d.)

Invisible developments

“Dismaying ignorance about digital technologies…”

What the non-geeks don’t know

What the geeks know!

What the geeks know!

Old and new media is adversarialInnovation is problematicElectronic text is different

Universal without totality:

A world without boundaries

Universal WITHtotality

Books ensured that meaning remained unchanged by

interpretation or translation

Universal without totality:

Cyberspace

Literacy is not simply the domain of print culture.

To redefine and reinvent literacy, based on hypertext.

Will not fix misunderstanding in the short term.

But ideas will exceed initial expectations.

Public lecture on Digital HumanismState Library of Victoria

Monday, 6.30 pm

What the Geeks KnowHypertext and the problem of literacy

ReferencesBolter, JD 1998, 'Hypertext and the question of visual literacy', in D.

Reinking, M.C. McKenna, L.D. Labbo, & R.D. Kieffer (Eds.), Handbook of Literacy and Technology: Transformations in a post-typgraphic world, pp. 3–13, Erlbaum, New Jersey.

Dalgaard, R 2001, 'Hypertext and the scholarly archive: intertexts, paratexts, and metatexts at work', in Proceedings of the 12th ACM Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia, Aarhus, pp. 175-184.

Fitzgibbons, M 2008, ‘Implications of Hypertext Theory for the Reading, Organization, and Retrieval of Information’, Library Philosophy and Practice, accessed 6 October 2010, < http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/fitzgibbons.htm >.

Grisham, D 2001, 'Making Technology Meaningful for Literacy Teaching: A WebQuest', Reading Online, accessed 6 October 2010, <http://www.readingonline.org/editorial/edit_index.asp?HREF=february2001/index.html>.

Mason, J 2002, ‘From Gutenberg’s Galaxy to cyperspace: the transforming power of hypertext,’ University of Toronto, Toronto, accessed 6 October 2010, < https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/citd/JeanMason/context/challenge.html >.

Moulthrop, S 2005, What the Geeks Know: Hypertext and the problem of literacy, in Proceedings of the 16th ACM conference, New York.

Sinitskaya, N n.d., 'Hypertext Literacy', Internet Literacy, accessed 6 October 2010, <http://natalyasinitskaya.tripod.com/essay/home_files/Page391.htm>.

Swinburne University of Technology 2011, 'Stuart Moulthrop Public Lecture', Swinburne University of Technology, accessed 6 October 2010, <http://www.swinburne.edu.au/chancellery/mediacentre/media-centre/news/2011/10/stuart-moulthrop-public-lecture>.

Graphics

Slide 1: Tag Web Design, <http://www.tagwebdesign.ca/geek.png>.Slide 3: Cardiff University,

<http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/Multimedia/hypertext.gif>.Slide 5: Sergio Cicconi, <http://www.cisenet.com/?p=5>Slide 6: Coding Horror,

<http://codinghorror.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a85dcdae970b0120a86db856970b-pi>.

Slide 11: Open Reflections, <http://openreflections.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/awi-core-archive_hg.jpg>.

Slide 17: Tumblr, <http://askelion.tumblr.com/post/10175511965/smile-sheldon-smile>.

Slide 26: GetLamp, <http://www.getlamp.com/cast/20061026moulthrop/.best>.