ENGL 65.02 Writing with Algorithms: A Literary Computation Workshop

Since the mid-20th century, writers have programmed computers to generate literary works, mimicking old forms and inventing new ones. This course, both a creative writing workshop and a computational lab, will introduce the basics of creative text processing and generation. Making literature through computational techniques opens up a range of expressive possibilities and encourages us to refine our intuitions about style and form. This activity—at minimum, a collaboration between one human and one machine—also invites us to imagine increasingly diverse and complex ways of dividing the labor of literary production. Throughout the course, we will consider examples of computer-generated poems and fiction as well as literary bots and interfaces. No programming experience is expected, though seasoned programmers are welcome.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:TLA

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Junior Colloquium: No Course Group