JESSICA PRESSMAN

 

UCLA Department of English
149 Humanities Building, Box 951530
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1530
jessicapressman@sbcglobal.net

 

 

EDUCATION

 

 

University of California, Los Angeles

 

 

 

Ph.D. in English, June 2007
Dissertation: “Digital Modernism: Making it New in New Media”
       N. Katherine Hayles (Chair)
       Alan Liu, Mark McGurl, Michael North (Committee)
Exam Fields: American Literature 1890-1940, American Literature 1940- Present, Electronic Literature

 

 

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts

 

 

 

B.A. English and American Literature, Women's Studies, May 1997
Summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Highest Departmental Honors

 

 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

 

 

 

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
     Assistant Professor, July 2008-

University of California, Los Angeles
     Lecturer, 2007-2008

Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
     Visiting Lecturer, Spring 2007

 

 

CURRENT BOOK PROJECT  

 

 

 

“Digital Modernism: Making it New in New Media”

A prominent strategy in some of the most innovative electronic literature online is the appropriation and adaptation — the “remediation”— of literary modernism. This book examines how and why modernist cultural principles and poetic practices serve digital experiments and what these adaptations can tell us about the role of literature and the literary in contemporary culture.

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

 

 

“The Strategy of Digital Modernism: Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries,” forthcoming

     in Modern Fiction Studies

 

“Modern Modernisms: Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries and Digital Modernism,” requested 

     submission for Pacific Rim Modernisms, eds. Steve Yao, Mary Ann Gillies, and Helen Sword
     (University of Toronto Press, 2008).


“Reading the Code Between the Words,” requested submission for a special issue of Dichtung-Digital,

      “New Perspectives on Digital Literature: Criticism and Analysis,” eds. Alice Bell and Astrid

       Ensslin (2007). Online at http://www.dichtung-digital.com

“House of Leaves: Reading the Networked Novel,” Studies in American Fiction. 34.1, Spring 2006.

 

“Nano Narrative: A Parable from Electronic Literature” in NanoCulture: Implications for the New Technoscience, ed. N. Katherine Hayles (Intellect
     Books, 2004).

 

Review of Digital Media Revisited. Gunnar Liestøl, Andrew Morrison, Terje Rasmussen, eds. Tekka

     Web Magazine. 1.3, Summer 2003.  Online at http://www.tekka.net/03/cover.html              

 

"The Very Essence of Poetry: Judd Morrissey and Lori Talley's My Name is Captain, Captain."

     The Iowa Review Web. 5.2, 2003. Online at http://www.uiowa.edu/~iareview/tirweb/feature/morrissey_talley/index.html

 

"Flying Blind: An Interview with Judd Morrissey and Lori Talley." The Iowa Review Web.

     5. 2, 2003. Online at http://www.uiowa.edu/~iareview/tirweb/feature/morrissey_talley/index.html

"Technotextuality: an Interview with N. Katherine Hayles and Anne Burdick," for MIT

     Mediaworks Pamphlets, Writing Machines Interview, 2003. Online at http://mitpress.mit.edu/e-books/mediawork

 

Review of Cybertext Yearbook 2000. Markuu Eskelinin and Raine Koskimma, eds. Cybercultures

     Resource Center, November 2001. Online at http://www.com.washington.edu/rccs/booklist.asp

 

Glossary definitions for TOFU Magazine   issue on Cyberculture, 2001.  Online at

     http://www.tofu-magazine.net

 

 

 

AWARDS

 

 

 

American Academy of Arts and Sciences Visiting Scholars Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cambridge,

     Massachusetts, 2007-2008 (Declined)

Distinguished Dissertation Award, UCLA Graduate Division’s Humanities Nominee for the

     National Competition, 2007

Chancellor’s Dissertation Fellowship, UCLA Graduate Division, 2006-2007

UCLA English Departmental Conference Travel Grants, 2007, 2005, 2005

UC Humanities Research Institute Scholarship, Summer 2006: to attend “TechnoSpheres: The

     Futures of Thinking,” Seminar in Experimental Critical Theory,

UCLA Graduate Division Scholarship for Research Travel, Summer 2006

Summer Teaching Fellow, UCLA, 2005, 2003

Beverly Berg Dissertation Fellowship, 2004-2005Departmental Nominee for UCLA Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award and Luckman

     Fellowship, 2004: English Department’s nominee for Campus-Wide Award

Outstanding Teaching Award, 2004-2005

     Honored for “outstanding teaching record, including exceptional student evaluation score and

     observation reports, innovative teaching tactics, and an extraordinary commitment to

     undergraduate education”

Teaching Commendation for Outstanding Student Evaluations, 2001

English Department Fellowship, 1998-1999              

Award for Undergraduate Theory Essay, Brandeis University, 1997

 

 

 

CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS

 

 

 

“Mapping out Spaces for E-Lit Criticism”  Electronic Literature Organization Conference, Vancouver, Washington, May 29- June 1, 2008

“Digital Modernism” Electronic Literature Organization Conference, Vancouver, Washington, May 29- June 1, 2008

 

“Remediating the Modern/Modernist Novel:  Judd Morrissey’s Digital Modernist Remix,”  Modern Language Association, Chicago, December 27- 

30, 2007.

