Videos by Bartosz Lutostanski
In a follow-up project to my presentation delivered at the ISSN 2021, I tackle the notion of the ... more In a follow-up project to my presentation delivered at the ISSN 2021, I tackle the notion of the post-digital in the context of a new genre of digital fiction: app fiction. Drawing from the latest research by S Jordan (2019), J Hodgson (2019), D M Berry (2015), and others, this paper will look into a group of phenomena existing at the boundary of the digital and the non-digital. To hypothesise, app novels represent a fascinating, liminal case of contemporary fiction. Its liminality pertains but is not limited to an employment of both print and digital delivery formats; references to a host of traditional (or even old-fashioned) literary genres, styles and forms; and the use of multimodal and multimedial resources in the process of storyworld building and characterisation. As a result, it can be argued that the app fiction representatives are not only essentially post-digital but also pose a serious challenge to the common digital literature paradigms of examination and reception. 12 views
The last decade has seen a number of exciting innovations in digital fiction. One of the most sig... more The last decade has seen a number of exciting innovations in digital fiction. One of the most significant trends is the use of applications for mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) as a dominant (or exclusive) delivery technology for a text. In the following paper I lay out the groundwork for the poetics of what I and my colleague, Magdalena Rembowska-Płuciennik, have christened "app fiction” in our latest collaborative research. 39 views
Papers by Bartosz Lutostanski
New Approaches to Transcodification. Literature, Arts, and Media, 2025
This paper attempts to define and describe ar elatively new subgenre of digital literature-appf i... more This paper attempts to define and describe ar elatively new subgenre of digital literature-appf iction. Id ifferentiateb etween four keycomponents of its poetics: triple reception model, three typesofimmersion, interface, and database. These components, which inform a specific set of media literacy competences necessary for receiving app fiction and conceptualize phenomenological, technological, and haptic dimensions of it, are used in a succinct discussion of three examples: The Pickle Index by Eli Horowitz, Arcadia by Iain Pears, and Belgravia by Julian Fellowes.
Make Memes Harder, czyli o kuratorstwie memów w mediach społecznościowych, 2025
This article describes the phenomenon of curating one genre of media content, the meme, on one of... more This article describes the phenomenon of curating one genre of media content, the meme, on one of the most popular social media platforms. Using quantitative and qualitative research on the Polish profile, Make Life Harder (1.5 million followers on Instagram), the author discusses four features of referential material selection in the first quarter of 2023. Monosemioticity, collaboration limitations, attribution of authorship
and discursivity signal major shifts in the current understanding, definition and use of memes in networking media.
Digital fiction can already boast a relatively long history. From the first text generators to hy... more Digital fiction can already boast a relatively long history. From the first text generators to hypertexts to multimodal and multimedia works, this genre of literature has always thrived on the latest technological innovations. The turn of 2015 and 2016 saw the release of three novels in the form of mobile device applications that might be recognized with the benefit of hindsight as paving the way for a new distinct genre of digital fiction. In the following article, I discuss The Pickle Index by Eli Horowitz, Arcadia by Iain Pears, and Belgravia by Julian Fellowes as examples of 'app fiction' and explore their generically formative features in the context of so-called 'postdigital culture.' These features will subsequently be used to argue that app fiction displays a postdigital dimension that corresponds to more general cultural phenomena within the digital domain in the second decade of the 21 st century.
An Introduction to the Narratological Analysis of Radio Plays
Tekstualia, Apr 1, 2013
Narratology is nowadays an extensive discipline of literary studies relating to particular media ... more Narratology is nowadays an extensive discipline of literary studies relating to particular media (literature, fi lm or theatre) and particular disciplines (philosophy, sociology or psychology). However, this narratological plurality still fails to include numerous artistic phenomena, for example a radio play; its narratological analysis is presented in the following paper. In order to tackle the variety and complexity of a radio play, I use various methodologies drawn from the narratology of literature and fi lm and the theory of theatre. Dan Rebellato’s Cavalry serves as the prime example insofar as it demonstrates that a radio play’s general narrative features (for example, level construction and focalisation) as well as radio-specifi c features (microphone and space construction) can be successfully examined from the narratological standpoint without ignoring the specifi city and individuality of a radio play as a legitimate work of art.
Intermediality and Digital Fiction
Springer eBooks, 2023
From hypertext to app fiction, intermediality has been a key concept in the 40-year-or-so evoluti... more From hypertext to app fiction, intermediality has been a key concept in the 40-year-or-so evolution of digital fiction. A good case in point is hypertext fiction which straddles two distinct media: print-based literature and digital environment. The goal of the following chapter is to summarize and synthesize information derived from primary and secondary sources with a view to exploring digital fiction as inherently intermedial, that is, generated at the nexus of multiple media. I discuss hypertext, hypermedia, cybertext, interactive fiction, network fiction, and small-screen fiction, and indicate what role and function intermediality has played in their construction and consumption. To achieve that goal, I first employ theories and typologies of major literature and media scholars to map out my own conceptual territory and subsequently reference established and renowned theoreticians and practitioners of digital fiction.
