Media Archaeology and e-Literature

Abstract

This chapter focuses on critical concerns and key concepts for the fields of media archaeology and e-literature in Latin America. Beginning with an exploration of case studies in media archaeology and preservation from throughout the region, the chapter highlights the importance of concepts such as migration, emulation, interactivity, public hesitation, access, and context for collectors, archivists, and curators who take on the task of preserving and displaying video games and related digital technologies. Next, the chapter turns to an analysis of the formal and critical concerns that have shaped Latin American e-literature in recent decades, providing a contextual review of the role of concepts like reader agency, intermediality, transmedial storytelling, media convergence, environmental storytelling, and procedural and algorithmic authorship in recent Latin American cultural production. Ultimately, this chapter provides a map to understanding how the practices of media archaeology and preservation intertwine with the products of e-literature in ways that reflect the specificity of the media concerned and the need for continual adaptation and critical attention to the ever-shifting landscape of narrative and digital media in Latin America today.