Multilingual African Digital Semiotics and E-lit Journal (MADSEJ)
Multilingual African Digital Semiotics and E-lit Journal (MADSEJ) is a peer-reviewed multilingual scientific journal owned by African Electronic Literature Alliance & African Diasporic Electronic Literature (AELA & ADELI), The Nigeria French Language Village, Ajara-Badagry in partnership with Digital Humanities Unit of the Faculty of Arts (DHuFArts), University of Uyo, Nigeria. The multilingual in this context refers to all African languages as many as we have reviewers to review the research and the Digital Arts. Therefore, MADSEJ is a creative, theoretical, methodological, technical, and open-access journal that publishes works twice a year. It was created in 2022 to enable African electronic literary works and digital arts to get wider critical readership and visibility on the Internet and Metaverse. Scope This journal's scope covers research in electronic and metaversal literature, digital culture, digital semiotics, and digital humanities, such as cultural analytics, geospatial mappings, text analytics, data analytics, etc. It also publishes e-literary arts such as Twitterature, Facebookature, Youtubature, Instagramature, TikTokature, WhatsApperature, Mobile and Video Games, Blogfanfic, immersive and metaversal storytelling, including many emergent genres of electronic literature in Africa, written by Africans in Africa, and across the globe. The journal also publishes sympoietic and synthetic intelligent African e-lits.
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY includes the following elements: BY: credit must be given to the Multilingual African Digital Semiotics and E-lit Journal (MADSEJ)
« Pharmakon » pour les usagers : Analyse des sentiments du récit dans WhatsApp
Bien que la notion derridienne de « pharmakon » utilisée pour définir la double valence positive et négative des écritures orales ou écrites ait été beaucoup examinée dans les études littéraires, philosophiques et culturelles, son rapport avec les conversations sur la plateforme socio-numérique telle WhatsApp et avec son analyse des sentiments reste à explorer. Cet article vise à décortiquer un échantillon de 5.727 messages de professeur(e)s et de personnel administratif dans l'agora de WhatsApp du Département de Lettres Modernes et Traduction de l'Université de Calabar, collectés du 30 avril 2019 au 27 mars 2024. Nous appliquons des techniques de traitement automatique de langage (TAL) avec R, le grand modèle de langage (GML), et Microsoft Excel comme outils techniques numériques pour classifier les sentiments textuels ainsi que les sentiments des clavardeurs. Cette analyse a pour but d’améliorer la paisible convivialité durable pour une production prolifique.
Copyright (c) 2024 Yohanna Joseph Waliya, Etete Gregory Mbey (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Environmental Digital Literature: An Instrumentum Laboris for Eco-social Engineering
Climate crisis is a global concern as manifested in unprecedented flooding, bushfires, heat waves, global warming, and desertification amongst others. There is also a growing attention in terms of scholarship and research across disciplines to address and understand the debilitating effects of environmental crises. Using Halliday’s systemic meta-function of ideation and Di Rosario’s entax theory, this paper examines “Climatophosis”, an eco-digital poem in order to identify the eco-lexicons in the poem, and the semiotics of digitalization as tools for making environmental statements for intervention in the climate crisis. The analysis reveals the frequency of the eco-lexicon items, the affordances of environmental digital literature such as hybridity, multimodality, multilingualism, audio- visuality, ergodic features, and the human-computer interaction. Also important is the extension of Di Rosario’s entax theory to include meta entax as identified in this study. The conclusion is that environmental digital literature is a veritable instrument to promote eco-advocacy and eco-social engineering through the creation of environmental consciousness and ethical considerations in the care for the environment to mitigate the climate crisis.