The Palgrave Handbook of Intermediality, 2023
From hypertext to app fiction, intermediality has been a key concept in the 40-year-or-so evoluti... more From hypertext to app fiction, intermediality has been a key concept in the 40-year-or-so evolution of digital fiction. A good case in point is hypertext fiction which straddles two distinct media: print-based literature and digital environment. The goal of the following chapter is to summarize and synthesize information derived from primary and secondary sources with a view to exploring digital fiction as inherently intermedial, that is, generated at the nexus of multiple media. I discuss hypertext, hypermedia, cybertext, interactive fiction, network fiction, and small-screen fiction, and indicate what role and function intermediality has played in their construction and consumption. To achieve that goal, I first employ theories and typologies of major literature and media scholars to map out my own conceptual territory and subsequently reference established and renowned theoreticians and practitioners of digital fiction.
Prolegomena to Transmedial Genology
Tekstualia, Oct 15, 2019
The main objective of the following article is to map out the analytical fi eld of transmedia and... more The main objective of the following article is to map out the analytical fi eld of transmedia and genre studies. There are at least three reasons for doing so. Firstly, a number of contemporary works of culture transcend the traditional genre distinctions and make use of heterogeneous genres, media and modalities in their semiotic apparatus. Secondly, genres practiced heretofore have been questioned and violated – not only in literary studies but also in the humanities as a whole. Finally, transmediality requires the utilization of methodologies derived from diverse disciplines and fi elds.
Pamiętnik Literacki, 2019
BartOSz LutOStańSkI uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski, Olsztyn GOMBrOWICz NIeNaturaLNy Ocalić Gombro... more BartOSz LutOStańSkI uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski, Olsztyn GOMBrOWICz NIeNaturaLNy Ocalić Gombrowicza rzut oka na listę referatów prawie każdej krajowej konferencji poświęconej Witoldowi Gombrowiczowi skłania do wysnucia dwóch wniosków. Otóż taka lista ukazuje niezwykłą różnorodność metodologiczną i przedmiotową prac nad twórczością pisarza. różnorodność tę można wszakże odebrać jako przesyt-przy jednoczesnym poczuciu stagnacji lub inflacji inwencji krytycznej; nie będę pierwszym, który zauważy, że od kiedy Michał Paweł Markowski opublikował Czarny nurt w 2004 roku 1 , nie zaproponowano wykładni, która podobnie wstrząsnęłaby gombrowiczologią i miała tak wielu kontynuatorów 2. Przyczyny owej sytuacji nie sposób wskazać. Być może łączy się on z opinią takich badaczy, jak Piotr Łukowski, który twierdzi, iż Witolda Gombrowicza ocaliła sensacyjna publikacja Kronosa. Sugeruje tym samym to, co wcześniej implicite wyrażali również Dorota korwin-Piotrowska, Małgorzata Szpakowska, Marian Bielecki i Jerzy Jarzębski-że Gombrowicz cieszy się obecnie rangą klasyka i mistrza, czyli pisarza, którego dzieła wraz z ich interpretacjami są powszechnie znane, głęboko zakorzenione w kulturze polskiej i na ogół akceptowane, a przez to w pewien sposób transparentne i zdezaktualizowane 3. trudno wszakże zgodzić się z taką interpretacją. aktualny status Gombrowicza jako klasyka nie powinien w żadnym stopniu przyćmić faktu, że jest on przede wszystkim artystą-autorem nowatorskim, nieszablonowym, paradoksalnym. Wydaje się jednak, że owa artystyczność jest dziś często pomijana i marginalizowana z powodu położenia nadmiernej emfazy na różnorakie badania tematyczne. Dowodem na to jest np. tekst zaproszenia na konferencję Gombrowicz z przodu i z tyłu, która była w ostatnich latach jednym z najważniejszych wydarzeń poświęconych twórczości autora Ferdydurke, a której nazwa stanowi parafrazę tytułu 1
Literature and Media, 2021
Online Encyclopaedia of Literary Neo-avant-gardes , 2021
Marian Witold Gombrowicz was born in Małoszyce in central Poland (formerly part of the Russian Em... more Marian Witold Gombrowicz was born in Małoszyce in central Poland (formerly part of the Russian Empire prior to World War I) in 1904 and died in Vence, France in 1969. He wrote five novels, three theatrical plays, one short story collection, three volumes of diaries and miscellaneous critical and autobiographical works. He is considered one of the most important writers in the history of Polish literature.
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This article presents a new narratological research group operating at the University of Gdansk, ... more This article presents a new narratological research group operating at the University of Gdansk, Poland: Gdansk Narratological Group. The aim of the article is twofold: to describe in three separate sections the main areas of research into rhetorical, feminist and unnatural narratology by outlining ongoing studies and individual projects, and to delineate the group’s goals and objectives for the near future.
