Image: Scott Gelber
It may seem odd to cite a syllabus as required reading, but this RISD class on Experimental Publishing offers a cogent way of thinking about what instructor Paul Soulellis, after de Certeau, calls the "scriptural economy."
Let's begin with the post, exposing its origins as a physical note publicly nailed to a piece of wood. Its descendants persist today, plainly visible on the wall, in the feed and in the stream as traces of a deeper history of documents — the scriptural economy. Is posting (always) publishing?
With form following function, Soulellis posted the syllabus to NewHive, making use of its design tools to make his syllabus actually interesting to look at, and generating praise and critique as the link circulated on Twitter.
Soulellis is a resident at NEW INC, where Rhizome has its office, and he recently gave a talk on Experimental Publishing as part of a panel organized by Brian Droitcour. He's made his slides available online, and for anyone looking for project examples from the world of digital publishing today, it's a great resource.