Copyright (c) 2024 Augustine Emeka Ugwumgbo, Gabriel Bassey Egbe (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Digital Literary Analysis of Ahmadou Kourouma’s Quand on refuse on dit non through Corpus Stylistics: The Use of AntConc
Corpus stylistics as part of corpus linguistics is interested in the analysis of literary texts. It has been reinforced through the recent development of analytical software in digital humanities, though its application to francophone African texts has not been fully exploited. This study, which combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies, deploys postcolonial theory and AntConc for the analysis of Ahmadou Kourouma’s dematerialized text, Quand on refuse on dit non (QOR), a work that belongs to the author’s trilogy on African intra/interethnic wars. The corpus analysis investigates how outputs of AntConc analytical tools of concordance, clusters, Keywords among other programs help in the postcolonial interpretation of the writer’s artistic ideology on the Ivorian interethnic conflict. By Word Hit of QOR, Houphouet Boigny is ranked 52 with the Freq of 90, followed by Gbagbo who ranks 60 with 75 Freq with Concordance Hits of 34 for “mort” (death), Ahmadou Kourouma implicates the two political Ivorian figures in the Ivorian crisis whose only language is death, the death of the perceived enemy tribesmen and women. In this civil war, the necropolitical power (Achille Mbembe) to determine who lives or dies is based on the political concept of ivoirité (Ivorian-ness) which has about 35 hits in the text, underlying how language instrumentalized the atrocities of the Ivorian civil war through the postcolonial dynamics of otherness, subalternity and identity. These findings demonstrate the value of using computational tools like AntConc to interrogate African francophone literary texts and lay a strong foundation for further studies.
Analyse littéraire assistée par ordinateur
Copyright (c) 2024 Richard Ajah (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
African Buffalo Optimization to African Digital Culture and African Humanities
The technological invasion of modern societies all over the globe has not spared African culture and humanities. This paper examines the application of the African Buffalo Optimization algorithm to African digital culture and African humanities. The study unravels the great potentials of the optimization algorithm when deployed to the African cultural space. One of this is the capacity of the African Buffalo Optimization algorithm to efficiently store and retrieve African cultural artifacts, music and art in digital archives when properly programmed. Next, by careful deployment of the algorithm to analyse and understand African cultural and historical patterns, trends, and dynamics, researchers are able to preserve the African cultural identity to generations yet unborn. Finally, the African Buffalo Optimization is applicable to the following areas of the African digital culture and African humanities, namely, algorithmic Djembe, digital Griot, optimized Adinkras, cultural heritage analytics and African digital art generation. In the light of the findings of this study, we recommend the application of swarm intelligence optimization techniques to all researchers and scholars involved in African digital culture and African humanities.
Copyright (c) 2024 Julius Beneoluchi Odil, Charles Nnamdi Mabude (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Editorial: The Integration of Artificial Intelligence into the African Humanities Scholarship
Copyright (c) 2024 Richard Ajah, Yohanna J. Waliya (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Migration and Literature: A Comparative Study of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ben Okri in Digital Humanities
This study examines the impact of migration on the publishing timelines, thematic focus, awards, and translations of Nigerian diaspora writers Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ben Okri. Employing a mixed-method approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative analyses, the research explores how migration influences their literary journeys and expands the global reach of Nigerian literature. Utilizing digital humanities tools such as KnightLab’s TimelineJS, Flourish, and Google Sheets, the study visualizes data from reputable sources like Amazon and Goodreads to analyze each author’s international achievements. Findings indicate that migration significantly shapes Adichie’s and Okri’s thematic explorations, addressing complex issues of identity, race, and cultural belonging. This research demonstrates how digital visualization offers insights into the intersection of migration and literary success, illustrating how these authors navigate and portray diasporic identities. Ultimately, the study contributes to African literary studies by highlighting the role of migration in enhancing the global influence and thematic depth of Nigerian literature.
Copyright (c) 2024 Henry Chukwudi John, Abayomi Olusola Awelewa (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Emerging Global Trends and the Teaching of Literature
Teaching in all sectors is evolving from traditional methods to embrace technology’s multi-faceted reach and potential to expand knowledge and make learning more effective and efficient. As technology advances, so too, does the professional world and consequently education grow and transform. The education sector now can work with a plethora of emerging, innovative teaching techniques, thus creating a more dynamic and impactful learning environments, effective and efficient acquisition of knowledge and skills for the achievement of specific goals. Technology-based learning techniques boast tools to help students address academic challenges. Literature can now also embrace technology through electronic literature (interactive fiction, digital storytelling, narrative games, etc.), which uses games, images, videos, sounds, links, navigations and other digital qualities as an essential part of the reading experience. There are specific tools that could be used in Nigeria, such as writing for cell phones or using an Internet in a Box for schools or communities that may have a computer, but lack internet access. This paper examines the emerging technological trends to better inform local teaching in Nigeria and to most effectively use available technological resources.
