123043 PS Literary Studies / Proseminar Literature (2019W)

Would you agree that novels do not only consist of a written word? It is not only illustrations that influence the way we read them but also various paratexts (e.g. covers), their layout, etc. Many contemporary texts make use of communicative modes other than the written word; many exist on multiple platforms at the same time; some experiment with their printed form. Like other cultural products, literary works react to socio-cultural and political developments as well as to the transformations of the media landscape. It is therefore not surprising that in the wake of convergence culture (Jenkins 2003), the ever-growing spreadability of content, and participation it encourages (Jenkins, Ford and Green 2013), what counts as 'literature' - or as 'literary experience' (Collins 2010) - has altered as well.

In this proseminar, students will be introduced to a number of such developments. On the backdrop of theoretical discussions about the 'new book cultures', 'media convergence', 'adaptation and appropriation' (e.g. Ryan, Jenkins, Hutcheon, Rippl, Nünning), we will analyse and interpret exciting transformations characteristic of the contemporary novel. In the centre of our discussions will be the concept of 'multimodality'. We will discuss not only how they differ from 'monomodal' texts but also if there actually are 'monomodal' texts; we will also reflect on what it means to 'read' in the twenty first century and how to interpret texts that are products of a mediatized world. In this seminar we will engage both with multimodal texts as well as with their (digital) paratexts, and with various other elements of contemporary (digital) literary culture.