Deconstruction and the Archival Revolution: on the Relevance and Reception of Archive Fever in New Media Studies

The paper focuses on the reception of Derrida’s Archive Fever among (new) media theorists and its relevance for the ongoing discussions in that academic field. Although this Derrida’s text is often described as the one in which he provides a statement on the pervasive revolutionary impact of new media, its reception among media theorists remains scarce. Several media scholars that tackle the text, however, have an ambivalent stance on it: they appreciate some of Derrida’s theses, but regard them largely obsolete. The first part of the paper analyzes these critiques and argues that many of the objections on Derrida’s behalf are caused by the misinterpretation of important features of the deconstructive thought. In its second part, the paper firstly deals with certain weaker points of Derrida’s reflection and then proceeds to examine his insights pertinent to the problems of contemporary media theory that were neglected in earlier reception. Finally, paper reaffirms the claim about the need for a more profound exchange between the deconstruction and media studies, albeit one that would avoid the examined shortcomings.

Digitalization and the Writing Classroom: A Reflection on Clasroom Practices

This paper outlines the educational benefits of creating digital stories for a variety of academic purposes as well as the professional need for students to develop and showcase digital proficiency. Digital stories fall under the category of multimodal composition and new media studies, and they encourage students to expand their digital literacy skills while reconceptualizing ways in which traditional writing projects can appeal to a broader audience. The article also addresses some of the classroom challenges teachers may face when trying to implement the practice and some practical resources that might assist teachers to integrate digital stories into their classrooms.

Collaborative storytelling and canon fluidity in The Adventure Zone podcast

Podcast fiction storytelling is an underdeveloped area of new media studies. There is a wealth of texts available suitable for exploration. The example of The Adventure Zone in particular presents a strong argument that the medium possesses its own singular strengths for storytelling. The Adventure Zone is a fictional, audio-only, serialised podcast in which a narrative of both considerable length and depth is constructed through the playing of tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons. It is hosted by the McElroy brothers, Griffin, Justin, and Travis, along with their father, Clint. The Adventure Zone demonstrates the unique qualities and noteworthy potential the podcast medium possesses. The McElroy family collaborates utilising comedy improv practices, which are strengthened by the game’s mechanics and rules. The line between characters and players – along with the line between textual and metatextual, canonical and non-canonical, diegetic and non-diegetic data – is significantly blurred through instances such as self-reflexivity and popular culture references. The fourth wall is inapplicable to The Adventure Zone. It is necessary to re-imagine it instead as a permeable curtain separating the players from the characters. The listeners are provided with a clear view of not only the story of The Adventure Zone, but the construction of its creation. There are few mediums in which the audience can so effectively and candidly witness the storytelling process. Comparisons drawn from the original text – The Adventure Zone podcast – to its ongoing adaptations – The Adventure Zone graphic novels – illustrates this fact further. The collaborative, improvisational, metafictional qualities of the dynamic audio-only medium of podcasts are absent from static visual mediums.

CREATIVITY OF HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN MATTER INTERWOVEN: AUTONOMOUS SENSORY MERIDIAN RESPONSE VIDEOS IN A POSTHUMAN PERSPECTIVE

The problematization of the idea of creativity resulting in the revision of concepts about autonomous, creative, and human self has been a reality since the end of modernism, or maybe even longer. Postmodernism, as well as theories of posthumanism and new materialism, dealing with categories such as materiality, virtual reality, transgression, hybridization, etc., offer some reflections on the idea of non-human creativity, which is no longer an attribute immanently assigned to human, but a result of interaction between human and non-human elements, including the affective friction of bodies made of matter. Mostly inspired by the theories and methodologies of posthuman studies, studies in new materialism, and new media studies, the article aims to answer the question about the types of creativity appearing in a new YouTube phenomenon – autonomous sensory meridian response videos massively published in recent years. The article is an attempt to give a comprehensive account of the idea of posthuman creativity – with its sub-types like sensual creativity or techno-creativity – visible in extremely popular, however under-researched, autonomous sensory meridian response artworks. The paper puts forward the thesis about autonomous sensory meridian response being a model artistic phenomenon in which the entanglement of human and non-human matter results in a form of posthuman creativity. Numerous examples of autonomous sensory meridian response videos have been analysed, pointing to the specific modes of creative collaboration of human and non-human elements on the film set. In conclusion, it has been shown that autonomous sensory meridian response artworks become the product of posthuman creativity resulting from mutual, affective interaction of bodies.

Uses and Gratifications of and Exposure to Nature 2.0 and Associated Interdependence With Nature and Pro-Environmental Behavior

New media studies have begun to take environmental topics into consideration. However, there has been little research that explores the origins of human psychological needs that motivate people to get exposed to nature on the Internet and gain satisfaction via social media uses related to nature. This study intended to investigate the uses and gratifications of and exposure to “nature 2.0” (a nature that is humanly created on Web 2.0) and the associated interdependence with nature and pro-environmental behavior. The results found that the needs to affiliate with nature 2.0 can be satisfied through functional, relational, and emotional gratifications. Exposure to nature 2.0 was associated with commitment to nature and pro-environmental self-reported behavior. Functional gratification was correlated with pro-environmental behavior, while relational and emotional gratifications were related to interdependence with nature.