In our times marked by the rise of the transhuman and artificial intelligence, it is crucial to restate that “the quality of our reading is not only an index of the quality of our thought, it is our best-known path to developing whole new pathways in the cerebral evolution of our species.”[1] An educator’s goal […]

Alexander Kiossev is a professor of modern era cultural history, director of Sofia University’s Cultural Centre of and editor-in-chief of Piron electronic magazine. Kiossev has focused his research on reading, the cultural history of communist totalitarianism and autobiographical perspective on history. He has published several books and edited numerous collective studies in English, German and Bulgarian. His publications […]

Alexandra Glavanakova, PhD, is an associate professor in American Literature and Culture at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Her teaching, academic research and publications focus on the major cultural shifts in literacy, education, and literary studies under the impact of digital technology; on Bulgaria-North America transcultural studies, transatlantic dialogue and migrant identity. She […]

Abstract: The article presents a study of interactive digital narratives (IDNs) from the point of view of reader-response theory. It argues that IDNs are distinguished from traditional literature by particular characteristics that arise out of their specific uses of digital media. In its first part it assembles a theoretical toolbox, adapting instruments from diverse fields […]

Abstract: The paper explores the transformations of literary writing and reading in Bulgarian on Facebook as a commercial platform. First, it explores how Facebook as a platform with particular technical affordances influences the structure of the literary text, privileging short forms and the combination of written and visual content. Most literary pieces published on Facebook […]

Abstract: This article examines the reading practices among the youngest readers in the age groups of children and teenagers. The main purpose of the study is to identify their preferences concerning printed and electronic books. The extensive use of electronic devices by these two age groups could lead to the hypothesis of a steady transition […]

Abstract: The paper examines the alarming observation that reading as we know it is in trouble, in Bulgaria and also on a global scale. Insisting on the premise that reading enables all other learning, thus ensuring the creation of added economic and social value, and finally, a good quality of life for everyone, it argues […]

Abstract: The article focuses on the multiple approaches to literary masterpieces in digital culture, especially in the cases when the process and circumstances of their reading provokes writing, giving rise to genre variations of contemporary fanfiction works and the resulting readers’ responses. The Russian novel The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, by now recognized […]

Abstract: The new transmedial ecosystem, which includes screen versions, cartoons, computer games, infographics, manga, etc., has engaged and affected the practice of reading Shakespeare. In the spirit of the time, the Ukrainian publisher A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA answered the challenge by releasing Yurii Andrukhovych’s unorthodox and ironic translation of Hamlet (2008), the first one made in independent Ukraine. […]

Abstract: The text presents a discussion on the conditions enabling video games to incite “deep” reading. The conversation attempts to highlight the textuality of video games. Reading is often included in video games with various degrees of functionality, and the conversation tries to trace this multiplicity by commenting on various examples and cases. Among the […]

Abstract: This essay focuses on two case studies – Amaranth Borsuk and Brad Bouse’s Between Page and Screen and Stephanie Strickland, Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, and Paul Ryan’s slippingglimpse – in an effort to comment on the multi-dimensional and multi-layered experience they convey to readers/viewers/users. The effectiveness of these works lies in the ongoing interaction they […]

Abstract: The paper explores a point of convergence between literary theory and computational semantics. Using as its starting point the idea of deformance developed within the digital humanities, it seeks to harness a certain kind of reading machines to the purposes of literary criticism. These machines are conceptualized as cognitive models of some idealized readers […]

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how concepts from the sociological and anthropological “paradigm of the gift” can be brought together with literary and cognitive theories, so as to provide a fruitful framework for assessing reading communities. By focusing on the rather under-researched interrelation between collective reading practices, genre, and gender, the […]

Alexandra Glavanakova, PhD, is an associate professor in American Literature and Culture at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Her teaching, academic research and publications focus on the major cultural shifts in literacy, education, and literary studies under the impact of digital technology; on Bulgaria-North America transcultural studies, transatlantic dialogue and migrant identity. She is […]