Setting out a history of cyberspace and its relationship with the discipline that was to become digital humanities, this book is an account of an often-forgotten period of internet history in the 1990s when this medium was in its infancy. It provides a detailed account of the concepts of 'cyberspace' and the 'virtual', which were characteristic of a perception that using the internet allowed users to enter a separate space from everyday life- a world elsewhere. In doing so, it argues that this libertarian idea of the internet framed it as a new frontier, where the rules of the everyday world did not and should not apply, and where the individual could find freedom. These early norms and the regrettable lack of regulation that was a consequence of them, this book argues, contributed to many of current issues with internet media. including of toxic communication, disinformation and over-commercialisation

From a range of academic and practice-led perspectives, this book explores how a combination of place-based writing and location-based technologies are producing new kinds of experimental ambient literary experience. In so doing, it unpacks how situated literary experiences delivered through text, audio and sensor-based delivery offer distinctive new forms of reading and listening and lay the ground for a new poetics of situated writing practices. Exploring an experimental, practice-based approach to digital literary forms and its emerging poetics, this book critically examines the ecology of ambient literature from a range of perspectives, including researchers and practitioners working in the fields of digital writing, sonics, visual art, performance, literary studies, creative writing and computer science. Essays look towards the emerging field of ambient literature, drawing on contributors' own background and interests. Contributors study topics ranging from ecological and climatic challenges through critical and creative cartographies to understanding the metaphorical work of 'ambient' as a form embedded in the social, technological and literary. Including practice-based essays from writers, artists and practitioners on the use of data to write poetry and the position of the writer as maker, this book's combination of practice-led approaches and interdisciplinary research makes it a valuable and varied contribution to the field of digital writing.

Drawing on a range of authors that includes Zadie Smith, Sally Rooney, Ben Lerner, Ali Smith, Tom McCarthy, Jennifer Egan and Kazuo Ishiguro, this book provides an innovative and original analysis of the interdependencies between digital technology and metamodernism through a detailed study of the contemporary novel. We are currently living through a period of profound rupture, in which the way the world is perceived is undergoing significant change. Just as the interplay between capitalism and technology hastened the evolution of modernism and postmodernism, then so too are those same forces now taking us into uncharted waters. In an increasingly fragile world, in which the very existence of humankind is threatened, it is vital that we begin to understand this new landscape.

"Setting out a history of cyberspace and its relationship with the discipline that was to become digital humanities, this book is an account of an often-forgotten period of internet history in the 1990s when this medium was in its infancy"--

The Historical Web and Digital Humanities fosters discussions between the Digital Humanities and web archive studies by focussing on one of the largest entities of the web, namely national and transnational web domains such as the British, French, or European web. With a view to investigating whether, and how, web studies and web historiography can inform and contribute to the Digital Humanities, this volume contains a number of case studies and methodological and theoretical discussions that both illustrate the potential of studying the web, in this case national web domains, and provide an insight into the challenges associated with doing so. Commentary on and possible solutions to these challenges are debated within the chapters and each one contributes in its own way to a web history in the making that acknowledges the specificities of the archived web. The Historical Web and Digital Humanities will be essential reading for those with an interest in how the past of the web can be studied, as well as how Big Data approaches can be applied to the archived web. As a result, this volume will appeal to academics and students working and studying in the fields of Digital Humanities, internet and media studies, history, cultural studies, and communication.

Digital Arts presents an introduction to new media art through key debates and theories. The volume begins with the historical contexts of the digital arts, discusses contemporary forms, and concludes with current and future trends in distribution and archival processes. Considering the imperative of artists to adopt new technologies, the chapters of the book progressively present a study of the impact of the digital on art, as well as the exhibition, distribution and archiving of artworks. Alongside case studies that illustrate contemporary research in the fields of digital arts, reflections and questions provide opportunities for readers to explore relevant terms, theories and examples. Consistent with the other volumes in the New Media series, a bullet-point summary and a further reading section enhance the introductory focus of each chapter.

This Companion offers a thorough, concise overview of the emerging field of humanities computing. Contains 37 original articles written by leaders in the field. Addresses the central concerns shared by those interested in the subject. Major sections focus on the experience of particular disciplines in applying computational methods to research problems; the basic principles of humanities computing; specific applications and methods; and production, dissemination and archiving. Accompanied by a website featuring supplementary materials, standard readings in the field and essays to be included in future editions of the Companion.

This book examines how today's technology, as it includes smartphones, computers, and the internet, shapes our physical health, cognitive and psychological development, and interactions with one another and the world around us. Technology has become a ubiquitous part of modern life, but its impact on our physical, psychological, and social health and development runs just as deep as does our dependence upon it. How is the development of babies' brains affected by their playing with their parents' smartphones and tablets? How have computers altered the way we process and learn information? How have texting and social networking sites such as Facebook changed the way in which we interact with others? Can online dating lead to meaningful real-world relationships? From Smartphones to Social Media investigates these questions and many complex issues related to technology. Readers will discover what researchers know about how the use of technology affects us through accessibly written, thematic chapters. The main text is complemented by a collection of case studies and interviews with a variety of experts, providing insight into how technology's positive and negative effects manifest in our everyday lives and what we can do to mediate the negative ones.

Considering how culturally indispensable digital technology is today, it is ironic that computer-generated art was attacked when it burst onto the scene in the early 1960s. In fact, no other twentieth-century art form has elicited such a negative and hostile response. When the Machine Made Art examines the cultural and critical response to computer art, or what we refer to today as digital art. Tracing the heated debates between art and science, the societal anxiety over nascent computer technology, and the myths and philosophies surrounding digital computation, Taylor is able to identify the destabilizing forces that shape and eventually fragment the computer art movement.

As the twenty-first century unfolds, computers challenge the way in which we think about culture, society and what it is to be human: areas traditionally explored by the humanities. In a world of automation, Big Data, algorithms, Google searches, digital archives, real-time streams and social networks, our use of culture has been changing dramatically. The digital humanities give us powerful theories, methods and tools for exploring new ways of being in a digital age. Berry and Fagerjord provide a compelling guide, exploring the history, intellectual work, key arguments and ideas of this emerging discipline. They also offer an important critique, suggesting ways in which the humanities can be enriched through computing, but also how cultural critique can transform the digital humanities. Digital Humanities will be an essential book for students and researchers in this new field but also related areas, such as media and communications, digital media, sociology, informatics, and the humanities more broadly.