For Birkerts, the postmodern world offers us a Faustian bargain in which we sell our souls in exchange for a "digital future".
"The argument of our time", "the argument between technology and the soul" is more than a squabble. It is nothing less than a "war". However, Birkert admits that it is largely a personal war because "technological ingenuity will set the agenda" and "Americans will follow". As literary culture declines in prestige, as "history takes a swerve", as the "circuit-driven renovation takes place", Birkerts plans to desist.
The Gutenberg Elegies ends with two words that, implicitly and explicitly, invite its readers to imitate Birkerts, to face the "digital future", and to "refuse it".
Download ebooks on www.frenchtheory.com
See that post with different algorithms in metabole
See the journal French Metablog with today different posts
Enter Hypertextual as a member
