Writing as Struggle: Process After AI (Session 3) | Author as Metaphor: Personal and Collective Style in Generative Prose: A Talk and Workshop with Dennis Yi Tenen

Dennis Yi Tenen (English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University) is the author of Literary Theory for Robots and Plain Text: The Poetics of Computation.

Introduced by John Durham Peters (English and Film and Media Studies, Yale University). Talk and activity led by Dennis Yi Tenen, followed by discussion (90 mins).

When, if ever, does a thought become inalienably mine? In this talk, we will try to capture that vague feeling of ownership that nevertheless emerges from writing in groups or with generative AI. Case studies of syndicate and institutional authorship will frame the question historically, with particular attention to the Stratemeyer Syndicate and reports “written” by the National Transportation Safety Board. Viewed from the perspective of collective labor, recent developments in machine learning invite us to reconsider several persistent assumptions about personal voice and collective style. Questioning these assumptions opens up new directions for research in literary history, with implications for academic policy and scholarly practice. In the workshop that follows, we will explore collective style experimentally, through group dynamics and specific prompting strategies.

2-2:30 Coffee available
2:30-4pm Talk and Workshop

Note: if you are interested in other sessions of the workshop, please register for each as space is limited.

Website: https://campuspress.yale.edu/struggle/schedule/

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