Teksty Drugie, 2020
Artykuł omawia nową formę literatury obecnej w sieci: wykorzystanie aplikacji na urządzenia mobil... more Artykuł omawia nową formę literatury obecnej w sieci: wykorzystanie aplikacji na urządzenia mobilne (np. smartfon lub tablet) jako nośnika dla powieści na przykładzie pionierskiego przedsięwzięcia artystycznego, jakim jest wielomedialna seria The Pickle Index. Z perspektywy komparatystyki multimedialnej analizowane są sposoby konstruowania narracji w różnych częściach tego projektu artystycznego, obejmującego książki drukowane, aplikację mobilną oraz wersję na czytnik. Artykuł wskazuje, że celowe zderzenie ze sobą różnych potrzeb, praktyk czytania i przyzwyczajeń komunikacyjnych odbiorcy w dobie wielomedialnego czytelnictwa staje się najważniejszym tematem The Pickle Index.
The following article construes the novel as a genre and explores how the innovations of utilizin... more The following article construes the novel as a genre and explores how the innovations of utilizing multiple semiotic resources and media platforms are transforming it these days. With Marisha Pessl’s Night Film (2013) as the primary example I look into the properties of the multimodal and multimedia novel with a view to presenting various ways of transgressing the parameters of the traditional (monomodal and mono-medial) novel. Drawing from L. Ellestrom’s theory of “modalities of media” I seek to go to the depth of the semiotic and semantic mechanisms of Night Film and argue how the integration of the verbal and the visual renders a new reading experience. Also, on the basis of J.P. Bolter and R. Grusin’s idea of hypermedia I claim that the multiplication of sign systems and media aims at enhancing the ontological illusion.
Anglica Wratislaviensia, 2019
This paper examines the fragmentation strategies in B. S. Johnson’s The Unfortunates from the per... more This paper examines the fragmentation strategies in B. S. Johnson’s The Unfortunates from the perspective of the theory of the novel, realism and literary sociology. This framework facilitates an investigation into the novel’s construction: ranging from the global level of text organisation, typographical construction and formal composition, down to the local level of semantic structure and syntax. Analytic conclusions suggest that fragmentation is ubiquitous, which leads to the violation of most of the novel’s components, its traditional and conventional elements, with an overriding impact on the narrative. As a result, The Unfortunates maintains its narrative coherence on the basis of different textual cues and generates its semantic potentialities in an alternative way. This to say, the novel’s “methodology” rests on the narrative agent, the act of narrating and meta-narration. These features contribute to what commonly passes as experimentalism of The Unfortunates.
Nienaturalna narratologia
Tekstualia, 2014
Unnatural narratology is one of the most important branches of the contemporary (postclassical) n... more Unnatural narratology is one of the most important branches of the contemporary (postclassical) narratology. Its aim is to redefi ne narrative and its properties. Despite its growing popularity over the last ten years, unnatural narratology is still highly contentious around the world and relatively unknown in Poland. In my paper I discuss what unnatural narratology is and its basic analysis elements (unnatural storyworlds, unnatural minds and unnatural acts of narration). Finally I refer to scholars offering critical comments against unnatural narratology.
Tekstualia, 2018
This paper discusses two contemporary novels from a narratological perspective. The Unfortunates ... more This paper discusses two contemporary novels from a narratological perspective. The Unfortunates by B.S. Johnson and S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst demonstrate inapplicability of narrative most commonly theorised as a representation of events. Instead, due to their unconventional usage of typography, multimodality and/or transmediality, they provoke daring attempts at reconceptualisations of this fundamental concept of modern narrative theory and novel studies. In addition, the two novels exemplify an increasingly common trend in contemporary fiction of undermining the traditional understanding of the novel as a monomodal (exclusively verbal) work and selfcontained, printed entity
A Narratology of Radio Drama: Voice, Perspective, Space
Audionarratology, 2016
Refuting a Sentence, or: How John Berger Refutes Himself
On John Berger, 2016
The following paper examines the relation between representation (as 'speaking for&#3... more The following paper examines the relation between representation (as 'speaking for') and re-presentation (in the sense of 'presenting in an artistic medium') in the story "Boris Is Buying Horses' from John Berger's trilogy Into Their Labours. Conclusions of the narrative structure analysis of the story (focalisation and diegetic levels) deviate from Berger's intentions as presented in his critical works. Despite Berger's agenda of subjectifying marginalised and disempowered groups of people, the process of narrative re-presentation turns them into objects. Berger becomes the representative of 'the "backward"', thus appropriating and dislocating their reality and experience and, in a way, sustaining the ruling ideology.
Theatrical Narrative-Samuel Beckett's Molloy
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Videos by Bartosz Lutostanski
Papers by Bartosz Lutostanski
and discursivity signal major shifts in the current understanding, definition and use of memes in networking media.
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