Prolegomenon to the literary study of hypertext

TL;DRAbstract

This dissertation is intended as contribution to the development of a framework and methodology for the literary study of hypertext. Its first purpose is to analyze the term "hypertext" and related keywords in respect to their widely varying usages in multiple disciplines to provide required clarification to identify the object of study in literary hypertext studies. The second purpose of the study is to propose a framework by which pre-computer literary works may be examined in relationship to the contemporary form of hypertext. These two goals work hand-in-hand to provide a groundwork of a literary history of hypertext. The first chapter introduces the problem of disciplinary conflicts and the multiplicity of definitions of hypertext and provides an analysis of the points of commonality. The second chapter provides a historical overview of hypertext as an emerging technology. This is argued to be the master narrative of hypertext studies. Chapter three argues that the fragmentation o

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