9/5: Writing exercises: Punctum/Studium

Opening writing exercise: write for approx. fifteen minutes on a work that we have looked at that has interested you or caught your attention. Then, provide a paragraph or so that outlines what at this point you would want to work on if you were going to create a new media artwork/story/documentary…. Features? “New media” elements? Medium? Concepts or imaginative themes?

New Media and Literature: exercise

First, in your own words, come up with definitions for both Studium and Punctum. What is the difference between the two? You may use the Barthes to help you work this out, but these definitions and comparisons should be in your own words!

Second, as a group, come up with one example of a recent image that exemplifies the difference between the experience of studium and punctum

Finally,

Focus on one of the non-fiction pieces we have looked at that offers up the experience of punctum in some way.

Be very patient and specific here: what precisely about the piece makes it an example of punctum? How does the piece manage to evoke punctum – is it a function of the medium or the message? Or both?