 

“Multimedia Modernism” Seminar Leader, Modernist Studies Association, Long Beach, California,

     November 1-4, 2007

 

“The Readies and Digital Readings,” Modernist Studies Association, Long Beach, California,

     November 1-4, 2007

“The Revolution and Evolution of Flash-ing Literature: Bob Brown's Readies and Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries,” Society of Literature, Science, and the Arts, New York City, November 9-12, 2006

“New Criticism and New Media: Close Reading Digital Literature and Digital Modernism,” Modernist Studies Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 19-22, 2006

"Media-Specific Analysis: Analyzing the Specificities of Digital Texts," Presentation of Project for New Media Colloquium (Collaboration with David Shepard and Alison Walker), UCLA, May 24, 2006

“Incorporating Electronic Literature into English 4,” UCLA Graduate Pedagogy Seminar: Special Topic on Teaching with Technology
March 23, 2006

“The Revolution of the Word: Textual Montage in Ezra Pound's Cantos, Bob Brown's ‘ Readies ,' and Young-Hae Chang's Dakota ” (Invited Talk), UCLA English Department Americanist Research Colloquium, October 2005

“Communication Systems in Don DeLillo's White Noise ” (Invited Guest Lecture), English 95: Introduction to Fiction, Professor Robert Maniquis, May 2004

“Teaching Electronic Literature,” UCLA Graduate Pedagogy Seminar, November 2004

“Introduction to Electronic Literature,” Friends of English Salon, UCLA, December 2003

“Nano Narrative: A Parable from Electronic Literature,” Society for Science and Literature Conference, Austin, Texas, October 2003

Moderator, Southland Graduate Conference, UCLA, May 2003

"House-ing a Cybernetic Novel: House of Leaves as a Posthuman Fairytale,” Digital Utopia/Digital Dystopia Graduate Conference, UCLA, February 2002

"No Single Story, Only Readings : Victory Garden and the Role of Hypertext in Times of Crisis," (Invited Guest Lecture), Design| Media Arts undergraduate seminar, Professor Victoria Vesna, November 2001

"Don DeLillo's Underworld : History as Hypertextual Storytelling,” Southland Graduate Conference, UCLA, May 11, 2001

Interview for "Eye on the Internet" KRLD 1080 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, March, 2001

 

 

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS and PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

 

 

 

Digital Fiction International Network (DFIN)

 

 

 

One of six participating scholars involved in a UK-based project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, to “provide an arena for a new generation of scholars to collaborate on integral theoretical and analytical issues within digital fiction research, and profile pioneering approaches to the wider fields of literary studies, stylistics and narratology.” Principal Investigators for the project are Alice Bell and Astrid Ensslin.

 

 

 

Modernist Studies Association (MSA)

 

 

 

Interdisciplinary Steering Committee (January 2007-)

Work to broaden the interdisciplinary nature of the organization and its annual conference.

 

 

 

 

UC Transliteracies Project

 

 

 

Researcher, 2005-2007

One of 14 University of California graduate students selected to participate in research for the UC Multi-campus Research Group project "Transliteracies: Research in the Technological, Social, and Cultural Practices of Online Reading." I identified objects of interest to the study and wrote detailed research reports about their relevance. (http://transliteracies.english.ucsb.edu/category/research-project/)

 

 

 

Digital Arts and Culture (DAC)

 

 

 

Advisory Panel (August-December 2006)


Review abstracts and vet papers for annual conference, to be held in Perth 2007 (http://www.beap.org/dac/index.htm).

 

 

 

UC Humanites Research Institute, SECT (Seminar in Experimental Critical Theory)

 

 

 

Participant, Summer 2006

Selected to participate in "Technospheres: Futures of Thinking," a two-week seminar with leading technological innovators and humanists, artistic performances and technical workshops.

 

 

 

New Media Colloquium, UCLA

 

 

 

Participant/Producer, 2005-2006

In this yearlong workshop for advanced graduate students, taught by N. Katherine Hayles, I worked with fellow graduate students Alison Walker and David Shepard to create a website that promotes critical attention to the differences between specific digital "platforms" beyond comparisions between print and digital texts. See our collaboration "Media-Specific Analysis: Analyzing the Specificities of Digital Texts."

 

 

 

Electronic Literature Organization (ELO), www.eliterature.org

 

 

 

     Associate Director (August 2002- June 2004)

     Programs Director (October 2001-July 2002)

  • Acted as managing director of the non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and facilitating the creation, publication, and dissemination of electronic literature.
  • Directed and maintained operations, finances, communication, and administration.

·         Developed, planned, and coordinated community programming, on campus and across the country, including local electronic literature readings.

·         Represented ELO in interactions with UCLA and the community at-large.

