Strategic Obsolescence and Electronic Literature: an Approach from the Literary Theory

Abstract

Literary theory in Spain has offered valuable studies on the complex relationships between literature and new media. Most of the approaches have focused on the “impact” and influence of the Internet in the literary field and in the definition of literature itself. This paper partially abandons the idea of ​​novelty, change, or textual-medial difference that have characterized such investigations, since I consider that the Internet has already been normalized and can be experienced beyond the online sphere. For this reason, I argue for the necessity of reaching a certain critical and temporal distance for reflection on digital creation. Specifically, two possible strategies for distancing are proposed: firstly, the question of literature’s post- will be reviewed with the aim of questioning the meaning that the adjective "digital" provides today; secondly, a critical rereading of the concepts of obsolescence and the digital divide will be offered.