2013 Erasmus IP

This Erasmus Intensive Program dedicated to digital literature is unique in Europe. You might think that it was limited to a specialized avant-garde field and would only interest a fewenthusiasts. Far from it! Digital Literature, for sixty years now, has used and misused the computer, explored its possibilities, and questionned its everyday use. It has developed innovative approaches, and anticipated uses of the computer that are common today, highlighting both the limits and the rich potential of the digital. Creative, of course it continues to propose newpossibilities, as a way of subverting the normative practices that the industry is trying to impose. Digital literature exploits the traditional computer as well as mobiles, tablets, social networks, geolocalisation and all the environments that the digital creates. It is is forward-facing. That's why engaging with this inititiative at the intersection of technology and creativity will be of interest tomany disciplines. It will be an asset of particular benefit to tomorrow’s creative professionals, whether they are working in the humanities, in artistic or literary fields, or in computer science. This is why we wanted to make this course available to as many disciplines as possible, in an attempt to gather a group of students with complementary skills. This Erasmus Intensive Program is open to Masters and Doctoral students in, among others, literature, foreign languages, communication, computer sciences, hypermedia, media studies, cultural studies, fine arts, performance arts, creative writing, Literaturwissenschaft und Medienkultur, coming from the partners Universities: the Université Paris 8, the Universidad Complutense, the University of Ljubljana , the Universidade Fernando Pessoa, the Universitat de Barcelona and University College Falmouth.

Different nationalities, different backgrounds and training, multiple levels, the conditions are right for this contact to be rewarding for everyone in a truly European context. For Europe is formedby all of us, in our diversity, walking together toward a common goal. It is this diversity that the erasmus intensive programs are designed to support over a short period. This will be a particularly valuable experience for all participants, students and teachers.

The program will be held in Madrid, at the Complutense University, from June 17th to July 5th, 2013. Students will be accommodated in rooms. Air flights (from your university to Madrid), accommodation and lunch will be covered by the program. No additional fee is required so that participation in this program does not involve special costs.

The program is open to thirty selected students with a ratio for each university. Students coming from Arts, Computing Sciences, Media Studies and LIteratures at Master level will be welcome. Lessons are conducted in English by teachers of different nationalities. Not everyone will be fluent in the language of Shakespeare's but the group is here to help each student to assimilate the concepts. Courses will not consist of lectures, but of sessions based on presentations of works and exchanges. A digital platform and course materials will be provided.

The program is split into two periods. The first period will focus on the discovery of this literature, with its roots in the aesthetics of combination, visual and sound poetry and literary theories of the twentieth century. Then, the principal aspects of digital literature will be presented: hypertext, animation, performance, the role of the program, the technical apparatus, the changing modalities of reading and writing, the creation of new rhetorical forms, the relationship between digital literature and other artforms. These presentations will alternate between thematic sessionsaddressing these topics and presentations of works, country by country, in order to show the different cultural approaches to this literature.

During the second period, students working in groups of 2 or 3 in workshops will conceive of and produce creative works using digital tools and programs. This practical work will be an opportunityto take advantage of complementary skills. These workshops will be supervised by several teachers, and a wide variety of tools will be made available, some requiring no computing skills. These are the programs and tools we are going to use: for animations, Flash, Processing, Dreamweaver, Director, Pure Data; for dessign, Inkskape, Gimp. Videopad; as video editors Mediacoder, Mediainfo, Cool Edit Pro 2.1.

The assessment will be carried out in two stages during the program: in the first part, through critical reflection and analysis and in the second, through an oral presentation of creative work.This program carries ECTS credits delivered in each University..

Social evenings and cultural visits will complete the course in order to make these three weeks a time of new friendships and connections.

Applications will be sent by email to the representatives a every institution: a short resume, a cover letter in support of your application, a feed back sheet and this form (link removed) to fill.

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