Modernist Informatics: Analysis of Information and Literature

This essay delves into the concept of Modernist Informatics, focusing on the importance of information in the post-modern world, as highlighted by James Purdon. It examines Purdon's perspective on the aesthetics of information, particularly in the early twentieth century, and its entanglement with literary narratives in shaping the modern age. The essay explores the advantages and disadvantages of information, its functional aspects, and its role in various contexts, including information scandals and the politics of information. It discusses how information systems process life into data, the role of communication technology, and the impact of official documentation on modernist subjectivity. Furthermore, the essay analyzes the relationship between narratives and information systems, emphasizing how information functions as a commodity that influences individual identity. The essay draws upon Purdon's book "Modernist Informatics: Literature, Information, and the State" and references other literary works to illustrate the evolving significance of information in the contemporary world.

Running head: MODERNIST INFORMATICS
Modernist Informatics
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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In the post-modern world, the liberty to access and share information has gained much
importance. Today’s economy revolves around the monopoly over information. The greater the
amount of information one can have, the greater shall be the propensity of the individual to gain
success. Information has some advantages and at the same time also has some disadvantages. On
one hand it has enriched the way human beings conduct their life, on the other hand it has also
created problems like differentiating the truth from the untruth. Information has created
prospects for upgrading human life and propelling it towards relentless development but at the
same time information has become very capricious as its relevance is getting lost very soon. It is
owing to the fact that information has a functional aspect and that is of satisfaction of human
need, and with satisfaction of one need, another one is cropping up. Hence as James Purdon
implies that information has gained prime importance in human life. In this essay, his views on
information shall be discussed.
The book “Modernist informatics” by James Purdon talks about that of aesthetics of the
information in the early part of the twentieth century. The book talks about the fact that
information along with the literary narrative possess history of the entanglement that was
instrumental in shaping the modern age. The factor of antagonism that was integral in relation to
the shaping of the modernity (Purdon, pp 67). The book has various approaches pertaining to the
media archaeological methodology. The book poses various kinds of questions and it talks about
the lived quantities of the time. The notion of the information of James Purdon discusses about
the information in the present age that is ‘shadowed by the current events’. It talks about the
incidents of phone hacking along with the unethical acts that has a detrimental effect on the
aspect of information in the modern century. The role that is played by information in the text of
James Purdon talks about the politics of the information that have emerged in twentieth century.

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The significance of information in the present age is paramount that has been brought out with
the help of mention of the information scandals in relation to the intercepted mail. Leaking of the
official documents in the present age talks about the immense importance of information in the
present age.
The information is controlled in the present age by the information systems that process
life into the data. The book states that the data is gathered together that acts as a repository of the
world spanning archives. The book talks about the fact that the narrative cannot be transfigured
by the discourse of the protocols along with the documents. The sharing and the discovering of
information in the modern age is carried out by the communications technology that plays the
role of encompassing along with the mediating of the human activities. The book talks about
Conrad who had to face problem of that of delimitation of the literary that acts as a subset of the
writing. Purdon has talked about the fact that the novels wants to manage the coherence along
with the security by the organizing of the contingent factors (Purdon, pp 84). It acts as condition
of real before becoming the effects of the aspect of realism. It talks about the interaction with the
information system of Conrad and the idea of the privacy in postal service along with the
government offices. The Secret Agent of Conrad can help in resolving the paradoxes of the
representation by acknowledging the fact that the impressions are not limited by that of the
senses that can be preprocessed. It can help in structuring possibilities of the perception, semiosis
along with the interpretation.
The information is not static as the individual experiences can be related to the large scale
events along with the trends. Mass Observation Network necessitates the fact that there is
unification of the information that can pave the path for national paranoia. Modernist Informatics
tells the story by telling history of information with the help of dual structure pertaining to the

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official developments. The information can be said to be a reflection of truth according to Purdon
by referring to the Second World War. It talks about the fact that the careless talk going on in the
streets acts as a choric voice of that of war. The information that permeates the society can be
said to be a reflection of the real events taking place in the world. The author has also talked
about the work of Elizabethan Bowen called The Heat of the Day that talks about new
information paradigm that can help in bringing numerous possibilities for the prose (Purdon, pp
106).
The book talks about the fact that the books circulated within narrative acted as the
objects along with the bargaining chips. Purdon brings official documents of that of the
twentienth century within the narrative of the conflict along with the travel. The First World War
paved the path for official documentation and therefore it helped in the shaping of the modernist
subjectivity. The fragmented older theories are integrated with the techniques of the
identification in the modern age. The Confidential Agent of Greene talks about how after losing
the papers that acted as his authority he became like an undesirable alien within disreputable
hotel. Narrative acted as a note within the ‘media ecology’ that included documents along with
the files and on the other hand it acted as beleaguered opponent to the information genres of the
anti-narrative. Information is hence a commodity that is instrumental in creating the identity of
an individual. The losing of the papers makes the identity of an individual invisible before the
society. The narratives in the present age have become entangled with that of the information
systems that cannot be undone in the present society.
The liberty of accessing the information has become very important in the present age.
The economy of the modern age talks about the aspect of monopoly over the information.
Information in the present age can help an individual in achieving success in life. Modernist

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Informatics throws light on aesthetics of information that has evolved to become very significant
in the present age. Information has association with the literary narrative that has shaped the
element of modernity. The controlling of the information is carried out in the present age by
taking recourse to information systems that can process life in data. The gathered data helps in
storing the archives across the world. The book states that the transfiguration of narrative cannot
be carried out by the protocols. The official documentation paved the path for shaping of
subjectivity in the modern age. The older theories can be integrated with technique of
identification in the present age. The information in the present age plays the role of commodity
that can create identity of a person.

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References
Purdon, James. Modernist Informatics: Literature, Information, and the State. Oxford University
Press, 2015.