Copyright (c) 2024 Faith Samuel Bassey, Deena Larsen (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring the history of digital poetry from 1950 to Augmented Reality Poetry
This article offers a comprehensive overview of digital poetry, tracing its development from the late 1950s through to contemporary augmented reality applications. It begins by highlighting early stochastic texts generated by Theo Lutz, contextualizing them within the mathematical aesthetics championed by Max Bense. Funkhouser explores how digital poetry evolved into multi-modal formats, integrating text, visuals, and sound to create both kinetic and static works. Notably, the lecture examines key influences from non- digital movements like Dada and Concrete Poetry, and discusses the impact of hypertext, gaming culture, and networked writing on digital poetics. The presentation emphasizes that digital poetry invites imaginative reader participation and challenges conventional poetic forms, exemplified by works such as Jason Nelson’s interactive poetry games and Ranjit Bhatnagar's Pentametron. Funkhouser concludes by reflecting on how digital tools have redefined poetic practices, offering new modes of expression and collaboration in a networked era. Cet article propose un aperçu complet de la poésie numérique, retraçant son développement depuis la fin des années 1950 jusqu’aux applications contemporaines de réalité augmentée. Il commence par mettre en lumière les premiers textes stochastiques générés par Theo Lutz, les replaçant dans le contexte de l’esthétique mathématique défendue par Max Bense. Funkhouser explore l’évolution de la poésie numérique vers des formats multimodaux, intégrant texte, visuels et son pour créer des œuvres à la fois cinétiques et statiques. L’article examine notamment les influences clés de mouvements non numériques tels que le Dadaïsme et la Poésie Concrète…
Copyright (c) 2024 Christopher T. Funkhouser (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Digital Resistance: Electronic Literature as Counter-Market Practice
This study investigates the emergence of electronic literature as a counter-market practice within contemporary digital culture, examining how digital literary works establish resistant practices while operating within neoliberal market structures. The research demonstrates how digital literary innovation establishes new value paradigms that challenge market-driven literary production through critically analyzing electronic literary works. This research advances scholarly understanding of cultural production under digital capitalism by demonstrating how electronic literature establishes creative practices that maintain critical independence while acknowledging their embeddedness within broader economic structures. The paper presents new theoretical possibilities for conceptualizing literary value and political engagement within an increasingly platform-mediated cultural landscape. Cette étude se penche sur l'émergence de la littérature électronique en tant que pratique de contre-marché au sein de la culture numérique contemporaine, en examinant comment les œuvres littéraires numériques établissent des pratiques résistantes tout en opérant au sein des structures de marché néolibérales. La recherche démontre comment l'innovation littéraire numérique établit de nouveaux paradigmes de valeur qui remettent en question la production littéraire axée sur le marché par le biais d'une analyse critique des œuvres littéraires électroniques. Cette recherche fait progresser la compréhension de la production culturelle dans le cadre du capitalisme numérique en démontrant comment la littérature électronique établit des pratiques créatives qui conservent une indépendance critique tout en reconnaissant leur intégration dans des structures économiques plus larges. L'article présente de nouvelles possibilités théoriques pour conceptualiser la valeur littéraire et l'engagement politique dans un paysage culturel de plus en plus médiatisé.
Copyright (c) 2024 Rachid Benharrousse (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Immersive Storytelling and an Afro- centric Future for XR
This paper opens a conversation around a possible Afro-centric future for Immersive storytelling, particularly in XR, one that might challenge Western-centric approaches to XR (extended reality) technologies and storytelling methods. The author argues that African creators across the continent's 54 countries offer vital perspectives that could reshape global XR practices. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from postcolonial scholars like Trinh T. Minh-ha and Jaishree Odin, the paper positions spatial and immersive storytelling as an epistemological challenge to Western narrative traditions. It highlights successful African XR projects, including Joel Kachi Benson's award-winning VR work and initiatives from studios like Black Rhino and Electric South, while acknowledging persistent access barriers. The discussion explores the convergence of XR with Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence, proposing that diverse experimentation is crucial for the medium's maturation. The paper advocates for moving beyond mimetic approaches and mobile-centric development to embrace more varied storytelling traditions, particularly those grounded in African orality and participatory practices. This research suggests that an Afro-centric future for XR could significantly expand the medium's potential for global storytelling and cultural expression.
