Who's Who in Hypertheory
This is a listing of some of the major players in
hypertheory. Many of the
hyperfiction authors have also written hypertheory; they are
discussed in the Who's Who in Hyperfiction site.
It is curious to note that, with a few exceptions, most hypertheorists
present their texts in print, not as hypertexts. And for those who do
create hypertexts of their books (like George Landow and Jay David
Bolter), the full hypertexts are not available on the Web. There are a
number of reasons for this; see the Hyperfiction and the Web: an unlikely pair?
site for further discussion. Stuart Moulthrop also explores the
relationship between print hypertheory and hypertext in his Shadow
of an Informand. Douglas Brent's comments on the limitations
of hypertext in creating arguments may also be relevant. See the hypertheory sites list for further
information on these selections.
- Mark Amerika
- Amerika is the creator/publisher of ALT-X an e-zine about
hypertext/hyperfiction. He is also the author of the theory Web site, Hypertextual Consciousness.
(See the hypertheory sites list for more
information.) ALT-X has a wide variety of information, some of which I
found interesting and some of which is just weird. But it is nice that
Amerika is interested enough in hyperfiction/hypertext to devote an entire
site to it. The introduction to his site calls him an
"Avant-Pop novelist and general cyber-guru," whatever that means.
- Mark Bernstein
- Bernstein founded Eastgate. He
is the author of some non-fiction hypertexts and hypertheory articles.
In one article, called Chasing
our Tales, Bernstein offers some interesting comments on
hypertheory/hyperfiction criticism. According to the Eastgate site, he was the primary
creator of Storyspace for Windows.
- Jay David Bolter
- At the center of much of what has been written about hypertext is Jay David Bolter's text, Writing Space: The Computer, Hypertext, and the History of Writing. Available as both a printed book and a hypertext, Writing Space is touted
in the Eastgate Publishing catalog as "a study of the computer as a new technology for reading and writing, and its implications for literacy in contemporary culture." Bolter is one of the co-creators of Storyspace.
- Vannevar Bush
- Vannevar
Bush wrote an article in 1945 titled "As We May Think." In it, he detailed his ideas for a mechanical device, the "meme
x," to organize information. Molly Travis says, "Underpinning Bush's project was the assumption that memory is organized in a semantic network with concepts linked by associations: thus, the 'memex' was designed to structure da
ta in a manner similar to human cognition." Although there seems to be little or no empirical research to support Bush's ideas on association, they been passed down and reified into the hypertext you are reading today.
- George Landow
- George Landow, a professor at Brown University, is most well known for his book Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Technology where he argues, among other things, that hypertext was foreseen by deconstructionist literary theorists. A new version, Hypertext 2.0, was recently published in printed book format. For a sneak-peek at Landow’s views, you can read this interview.
(See the hypertheory sites list for more
information on Landow’s theory site.)
- Janet Murray
- Murray is the author of the 1997 print book Hamlet on the Holodeck:
The
Future of Narrative and Cyberspace. She teaches interactive fiction
writing at MIT, as a part of their Film and Media Studies program. She
is also a researcher for the Center for Educational Computing Initiatives
at MIT. examines a lot of issues critical to
hyperfiction. An excerpt is available via her home page. A fairly recent PBS
interview with her is also on-line.
- Theodore Nelson
- Theodore
Nelson worked with
Douglas
Englebart in the 1960's to develop, as Molly
Travis says, a "computer systems to link texts. Nelson coined the term hypertext in 1965 and fully explained the concept in his 1980 Literary Machines, describing this new textuality as 'non-sequential writing with reader-controlled links.'"
- Michael Shumate
- Shumate is known for his Hyperizons site.
(See the hypertheory sites list for more
information.) He is (or was) a graduate student at Duke. As part of his
master’s thesis, he started looking into hyperfiction, especially
hyperfiction on the Web. His site is mostly a catalog of the hyperfiction
available on the Web, as well as some areas on theory and criticism.
Shumate has also written some theory, such as an article
for Computer Mediated Communications Magazine on the state of
hyperfiction on the Web.
(see the hypertheory sites list for more
information.)
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