Changing the Subject

Download or read book Changing the Subject written by Sven Birkerts and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Birkerts "examines the changes that he has observed in himself and others [since allowing a degree of everyday digital technology into his life]: the distraction induced by reading on the screen; the loss of personal agency through reliance on GPS and one-stop information resources; an increasing acceptance of 'hive' behaviors. 'An unprecedented shift is underway,' he argues, and 'this transformation is dramatically accelerated and more psychologically formative than any previous technological innovation.' He finds solace in engagement with art, particularly literature, and contemplates the countering energies available to us through acts of sustained attention, even as he worries that our increasingly mediated existences are a threat to creativity"--Page 4 of cove