creative research

In this speculative text some cyberliterature works are presented in a pedagogical perspective located in an uncertain future (this: 2029). Parodic fiction, it results, on the one hand, from experiences in teaching electronic literature seminars, courses and workshops and, on the other, from creative practice involving digital poems. It starts with the hypothesis that in the scope of electronic writing there is no essential difference between pedagogical and creative practice, rather explorations or creative investigations: writing and reading activities that use the means of communication available in their time to understand their limits and potentialities in the light of a reflective didactic perspective. Therefore, a future is envisaged in which the Portuguese National Reading Plan 2027 finally comes into play.

“Electronic Literature [Frame]works for the Creative Digital Humanities,” edited by Scott Rettberg and Alex Saum-Pascual, gathers a selection of articles exploring the evolving relationship between electronic literature and the digital humanities in Europe, North and South America. Looking at the combination of practices and methodologies that come about through e-lit’s production, study, and dissemination, these articles explore the disruptive potential of electronic literature to decenter and complement the DH field. Creativity is central and found at all levels and spheres of e-lit, but as the articles in this gathering show, there is a need to redeploy creative practice critically to address the increasing instrumentalization of the digital humanities and to turn the digital humanities towards the digital cultures of the present.

Conceived as an ongoing conversation, rolling out 2-3 articles each month until the end of the year, all contributions are tackling at least one of the four following areas: Building Research Infrastructures and Environments, Exploring Creative Research Practice, Proposing Critical Reading Methodologies, and Applying Digital Pedagogy.

(Source: editors)

How can one articulate literary and artistic creation and scientific research? In my case, creative research consists in creating experiences. Indeed I emphasize the notion of experience, or rather experiences: the experiences of the author, of the reader and of the researcher (in the field of digital literature). This approach is based on a variety of first person and third person experiences, subjective experiences and objective descriptions, spontaneous and instrument-based experiences (ie closer to experiments). Conceiving a literary and artistic experience as a scientific experience implies admitting that real life experience can have a scientific dimension. In this approach, I analyse my own productions as well as the productions of other authors. I can think my productions and those of others from a concept-based perspective or from a creative activity perspective, as a literary and artistic experience or as material for a scientific experiment.The challenge is to develop protocols of introspection, data collection and traces which will then reconstruct what happened. Creative research, if it is based on solid protocols, has a lot to teach us about digital writing and digital poetry. As a case study, I will include the research and creation process implemented in the framework of a collaboration with the ALIS company.

(Source: Author's abstract at ELO 2013 conference site: http://conference.eliterature.org/critical-writing/research-and-creatio… )