This study explores the concept of the posttext through the work of Ciaran Carson, as well as proposing, by argument and demonstration, methods suited to critical interpretation of posttextual writing. An important element of the dissertation is the definition of the term posttext, which refers to the ways in which we write in the digital age, where texts are networked, layered, and inhabit spaces between genre, and where boundaries between texts are fluid and sometimes difficult to define. The form of the posttext includes elements of mediation, translation, and participation in systems or ecologies. The first part of this study reads Carson's work for these qualities, and posits relationships between Carson's work and contemporary literature and culture more broadly, largely within a traditional critical framework. But criticism, the study argues, must respond to changes in textuality with changes of its own, becoming more dialogic with the (post)text and adopting fluid boundaries. The second part of the study attempts to illustrate how this might be done, by proposing three original critical frameworks. Each of these experiments intends to illuminate Carson's text in a meaningful, if unconventional, way, with emphasis on the integration of diverse methods, including the practical, into the critical project.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:589520 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Barrios-O'Neill, Danielle |
| Publisher | University of Ulster |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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