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Post-Book Paratext: Designing for Haptic Harmony

Post-Book Paratext: Designing for Haptic Harmony

Corey Pressman
Copyright: © 2014 |Pages: 16
ISBN13: 9781466660021|ISBN10: 1466660023|EISBN13: 9781466660038
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6002-1.ch016
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MLA

Pressman, Corey. "Post-Book Paratext: Designing for Haptic Harmony." Examining Paratextual Theory and its Applications in Digital Culture, edited by Nadine Desrochers and Daniel Apollon, IGI Global, 2014, pp. 334-349. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6002-1.ch016

APA

Pressman, C. (2014). Post-Book Paratext: Designing for Haptic Harmony. In N. Desrochers & D. Apollon (Eds.), Examining Paratextual Theory and its Applications in Digital Culture (pp. 334-349). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6002-1.ch016

Chicago

Pressman, Corey. "Post-Book Paratext: Designing for Haptic Harmony." In Examining Paratextual Theory and its Applications in Digital Culture, edited by Nadine Desrochers and Daniel Apollon, 334-349. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2014. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6002-1.ch016

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Abstract

The earliest artifacts of expression, represented by cave art and carved statuettes, had a paratext of their own that surrounded and supported their significance. However, there is a fundamental difference between the way these artifacts operated in society and the way writing and print operate. Writing and print are associated with a “print culture” centered on fixity, social isolation, and authority. This opposes a preceding emphasis on orality, fluidity, and social communication. However, the hegemony of print culture has been challenged by the binary revolution. The widespread success of e-readers, apps, the Web, and electronic reading in general indicates a nascent post-book era. The essential difference between a paper book and its electronic analog is the stripping of the former's paratextual elements. This chapter suggests that we should be deliberate about designing the paratext of our digital post-book experiences. We have the opportunity to reintroduce elements of pre-print orality, continuing what scholars have noted as the development of a “secondary orality” instigated by radio and television. An entire profession already exists whose mission is to design and implement platform-specific elements that attend to the delivery of content: interaction designers. These professionals can help us design the future of reading.

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