Critical code studies explained

Critical code studies (CCS) is an emerging academic subfield, related to software studies, digital humanities, cultural studies, computer science, human–computer interface, and the do-it-yourself maker culture. Its primary focus is on the cultural significance of computer code, without excluding or focusing solely upon the code's functional purpose. According to Mark C. Marino, it

As introduced by Marino, critical code studies was initially a method by which scholars "can read and explicate code the way we might explicate a work of literature", but the concept also draws upon Espen Aarseth's conception of a cybertext as a "mechanical device for the production and consumption of verbal signs", arguing that in order to understand a digital artifact we must also understand the constraints and capabilities of the authoring tools used by the creator of the artifact, as well as the memory storage and interface required for the user to experience the digital artifact.

Evidence that critical code studies has gained momentum since 2006 include an article by Matthew Kirschenbaum in The Chronicle of Higher Education,^[1] CCS sessions at the Modern Language Association in 2011 that were "packed" with attendees,^[2] several academic conferences devoted wholly to critical code studies, and a book devoted to the explication of a single line of computer code, titled 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10.

See also

• Critical legal studies
• Critical theory
• Hermeneutics

References

Bibliography

• Book: Aarseth , Espen . Espen Aarseth. 1997. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore, Maryland. Johns Hopkins University Press. 978-0-8018-5579-5.
• Book: Eyman , Douglas . 2015. Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice. Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan Press. 10.2307/j.ctv65swm2. free. 978-0-472-90011-4.
• Book: Manovich , Lev . Lev Manovich. 2013. Software Takes Command. New York. Bloomsbury Academic. 978-1-62356-672-2. 6 April 2020.
• Marino. Mark C.. 2006. Critical Code Studies. Electronic Book Review. 1553-1139. 6 April 2020.
• Book: Montfort. Nick. Nick Montfort. Baudoin. Patsy. Bell. John. Bogost. Ian. Ian Bogost. Douglass. Jeremy. Marino. Mark C.. Mateas. Michael. Reas. Casey. Casey Reas. Sample. Mark. Vawter. Noah. 2013. 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-01846-3. 30 November 2018.

Further reading

• Book: Berry , David M. . 2008. Copy, Rip, Burn: The Politics of Copyleft and Open Source. registration. London. Pluto Press. 10.2307/j.ctt183q67g. 978-1-84964-455-6.
• Book: Berry , David M. . . 2011. The Philosophy of Software: Code and Mediation in the Digital Age. Basingstoke, England. Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9780230306479. 978-0-230-24418-4.
• Black. Maurice J.. 2002. The Art of Code. PhD dissertation. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania. 244972113. .
• Book: Chopra. Samir. Dexter. Scott D.. 2008. Decoding Liberation: The Promise of Free and Open Source Software. New York. Routledge. 10.4324/9780203942147. 978-0-203-94214-7.
• Chun. Wendy Hui Kyong. Wendy Hui Kyong Chun. 2008. On 'Sourcery,' or Code as Fetish. Configurations. 16. 3. 299–324. 10.1353/con.0.0064. 53422082. 1080-6520. 5 April 2020.
• Book: Chun , Wendy Hui Kyong . Wendy Hui Kyong Chun. . 2011. Programmed Visions: Software and Memory. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-01542-4.
• Book: Fuller , Matthew . Matthew Fuller (author). 2003. Behind the Blip: Essays on the Culture of Software. New York. Autonomedia. 978-1-57027-139-7.
• Book: 2008. Fuller. Matthew. Matthew Fuller (author). . Software Studies: A Lexicon. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-06274-9.
• Hayles. N. Katherine. 16194046. N. Katherine Hayles. 2004. Print Is Flat, Code Is Deep: The Importance of Media-Specific Analysis. Poetics Today. 25. 1. 67–90. 10.1215/03335372-25-1-67. 1527-5507. 5 April 2020. 11 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111003905/http://www.cws.illinois.edu/IPRHDigitalLiteracies/Hayles.pdf. dead.
• Book: Heim , Michael . Michael R. Heim. 1987. Electric Language: A Philosophical Study of Word Processing. registration. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University Press. 978-0-300-03835-4.
• Kirschenbaum. Matthew G.. 2004. Extreme Inscription: Towards a Grammatology of the Hard Drive. TEXT Technology. 2. 91–125. 1053-900X. 5 April 2020.
• Book: Kirschenbaum , Matthew G. . . 2008. Mechanisms: New Media and the Forensic Imagination. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-11311-3.
• Book: Kitchin. Rob. Rob Kitchin. Dodge. Martin. 2011. Code/Space: Software and Everyday Life. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-04248-2.
• Book: Kittler , Friedrich A. . Friedrich Kittler. 1997. Johnston. John. Literature, Media, Information Systems: Essays. Amsterdam. Overseas Publishers Association. 978-90-5701-071-2.
• Book: Kittler , Friedrich A. . Friedrich Kittler. . 1999. Gramophone, Film, Typewriter. Winthrop-Young. Geoffrey. Wutz. Michael. Stanford, California. Stanford University Press. 978-0-8047-3232-1.
• Web site: Mackenzie. Adrian. 2003. The Problem of Computer Code: Leviathan or Common Power. Lancaster, England. Lancaster University. 6 April 2020.
• Book: Mackenzie , Adrian . . 2006. Cutting Code: Software and Sociality. Internet Research Annual. Digital Formations. 30. Oxford. Peter Lang. 978-0-8204-7823-4. 1526-3169.
• Book: Manovich , Lev . Lev Manovich. 2001. The Language of New Media. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-13374-6.
• Web site: Manovich. Lev. Lev Manovich. Douglass. Jeremy. 2009. Visualizing Temporal Patterns in Visual Media. 10 October 2009.
• Book: Montfort. Nick. Nick Montfort. Bogost. Ian. Ian Bogost. 2009. Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System. Racing the Beam. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-01257-7.
• Book: Wardrip-Fruin , Noah . Noah Wardrip-Fruin. 2009. Expressive Processing: Digital Fictions, Computer Games, and Software Studies. Expressive Processing. Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press. 978-0-262-01343-7.

Notes and References

1. News: Kirschenbaum . Matthew . 23 January 2009 . Where Computer Science and Cultural Studies Collide . subscription . The Chronicle of Higher Education . 6 April 2020.
2. News: Howard . Jennifer . 9 January 2011 . Hard Times Sharpen the MLA's Lens on Labor and the Humanities . The Chronicle of Higher Education . 6 April 2020.