Learning Experience: GIAN course on Electronic Literature

The Global Initiative of Academic Networks in Higher Education is a program initiated by the Government of India and it is aimed at 'tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs, internationally to encourage their engagement with the institutes of Higher Education in India so as to augment the country's existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of quality reform, and elevate India's scientific and technological capacity to global excellence.' [click on the image below to visit the official website]


It is an effective medium of learning for students, research scholars and academicians alike. It is particularly helpful to research scholars in understanding their specific area of research in a better light as well as in staying updated with the nuances of the same. It is also a useful medium to know and communicate with scholars and experts sharing similar areas of interest as one's own; which in turn helps in exploring various ideas and perspectives related to one's subject of study.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to attend a short term online course organized by Aligarh Muslim University through this platform. The course sessions were conducted through the Zoom Meetings platform from 4th May 2022 to 10th May 2022 wherein five sessions (one hour each) were conducted each day. The course was titled "Digital Literatures and Literatures in the Digital"



At the end of each session, to check our understanding, assessment links were provided. Appearing in this assessment was mandatory for all participants; and while I'm writing this blog, I await the certificate from GIAN, which will reflect my scores for the same. Nevertheless, this was, in my opinion, a very effective mode of checking each participant's performance during the interactive lectures. 

Having chosen Electronic Literature as my topic for research, this course helped in getting an insight into topics ranging from the nature of the genre and its implications to the changes in definitions of authorship, readership and literature at large. Not only did we learn how to pursue research in this subject, but were also instructed about the teaching methods to employ for the same. 

Notable in particular were the lectures of the prominent E-lit scholar, Dr. Astrid Ensslin. Through her interactive and insightful lectures, as well as participative discussions, she helped the participants not just in understanding the conceptual background to E-lit but also introduced them to various aspects of its practicality. She also shared innovative web platforms for them to explore. Her method of teaching E-lit was also something to take note of.

Following is a glimpse of all the topics pertaining to my subject of study, discussed in this course.

The topics for discussion on the first day were:

1) Introduction to Digital Literature and Literatures in the Digital: E-Lit as DH by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

2) From Text to Hypertext: Analogue Tools in The Digital Medium by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

3) Digitizing the Disabled Self: Literature, Culture and Art by Dr. Astrid Ensslin






The topics for discussion on the second day were:

1) Generative Poetry and Literary Bots by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

2) Interactive Fictions and the Role of the Reader-Player by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

3) Literary Gaming by Dr. Astrid Ensslin



The topics for discussion on the third day were:

1) Videogames and Narrative Procedurality by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

2) Immersion in Digital Fiction by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

3) Networked Digital Writing by Dr. Astrid Ensslin






The topics for discussion on the fourth day were:

1) Lecture on Twine Fiction by Prof. Arjun Ghosh

2) Digital Games in the Post Colonial Literature Classroom: Pedagogical Concerns by Dr. Siddharth Chakraborti

3) Framing Electronic Literature through an African Lens: Ghanaian Perspectives by Dr. Kwabena Opoku Agyemang







The topics for discussion on the fifth day were:

 1) Electronic Literature and Social Media by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

2) Lecture on Contemporary Indian Digital Humanities by Dr. Dibyaduti Roy

3) Individual and Society goes Digital: Fashioning the Self in the Age of Social Media by Dr. Siddharth Chakraborti




The topics for discussion on the sixth day were:

1) News, Blogs and E-literatures in the Age of Post-Truth by Dr. Siddharth Chakraborti

2) Fan Fiction by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

3) Text vs Image: Memes to Digital Comics by Dr. Astrid Ensslin

4) Wattpad-Amazon-BookTube: New Literary Practices by Dr. Astrid Ensslin












Apart from Dr Ensslin, Dr Chakraborti, Prof. Ghosh and Dr. Dibyaduti Roy's lectures also provided insights into the various facets and aspects of contemporary E-lit as well as suggestions for research in Digital Humanities and E-lit in India. 

As is evident from the topics mentioned above, this course covered a wide range of topics and concepts pertaining to E-lit and Digital Literature. It also helped in clarifying certain misconceptions about the nature of E-lit and the creative process involved in its production and circulation. 

However, there were two major drawbacks to the course:

1) The recorded sessions of this course aren't available on any online platform for anyone who wishes to access them after the completion of the course

2) The follow-up assessment quizzes often became a hassle because of the restraints of time in between the lectures

Nevertheless, the course proved beneficial in understanding E-lit and DH through the various lenses of language, critical literary theory, culture, narrative techniques, modality, etc.

I recommend everyone reading this blog, and specifically research scholars, to visit the GIAN portal and search for courses pertaining to their research area.

I would like to thank the GIAN coordinators and their team for organizing this course successfully. I'm also grateful to Dr. Dilip Barad sir for encouraging me to pursue this course as a part of my PhD coursework. 



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