Avatar Emergency

Abstract

Gregory L. Ulmer New Media Theory Edited by Byron Hawk Information and Pricing 978-1-60235-289-6 (paperback, $32); 978-1-60235-290-2 (hardcover, $65); 978-1-60235-291-9 (PDF, $19.99) © 2012 by Parlor Press. 326 pages, with notes, illustrations, bibliography, and index. Bookstores : Order by fax, mail, or phone. See our "Sales and Ordering Page" for details. Resource / For Further Reading KONSULT Experiment: http://konsultexperiment.com/ Reviews "Satyr At Little Big Horn: A Review of Gregory L. Ulmer's Avatar Emergency " by Geoffrey V. Carter. Enculturation , 2013. About This Book A new experience of identity is emerging within the digital apparatus under the rubric of “avatar.” This study develops “concept avatar” as an opportunity to invent a practice of citizenship native to the Internet that simulates the functionality of measure dramatized in the traditions of “descent” (“avatar”) or “incarnation,” including the original usage in the Bhagavad Gita , and the Western evolution of the virtue of prudence from the Ancient daimon , through genius and character, to the contemporary sinthome . What People Are Saying Avatar Emergency is Gregory L. Ulmer's fourth book featuring the EmerAgency, an online virtual consultancy for the digital age. This time his point of departure is Paul Virilio's Generalized Accident from which he develops and theorizes the new concepts of Flash Reason, and specifically Avatar, which serves as the site for electrate identity formation in the twenty-first century. I have taught Ulmer's work on electracy for years, and his theoretical sophistication as well as the practical ambition and applicability of his work never ceases to amaze me. With Avatar Emergency , Ulmer shows once again that he is at the top of his game; I am positively thrilled to share this new and very timely treasure trove of a book with my students. —Jan Rune Holmevik, author of Inter/Vention: Free Play in the Age of Electracy Ulmer advances a ratio: "Avatar is to electracy