Hello Worlds.

The article presents the author's view of the humanities in the age of high technology. He says English departments should do more to come to grips with the increasing prevalence of "virtual worlds" and the ubiquity of computers. He suggests that the programming languages that make computer software function should be considered as a second-language proficiency option for graduate students in English who are interested in literature and computers and new media. He also compares virtual worlds like Second Life to the virtual world that fiction has always been designed to create.