 |
| |||
|
| |||
| Gerald R Lucas Coordinator, Computer-Assisted Instruction, USF Gerald R Lucas, a Ph.D. candidate in British and American literature and theory, has been an instructor and administrator at USF since 1995; see his curriculum vitae. He defends his dissertation on October 19, 2001, and will officially graduate in the Spring of 2002. His dissertation, “The Coding of Posthumanism,” will examine various cultural texts and their authors’ illustration of how humanity will move into the posthuman, taking with it its conceptions of the human based on biological characteristics, but not letting embodiment limit its articulation. Read the abstract, in PDF form. In the spring of 1999, Jerry founded the text-based virtual reality LitMUSE that has grown to a community of over 100 active members. This environment, based on a MOO, challenges notions of textuality, both reading and writing, that computers have prompted us to question and to re-evaluate. Questions, too, about human interaction and humanistic myths of community are also implicitly addressed on the MOO. Jerry’s literary interests are eclectic: his official speciality is 20th-century British and American Literature, but his interests span many other spatial and temporal borders. He has done work on the continued relevence of the epic genre; the last two centuries of Russian literature; Latin-American fictions; images of women in literature and feminist theory; Renaissance aesthetic, political, and scientific contributions to modern thought; science fiction and cyberpunk; and cyber- and posthuman theory and literature. Almost all aspects of computers fascinate Jerry. He prefers the Macintosh for his everyday use and maintains a Linux server for LitMUSE. While competent in Windows, political and pragmatic reasons keep Wintel well outside. He is also an accomplished Web designer, practicing hand-written HTML, CSS, and subtle Java Script. In addition to running LitMUSE and its server, Jerry presently acts as Head Coordinator for the USF Department of English Computers and Writing Program, Technical Support Specialist for the Faculty and Staff of the English Department, and the departmental Web Master. | |
| © 2000 by Gerald R. Lucas 07.07.01 | |