Copyright (c) 2024 Caitlin Fisher (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Editorial: Digital Humanities and Interdisciplinary Scholarship
Copyright (c) 2025 Richard Ajah, Yohanna J. Waliya (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright (c) 2023 Richard Ajah, Yohanna Waliya (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ethical Perspectives of Digital Divide: An African Case Study
Only social sciences-based techniques have been used in the numerous publications on the digital divide. A relatively small number of studies have also exclusively examined the digital gap from a philosophical and ethical perspective. An unequal, undemocratic, and unfair society are all products of the digital divide. In addition to raising significant discussion on digital justice, knowledge, power, democracy, globalisation, and information capitalism in Africa, this work raises ethical and moral issues and seeks to address them. This study's justification is that globalisation and information technology go hand in hand. This essay will also go into great detail about how all of these factors relate to information capitalism and how they influence Third World countries, particularly Africa. This research falls under the purview of digital culture and employs textual and critical analysis as philosophical approaches Seules des techniques basées sur les sciences sociales ont été utilisées dans les nombreuses publications sur la fracture numérique. Un nombre relativement restreint d’études ont également examiné exclusivement la fracture numérique d’un point de vue philosophique et éthique. Une société inégale, antidémocratique et injuste est le produit de la fracture numérique. En plus de susciter un débat important sur la justice numérique, la connaissance, le pouvoir, la démocratie, la mondialisation et le capitalisme informationnel en Afrique, ce travail soulève des questions éthiques et morales et cherche à les résoudre. La justification de cette étude est que la mondialisation et les technologies de l'information vont de pair. …
Copyright (c) 2023 Charles Berebon (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Starter's Guide to Writing Electronic Literature: Maximizing Audience Engagement for Html5 Works
This is a starter's guide to writing electronic literature. It is written to help budding digital artist to maximizing audience engagement for Html5 e-lit works published on the web. Using HTML5/CSS/JavaScript, writers can use a variety of strategies to help maximize audience engagement in works of digital literature. Hopefully, this guide will help form a base on which beginning digital writers can grow and evolve their practice. Résumé Cette guide est faite pour débuter la rédaction de la littérature électronique. Elle a pour but de maximiser l'engagement du public pour les œuvres HTML5 de littérature électronique publiées sur le Web. Grâce à HTML5/CSS/JavaScript, les écrivains peuvent utiliser diverses stratégies pour maximiser l'engagement du public dans les œuvres de littérature numérique. Espérons que ce guide contribuera à constituer une base sur laquelle les débutants artistes numériques pourront développer et faire évoluer leur pratique.
Copyright (c) 2023 Alan Bigelow (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Introduction to African electronic literature
The classification of literature faces challenges from new media and ICT, leading to expanded boundaries, artistic innovation, and reader empowerment. Digital humanities, an emerging trend, has created space for electronic literature, particularly in the Global North. However, African electronic literature lacks critical attention, with scholars questioning the Electronic Literature Organization's limited representation of African works like Flash Fiction Ghana and Bent not Broken. This gap underscores the need to explore African electronic literature comprehensively. My study aims to describe and explore emerging African electronic literature and its subgenres. It delves into the origins, subgenre classification, authorship, and the digital infrastructures supporting this literature. Ultimately, it highlights the potential for African autonomy to shape global culture, particularly as other world powers grapple with economic and political challenges. La classification de la littérature est confrontée aux défis des nouveaux médias et des TIC, conduisant à un élargissement des frontières, à une innovation. artistique et à une responsabilisation des lecteurs. Les Humanités Numériques, une tendance émergente, ont créé un espace pour la littérature numérique, en particulier dans les pays du Nord. Cependant, la littérature numérique africaine manque d'attention critique, les chercheurs remettant en question la représentation limitée par l'Electronic Literature Organization d'œuvres africaines comme Flash Fiction Ghana et Bent not Broken. Cette lacune souligne la nécessité d’explorer la littérature numérique africaine de manière globale. Mon étude vise à décrire et explorer la littérature numérique africaine émergente et ses sous-genres.
