CADÁVER ESQUISITO, LEITOR CIBORGUE E INSCRIÇÃO MAGNÉTICA: TRÊS VISÕES DO TEXTO ELETRÓNICO

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to critically assess the research on the materiality of electronic text. By following a tripartite perspective, I will focus on three essential moments in the study of electronic literature. Considering that these stages represent renewed attempts to integrate electronic literature in the field of literary studies, I will begin by introducing a work from the classical period, when hypertext and print were described as two opposing literary forms. Patchwork Girl (1995) is a hyperfiction written in Storyspace, the first hypertext software specifically adopted for creating literary works. In the second section of this essay I will refer to the end of the analysis of print and hypertext as two antagonistic media and focus on a media-specific analysis. Finally, I will highlight the importance of two recent books written by N. Katherine Hayles and Matthew Kirschenbaum, which represent major breakthroughs in the study of electronic literature.