An enormous part of digital culture today comes from user-generated content. We are now in Web 2.0 where audiences are not just passively consuming media that was created by companies or organizations. They now consume media that is constantly created by their friends, neighbors, or complete strangers. Anyone with access to the web can create and share content. Part of becoming literate in the digital age is the ability to consume, create, and connect. There is online content that is superficial and created without much thought, but there is also content that causes us to pause, to reevaluate, and to understand.
In the same way, great works of literature cause us to pause, to reevaluate, and to understand. Epiphanies, ideas, or insights that come from reading literature are traditionally expressed through academic essays. These essays may lead to greater scholarship if they are sent to a journal for peer review and publishing. But are these interesting interpretations of literature and profound examinations of humanity really benefitting the global community when they are housed in a journal under the lock and key of a subscription? How much consuming, creating, and connecting is really happening in this format? There is some, especially among professors, experts, and university students, but in order for the study of literature to stay relevant and warrant funding, it must be practiced in ways that are applicable to wider audiences. The knowledge must be shared with others and improved upon by others. Our digital age has provided wonderful means for this kind of sharing and feedback which leads to greater analyses, insights, and creation.
Literary discussions in an academic format are not the end-all-be-all method of gleaning valuable information from texts. Texts that have been examined and reexamined for decades can receive new life when they are reinterpreted using different genres and mediums. Memes, typography images, illustrations, poems, songs, remixes, big data analyses, and more are ways people find meaning in literature. Many of these mediums are easily accessible digitally and intellectually. Students have already created imaginative and stimulating interpretations of literature through these methods. See Ahab's Poetry: Reformatting the Text of Moby Dick and Prototype Moby Dick Blog and Moby Dick Digitized. These are just a few examples of how using digital mediums and genres to interpret a text can improve our understanding of literature.
Digital technologies can help the Humanities and the study of literature continue to be worthwhile and relevant in this day and age by promoting discussions on literary criticism among a wide audience. When more people understand how accessible and valuable the study of literature is, they will want to engage in it. More interest and engagement in the Humanities and in the literature department is worthy of more funding.
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