The CAFe Book Series Presents: Matthew G Kirschenbaum’s Bitstreams: The Future of Digital Literary Heritage
Community Events Research Talks/Events
Date/Time: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Virtual
Speaker: Matthew Kirschenbaum, Professor of English and Digital Studies at the University of Maryland
Speaker Bio:
Matthew Kirschenbaum, Professor of English, Director of the Digital Studies Certificate, and former Associate Director of Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH). During his time at MITH, Matt played an instrumental role in helping acquire and process the Deena Larsen Collection, Bill Bly Collection, and Vintage Computer Collection, all of which have been used by students in ARHU, and which have enormous potential research and educational value for iSchool faculty and students.
Speaker’s Talk/Topic Abstract:
In his newest book, Bitstreams: The Future of Digital Literary Heritage, Matthew G. Kirschenbaum asks how scholars can engage literary texts in a world that is increasingly producing digital literature. Kirschenbaum asks what materiality exists in digital texts and how scholars can make meaningful and informed conclusions through understanding those qualities. He explores this aspect of digital texts, drawing on and informing scholarship in textual criticism, book history, bibliography, and literary archives. Bitstreams offers a novel way for literary scholars to find the material text within the digital.