the line of time

-1986 Langdon Winner. American political theorist and professor of science and technology. His paper "Mythinformation" adressed "major focuses upon social and political issues that surround modern technological change."

-1987 Lucy Suchman. American professor of sociology and former manager of Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. Her book Plans and Situated Actions critiqued early artificial intelligence programs and ultimately led to changes "within the language of AI."

-1988 Michael Joyce (1945-present). American English professor and writer (and critic) of hypertext fiction and electronic literature. In "Siren Shapes" Joyce advocates the use of hypertext for educational uses, and draws a distinction between "constructive" and "exploratory" hypertexts.

-1988 Bill Nichols. American historian and theoretician of documentary film. In his essay, "The Work of Culture in the Age of Cybernetic Systems," Nichols discussed new media simulations and the indications of modern society's tendency to "work against the system" when engaged in these simulations.

-1990 Lynn Hershman. American artist and filmmaker. She created the first interactive video art installation. In "Fantasy Beyond Control," Hershman discusses her next unprecedented step in interactive video art--the narrative CD-ROM.

Reactions:

I think it's amazing that digital media, so new that we still don't quite know what to do with them, began changing the way society thinks and functions so soon after their creation. Not only did these new media change society, but on such a large scale that people noticed and began writing papers about it.

I'm not really sure what Michael Joyce was talking about. Whenever I think of hypertext novels I just think of choose your own adventure books...I can't get past that.

I loved Bill Nichols' ideas, and the example before the text about people putting the simulated baby in the microwave. We all do that! I remember when I got the Sims with the expansion pack that came with a coin-operated "massaging" heart-shaped bed (you know, cheesy motel style), first you try to see if you can make the man and the woman have sex. Of course they do, so then you make them fight and see if they'll still do it when they're mad at each other. Then, you introduce a new female neighbor and see if the wife will have sex with her. Ultimately they become lesbians and kick the husband out. Before I got the bed, I spent hours trying to see if the husband would kill himself if I made him depressed enough.

Aw, I remember CD-ROMS. They don't even call them that anymore do they? We just use the term "disk" and assign new formats to it every year but we never change the name. In any case, I'd like to see some of Lynn Hershman's CD-ROMs.