Text as an Autopoietic System: Possibilities and Limitations of an Autopoietic Account of Digitized Text
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Text as an Autopoietic System : Possibilities and Limitations of an Autopoietic Account of Digitized Text. / Nicolaisen, Maria Skou.
In: The International Journal of Communication and Linguistic Studies, Vol. 14, No. 3, 02.09.2016, p. 13-26.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Text as an Autopoietic System
T2 - Possibilities and Limitations of an Autopoietic Account of Digitized Text
AU - Nicolaisen, Maria Skou
N1 - The article was submitted in the wake of a talk given June 19th 2015 at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver for a "New Directions in the Humanities" conference
PY - 2016/9/2
Y1 - 2016/9/2
N2 - The aim of the present research article is to discuss the possibilities and limitations in addressing text as an autopoietic system. The theory of autopoiesis originated in the field of biology in order to explain the dynamic processes entailed in sustaining living organisms at cellular level. The theory has been introduced in a slightly altered version to the field of textual scholarship by Jerome McGann. In its original version, the defining traits of autopoietic system functioning are associated with distinguishable boundaries between the system and its environment, a distinction that does not seem easily upheld when applied to cultural or textual phenomena. However, addressing textual agency in such a way allows for fruitful discussions about what constitutes textual organization. This, in turn, allows for addressing the programmability of diverse textual structures in new digital formats. By comparing the biological with the textual account of autopoietic agency, the end conclusion is that a newly derived concept of sociopoiesis might be better suited for discussing the architecture of textual systems.
AB - The aim of the present research article is to discuss the possibilities and limitations in addressing text as an autopoietic system. The theory of autopoiesis originated in the field of biology in order to explain the dynamic processes entailed in sustaining living organisms at cellular level. The theory has been introduced in a slightly altered version to the field of textual scholarship by Jerome McGann. In its original version, the defining traits of autopoietic system functioning are associated with distinguishable boundaries between the system and its environment, a distinction that does not seem easily upheld when applied to cultural or textual phenomena. However, addressing textual agency in such a way allows for fruitful discussions about what constitutes textual organization. This, in turn, allows for addressing the programmability of diverse textual structures in new digital formats. By comparing the biological with the textual account of autopoietic agency, the end conclusion is that a newly derived concept of sociopoiesis might be better suited for discussing the architecture of textual systems.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - theoretical framework
KW - textual autopoiesis
KW - digitization
KW - Jerome McGann
M3 - Journal article
VL - 14
SP - 13
EP - 26
JO - International Journal of Communication and Linguistic Studies
JF - International Journal of Communication and Linguistic Studies
SN - 2327-7882
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 172516339