Copyright (c) 2023 Richard Ajah (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Digital Poetics, Machine Intelligence and the Everyday
This paper was originally envisioned as a rather generic talk about generative text, poetics, and AI. But as I witness the difficulties faced by Twitter and Meta and ponder the very real cultural problems of North American culture, I feel like my time would be better spent discussing the problems with “development” as a paradigm for understanding digital futures and opening the door to discussing alternate futures as they may arise in an African context. Many global powers have financial and strategic interests in Africa, but their humanitarian interests should be regarded with scepticism. On the other hand, as the US, Europe, China, and Russia increasingly see themselves drawn into economic and political crises, African nations have many opportunities. In place of autonomous machines engineered in the so-called “developed” nations, African autonomy has the potential to play a significant role in the development of global culture in the 21st century. Cet article a été initialement conçu comme un exposé plutôt générique sur le texte génératif, la poétique et l’Intelligente Artificielle. Mais alors que je suis témoin des difficultés rencontrées par Twitter et Meta et que je réfléchis aux problèmes culturels très réels de la culture nord-américaine, j’ai l’impression que mon temps serait mieux consacré à discuter des problèmes du « développement » comme paradigme pour comprendre l’avenir numérique et ouvrir la porte. Discuter des futurs alternatifs tels qu’ils peuvent surgir dans un contexte africain.….
Copyright (c) 2023 Davin Heckman (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Computer Generation of Novels: Theory and practice
How do authors use computers, not to write novels with word processors, but to generate novels with computer programs? For those interested in this practice, how to join those who are now working as author/programmers,combining writing techniques with computational techniques, developing innovative new ways of producing plots and prose? There are plenty of exciting opportunities for innovation in the area of computer-generated novels. To look ahead, it’s first appropriate to look back and discover a bit about the history of computer-generated writing. Some discussion of the novel is important, too. Understanding more about this allows us to see how we can now elaborate, question, and combine past work — using new computational methods. Comment les auteurs utilisent-ils les ordinateurs, non pas pour écrire des romans avec des logiciels de traitement de texte, mais pour générer des romans avec des programmes informatiques ? Pour ceux intéressés par cette pratique, comment se joindre à ceux qui travaillent désormais en tant qu'auteur-programmeur, combinant des techniques d'écriture avec des techniques informatiques, développant de nouvelles méthodes innovantes pour créer des intrigues et de la prose ? Il existe de nombreuses opportunités passionnantes d'innovation dans le domaine des romans générés par ordinateur. Pour anticiper l'avenir, il est d'abord approprié de regarder en arrière et de découvrir un peu l'histoire de l'écriture générée par ordinateur. Une certaine discussion sur le roman est également importante. En comprendre davantage à ce sujet nous permet de voir comment nous pouvons désormais élaborer, remettre en question et combiner le travail passé…
génération du texte assistée par informatique
Copyright (c) 2023 Nick Montfort (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Praxis du modèle procédural dans le champ des littératures numériques
The article first describes the procedural model. It is a model that describes, in four dimensions, digital works, and more generally, any social situation based on a concept of a system. This model is then applied to various pre-existing theories in the field of digital literature to highlight their limitations. The article then specifically develops the semiotic dimension of the model and shows that the text of programmed digital productions is multidimensional and distributed. Finally, it examines some fundamental issues in the field of digital literature by refuting the usual definitions of this literature and proposing directions for presentation and preservation based on a Spinozist conception of the ontology of works. Résumé L’article décrit dans un premier temps le modèle procédural. Il s’agit d’un modèle qui décrit, en 4 dimensions, les œuvres numériques et, plus généralement, toute situation sociale à partir d’un concept de dispositif. Ce modèle est alors appliqué à différentes théories préexistantes dans le champ de la littérature numérique pour en pointer les limites. L’article développe ensuite plus particulièrement la dimension sémiotique du modèle et montre que le texte des productions numériques programmées est multidimensionnel et distribué. Il se penche finalement sur quelques problématiques fondamentales dans le champ de la littérature numérique en réfutant les définitions usuelles de cette littérature et en proposant des orientations pour la monstration et la préservation fondées sur une conception spinoziste de l’ontologie des œuvres.
Copyright (c) 2023 Philippe Bootz (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0