Postmodern Fiction, Hypertext, and Getting into the Game

The following resources have been collected from the Worl d Wide Web--the networked collection of hypertexts, multimedia exhibits, and other sundry items--to demonstrate some of the results of networked communication, hypertext capabilities, and the increasing presence of images in "cyberspace." Additionally, hyperlinks to several online journals are provided to guide readers to discussion on the implications of the new media. Finally, a couple of Web navigational pointers are included to suggest directions for further exploration.

     
  1. World Wide Web Postmodern Rumblings and Hypertext Experiments:
     
    "To He, I Am For Evva True'": Krazy Kat's Indeterminate Gender
    Recently written up in The New York Times.
    Kid A in Alphabet Land
    "An Abecedarian Roller Coaster Ride Through The Phallocentric Obscurantism Of Jacques Lacan, With Apologies To Slavoj Zizek."
    Bordeaux and Prague
    A collection of highly graphic hypertext fictions. Accessing them may take some time; be patient.
    Somerville Stories
    The stories of a group of housemates, linked through hypertext. This collection is not very large, so it is exhausted quickly.
    Wired
    PostModer n Culture: An Electronic Journal of Interdisciplinary Criticism

     

  2. MOOs to explore

    university press journals. This project is distinguished by its attention to format, the publication of refereed articles, and the backing of a major research university library.

    "Scrolls from the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship
    A World Wide Web version of the exhibit at the Library of Congress. The scanning and widespread distribution of extremely fragile and important texts has implications for preservation, scholarship, and education.

    PMC-MOO
    The MOO at PostModern Culture.
    IATH-MOO
    The MOO at Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
    Hypertext Hotel MOO
    A collaborative creative writing space from Brown University's hypertext fiction workshop.

     

  3. Religion on the Net?

    Currently, the resources on the network for scholars in Religious Studies are somewhat limited. Nonetheless, what is out there is of interest as precursors to what may be an important forum for discussion and a medium for publication. Electronic texts provide the scholar with new opportunities for textual analysis; electronic journals may become as widely read and cited as their paper predecessors. How the Infobahn develops as a tool for scholarly communication depends, to a great extent, on how young scholars define.

     
    The Electric Mystic's Guide to the Internet
    "A Complete Directory of Networked Electronic Documents, Online Conferences, Serials, Software, and Archives Relevant to Religious Studies. Volume One of Two Volumes Edition 2.0 Low ASCII Version February 1993 Michael Strangelove University of Ottawa Department of Religious Studies."
    Religion and Philosphy Resources on the Internet
    This list comes from RiceInfo's "Information by Subject." Most of the texts come from Project Gutenberg--the first major networked full-text publishing experiment. The texts are of varying quality, and do not provide the type of bibliographic control (edition and version notes, for example) that scholars expect. Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion among librarians about the authentication of electronic texts.
    Electronic Text Center -- University of Virginia
    UVa's Electronic Text Center offers a variety of resources and services that may become increasingly relevant to scholars in Religious Studies.
    Project Muse--Johns Hopkins University's Experiment with Electronic Journal Publication
    Project Muse is a prototype for the electronic publication of three university press journals. This project is distinguished by its attention university press journals. This project is distinguished by its attention to format, the publication of refereed articles, and the backing of a major research university library.
    "Scrol ls from the Dead Sea: The Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Scholarship
    A World Wide Web version of the exhibit at the Library of Congress. The scanning and widespread distribution of extremely fragile and important texts has implications for preservation, scholarship, and education.

    Mary Ann Clark (maryc@owlnet.rice.edu)

    last modified, 11.22.95, mac/esb