In her article "Immersion vs. Interactivity: Virtual Reality and Literary Theory," Marie-Laure Ryan argues that immersion and interactivity are inversely related modes of engaging a work of fiction. The more closely the possible world conjured by a story resembles the reader's actual world, the more easily the reader can immerse herself in that world. Ryan claims that
interactivity disrupts the immersive experience by drawing attention to artifice of the text and to the act of reading. This class will take up Ryan's claim as a starting hypothesis to explore the relation between immersion and interactivity in fiction. The course will be divided equally between immersion and interactivity, as we will examine texts exemplary of each mode to determine if, and possibly where, there is crossover. Readings will likely include selections from Flaubert, Howells, Chesnutt, Capote, Mailer, Borges, Calvino, Marquez, Barths, Barthelme Danielewski, and Mateas and Stern.

This class offers a "W" credit, which means students will be expected to produce a total of 10-15 pages of formal, academic writing, which has gone through a cycle of instructor feedback and revision. This requirement will be met with two short essays of 2 pages each and one longer essay of 6-8 pages.

Texts:

• Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. [0679745580]
• Danielewski, Mark. House of Leaves. [0375420525]
• Course Pack to include a short stories and essays.