Computing as Writing

Synopsis

This book examines the common metaphor that equates computing and writing, tracing it from the naming of devices ("notebook" computers) through the design of user interfaces (the "desktop") to how we describe the work of programmers ("writing" code). Computing as Writing ponders both the implications and contradictions of the metaphor.During the past decade, analysis of digital media honed its focus on particular hardware and software platforms. Daniel Punday argues that scholars should, instead, embrace both the power and the fuzziness of the writing metaphor as it relates to computing--which isn't simply a set of techniques or a collection of technologies but also an idea that resonates throughout contemporary culture. He addresses a wide array of subjects, including film representations of computing (Desk Set, The Social Network), Neal Stephenson's famous open source manifesto, J. K. Rowling's legal battle with a fan site, the sorting of digital libraries, subscription services like Netflix, and the Apple versus Google debate over openness in computing.Punday shows how contemporary authors are caught between traditional notions of writerly authority and computing's emphasis on doing things with writing. What does it mean to be a writer today? Is writing code for an app equivalent to writing a novel? Should we change how we teach writing? Punday's answers to these questions and others are original and refreshing, and push the study of digital media in productive new directions.

Copyright:

2015

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781452944999

Publisher:

University of Minnesota Press

Date of Addition:

05/23/16

Copyrighted By:

University of Minnesota Press

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Computers and Internet, Literature and Fiction, Social Studies, Language Arts

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.