"Technologies of Humanism" is a Course materials drawn from MIT Open Learning and catalogued under Arts, Music & Design for Undergraduate / College. From the source: This course explores the properties of non-sequential, multi-linear, and interactive forms of narratives as they have evolved from print to digital media. Works covered in this course range from the Talmud, classics of non-linear novels,… Slide Collection preserves the upstream link, the original creator credit and the licensing terms; download the file to use it in a classroom, study group or revision plan.
About this presentation
This course explores the properties of non-sequential, multi-linear, and interactive forms of narratives as they have evolved from print to digital media. Works covered in this course range from the Talmud, classics of non-linear novels, experimental literature, early sound and film experiments to recent multi-linear and interactive films and games. The study of the structural properties of narratives that experiment with digression, multiple points of view, disruptions of time, space, and of storyline is complemented by theoretical texts about authorship/readership, plot/story, properties of digital media and hypertext. Questions that will be addressed in this course include: How can we define ‘non-sequentiality/multi-linearity’, ‘interactivity’, ‘narrative’. To what extend are these aspects determined by the text, the reader, the digital format? What are the roles of the reader and the author? What kinds of narratives are especially suited for a non-linear/interactive format? Are there stories that can only be told in a digital format? What can we learn from early non-digital examples of non-linear and interactive story telling?
How to study this deck
Arts decks teach by example. Don't just look at the works on each slide — describe them out loud in formal terms (composition, palette, line, rhythm) before reading the lecturer's analysis. Your description sharpens your eye.
Undergraduate viewers should treat this as a scaffolding for deeper reading — the slides outline the territory, but the textbook chapters and primary sources remain the actual content.
Five questions to test your understanding
- What is the single most important claim on the first three slides, and what evidence is offered for it?
- Which slide could you remove without losing the argument? Which slide is load-bearing?
- Where does the deck switch from definitions to applications? Mark that transition.
- What would a student who already disagreed with the conclusion need to see to be convinced?
- Which two slides, if combined, would give the clearest one-slide summary of the whole deck?
Where this deck fits in the wider catalogue
Slide Collection classifies this presentation under Arts, Music & Design, alongside other openly-licensed material in the same subject. If you are preparing a unit at the Undergraduate / College level, the dedicated combined Arts, Music & Design · Undergraduate / College page is the fastest way to find adjacent decks with the same audience in mind.
Citation & reuse
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