Exploring 'Being Human' through a Computer Generated Novel Workshop
Event Information
About this event
This collaborative workshop invites you to explore what it means to be human by contributing to the creation and critical discussion of a mashup-style computer generated novel.
Computer generated literature connects back to experimental literary practices in Dada and Oulipo, as well as to early AI language research. This has shaped the current landscape of creative text generation, or, computer generated text which does not serve a practical purpose. It is text which has been made for expression, enjoyment, playful experimentation, to convey points, and to represent concepts.
This workshop will focus on the generated novel as an emerging form of creative text generation which has the potential to complicate the role of the author and machine. Participants will get a taste of this complication by selecting and preparing found texts which they feel resonate with the theme ‘being human’. Everyone’s selected text will be combined and computationally processed together to produce, tweak, and curate a 50,000 word generated novel which will be used to stimulate discussion during the workshop. The generated novels will be submitted to the annual National Novel Generation Month (NaNoGenMo) challenge, with all the participants listed as collaborating authors.
No prior programming knowledge required.
Link to workshop lecture video and link to workshop preparation instructions.
About the Hosts
Lesia Tkacz is a PhD candidate at the University of Southampton, researching auto-generated novels.
Dr Noriko Suzuki-Bosco is an artist and researcher based at Winchester School of Art. She is responsible for the Library of Re-Claimed Books project.
This event is organised by 'Being Human as Praxis' researchers at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, and is taking place as part of the Human Worlds Festival, 12th - 22th November 2020.
Please contact the event organisers directly if you have any questions regarding the event you are booking.
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Organiser Being Human as Praxis
Organiser of Exploring 'Being Human' through a Computer Generated Novel Workshop
This event is organised and funded by the MA in Global Media Management, which explores critical understandings of the technological, social, cultural and political implications of changes associated with the global development of the Internet, social networks and mobile media. There is strong focus on media practice and applying academic debates and industry perspectives to the investigation of media organisations, consumers and audiences, and digital innovation. Case studies and research explored with students examine strategies and management techniques employed by commercial, non government (NGO) and community based (CBO) organisations, how creative ideas are developed, and how audiences and users respond to them, or generate their own media material.
It is also funded by the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities (SIAH), which will launch on 21st November 2020. SIAH supports, promotes and develops arts and humanities led-research in order to expand the scale of what we can achieve. SIAH will enable scholars to use the critical, creative and theoretical approaches of the Arts and Humanities to lead on large and ambitious projects.
