Dramatic literature, digitisation and cultural mediatisation: a postmodernist perspective

Abstract

Literature, unarguably, mirrors and reflects the essence of the society in all its socio-cultural and ethno-political ramifications. It captures the self-esteem of the society; it also symbolizes the psyche of the society. Literature, therefore, becomes a tool for measuring, archiving and transmitting the societal ethos and values. In some climes, literature is seen as the highest expression of the creative verve. It becomes very compelling for it to respond to and capture the societal changes that occur periodically. This paper uses the postmodernism theory that validates the modernist literature and the cultivation theory that examines the psychological impact of the media on the audience as the theoretical framework to examine the paradigm shift from the traditional mode of literary communication to the new changes imposed on the literary tradition with the advent of the new communication channels like the internet and the World Wide Web and other new communicating devices. The paper discusses the classical literary genres and the modifications created by the digital technologies. It also discusses the impact of digital technology on the African literature from the literary, legal, pedagogical, socio-cultural and moral perspectives. The future of creativity and the possible emergence of new canons for critiquing the new media are considered.

Keywords: New Media, Digitisation, Dramatic Literature, Postmodernism Criticism