Abstract
Hartling, Florian, 2004 [2007]: Online-Autorschaft zwischen Personenkult und Marginalisierung. Zum Einfluss des Dispositivs Internet auf die Formierung neuer Autorschaftsmodelle. In: SPIEL: Siegener Periodicum zur Internationalen Empirischen Literaturwissenschaft. Jg. 23 (2004 [2007]). H. 2. S. 209-238.
Englisch
The author and the literary text have always represented a tense, somewhat contrasting couple in the field of theoretical literary analysis. For a number of years, following the post-modern saying the "death of the author", mainstream literary theory has been critical towards authors. However, since the 1990s, the subject of the "return of the author" has been firmly re-established within the realm of theoretical debate. Ironically, the rejected dictum "death of the author" seems to still be holding true in relation to the youngest literary medium.
According to the euphoric hypertext-theorists, the Internet would signify the final decline of the author and would, instead, give way to the "writing reader", the so called 'wreader'. In addition the Internet would finally allow for ambitious collaborative productions.
This somewhat naïve idea can clearly be refuted. First, the author has been revived by the new media and continues to thrive within it. This has partly brought about an even more distinct personality cult, compared to the traditional conditions in the world of linear text. Second, in contrast to the prediction of huge 'authorless' collaborative text-production in online journalism, it is hard to find any collaborative works of literature. Third, even with collaborative projects or “codeworks” the function of an author does not disappear but is spread over different persons. Finally and fourth this can even lead to a dissociated authorship.
To explain these findings the Internet will be framed and analyzed as a "dispositif" (apparatus) for the media. The survey is based on considerations by Michel Foucault and – currently – Knut Hickethier. It is proposed to utilize the concept of the "dispositif" as a comprehensive model for the analysis of a comparatively young medium.
The following conclusions can be drawn: In the Internet, a number of rival authorship concepts exist side by side and are activated depending on each particular artistic program. Through the Internet, new and aesthetically ambitious concepts of authorship are emerging on the edges of the “dispositif” Internet. However these concepts cannot be reduced to the simplest denominator such as "death" or "return" of the author. The possibilities of the "dispositif" with respect to 'authorless' and collaborative texts are to be discussed using recent experiments with Internet literature.
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