The Evolution of Cyber-Poetics in Western and Uzbek Prose: Theoretical and Methodological Frameworks

Abstract

The development of digital technologies has significantly transformed the conditions under which literary texts are produced, distributed, read, and interpreted. One of the most important consequences of this transformation is the emergence of theoretical approaches commonly associated with cybertext, electronic literature, digital literature, technotext, hypertext, and digital poetics. This article examines the evolution of cyber-poetics in Western and Uzbek prose and proposes a theoretical and methodological framework for comparative analysis. The study synthesizes major concepts developed by Espen J. Aarseth, N. Katherine Hayles, George P. Landow, Jay David Bolter, Lev Manovich, Janet H. Murray, Marie-Laure Ryan, Markku Eskelinen, C. T. Funkhouser, and Urszula Pawlicka. Particular attention is paid to ergodicity, hypertextuality, interactivity, multimodality, remediation, materiality, procedurality, and the changing relationship between author, text, and reader [1–10]. The Uzbek dimension is considered within the broader process of literary digitalization and the increasing role of online platforms and social media in literary production and reception. Available statistical evidence demonstrates a substantial expansion of digital connectivity in Uzbekistan: approximately 29.52 million internet users were recorded at the beginning of 2024, corresponding to an internet penetration rate of 83.3 percent, while 8.70 million social-media users were identified during the same period [12]. A more recent UNESCO-supported assessment reports approximately 89 percent internet access among the population in 2023 and 30.1 million internet subscribers in 2024 [14]. These developments create an expanding technological environment for new forms of Uzbek digital prose. The article argues that the evolution of cyber-poetics should not be understood merely as the replacement of printed literature by electronic literature. Rather, it represents a transformation of textuality itself, in which interface, code, navigation, visuality, interactivity, and networked communication become analytically relevant components of literary form.