 

 

 

 

“HyperText: Explorations in Electronic Literature” Reading Series, Hammer Museum

 

 

 

 

Organizer, 2003-2004

Organized, scheduled, and moderated yearlong reading series that introduced electronic literature to a diverse audience. Selected readers, handled budget, and arranged publication materials and plans. (http://www.eliterature.org/programs/hypertext/)

 

 

"NANO" Exhibit, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

 

 

 

 

Developer, 2003-2004

Worked on Literature team in an interdisciplinary project involving literary scholars(led by Katherine Hayles), nanoscientists (led by Jim Gimewski), and artists (led by Victorian Vesna) to produce a yearlong exhibit that introduced nanoscience to the general public through artistic and experiential modules. (http://nano.arts.ucla.edu)

 

 

UC Digital Cultures Project, “Narr@tive: Digital Storytelling” Graduate Conference

 

 

 

Co-Chair, April 2004

Organized a two-day conference that attracted students from across the country and included cademic panels, presentations, and an evening of new media|electronic literature readings at the UCLA Hammer Museum.

 

 

 

State of the Arts Symposium, Electronic Literature Organization

 

 

 

Co-Organizer, April 2002

Planned and facilitated a two-day, international symposium on electronic literature and digital art which included a poster session and an evening of electronic literature readings.

 

 

 

Cognitive Arts Corp.

 

 

 

 

Content Developer, 1999-2000, Boston

Designed and scripted interactive simulations and tutoring content for computer-based “learn-by-doing” courses based on the pedagogical methods of cognitive theorist and CEO Roger Schank. (http://www.cognitivearts.com/)

 

 

 

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 

 

LECTURER, 2007-2008

 

 

 

UCLA, Department of English

 

 

 

 21st Century Experimental Fiction (Seminar, 180, Winter 2008)

     This upper-division seminar reads works of literature published since 2000 which experiment with

     formal techniques to show the influence of new media and which foreground the role of the

     literary in an increasingly visual culture. Readings include Jonathon Safron Foer’s Extremely Loud

    and Incredibly Close, Salvador Plascencia’s People of Paper, and Steven Hall’s Raw Shark Texts.

Technotexts and Technoculture (Perspectives in the Study of American Culture, 178, Spring 2008)
    This lecture class contemporary works of print and digital literature to explore how digital technologies shape aesthetics and challenge our
     expectations about what literature is and what it does.

 

 

 

BROWN UNIVERSITY, Modern Culture and Media Department

 

 

 

Media Archaeology: Information, Discourse, Networks (150.09, Spring 2007)

     This course examines the historical emergence of “media” and “media studies” as a methodology   

     of cultural discourse through the theoretical concepts of “information,” “discourse” and

     “networks.”  Key issues: What are media and new media? What is the difference between

      information and knowledge? Readings from Friedrich Kittler, N. Katherine Hayles, Jacques

      Derrida, Lev Manovich.

 

 

 

 

SOLE INSTRUCTOR and COURSES DESIGNED   Syllabi available at www.bol.ucla.edu/~jesspres  

 

 

 

Introduction to Literature, English Majors (English 4W, Spring 2006)
War, Literature, and its Representation

 

 

 

 

The course teaches critical analysis by way of reading a variety of texts inspired by the subject of war, including the poetry of Wilfred Owen, Tim O'Brien's Vietnam chronicle The Things The Carried, and works about memorials such as Robert Lowell's "For the Union Dead' and Cynthia Ozick's The Shawl. *Students created web-based essays for this course, a sample of which are available here.

 

 

 

Undergraduate Seminar (English 88, Winter 2006)
Digital Literature

 

 

 

 

This undergraduate seminar for non-majors is the first such seminar offered by UCLA's English department; it focuses solely on literature created and read on the computer. Students explore works from a variety of genres, created in different software forms and expressing diverse aesthetic styles. Reading literature alongside critical theory about new media, students wrestle with the vital question: What happens to literature and our understanding of it as we learn to read literature onscreen? *Students created web-based essays for this course, a sample of which are available here.

 

 

 

Introduction to Literature, English Majors (English 4W, Fall 2005)
Literature and Technology

 

 

 

 

Through a thematic focus on technologies from the telegraph to the television, the subway trains to the Internet, students learn to construct and articulate critical arguments by reading and engaging with literature that spans a variety of genres. Texts include Henry James's “In the Cage,” John Dos Passos's Manhattan Transfer¸ Don DeLillo's White Noise, and Anna Deveare Smith's Twilight: Los Angeles.

 

 

 

Introduction to Literature, English Majors (English 4W, Winter 2004)
L(oo)king at L[it]er@ture

 

 

 

 

In this introductory course, I present literature as a material and multimodal art form. From George Herbert's calligrammes to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Tender Buttons to “Howl,” students learn to approach and examine literature through medium-specific analysis.

 

 

 

Introduction to Literature, English Majors (English 4W, Fall 2003)
Materiality Matters

 

 

 

 

This course prompts students to look beyond literature's content towards its f