Office: Carlisle 411
Class: Ransom 311 Th 2-4
bek@uta.edu
Policy Statement and Syllabus
This course will focus on the way computers have affected theory and practice in English departments over the past three decades. Our primary concern will be rhetoric and writing studies, although these cannot be discussed in complete isolation from other innovations in English Studies which include hypertext fiction and theory.
Computers and composition has developed into a subfield of the discipline with its own conferences, journals, major authors, and Ph.D. programs. The roots of the field, however, are spread among a variety of disciplines. The first half of the semester will be devoted to studying the work of three modern theorists and examining how we might read their work as establishing the conceptual basis for what has emerged under the rubric of "computers and composition." Marshall McLuhan, Sherry Turkle, and Shoshana Zuboff--from communication, psychology, and sociology respectively--will function as our touchstones for examining this field. After spending the first several weeks reading and discussing some of their major works in order to build a conceptual framework based on their ideas, the reminder of the semester will be devoted to two major activities: (a) reading widely in the field of computers and composition from a packet, and (b) performing group critiques of several current and bleeding edge implementations of computer-mediated communication environments. The reading progression will allow us to see how rhetoric and composition (and English Studies) is related to other kinds of inquiry about computers and culture.
Our discussions will cover the theoretical underpinnings of computers and English Studies, and we will also spend considerable time exploring some of the specific pedagogical implications of computers in the rhetoric classroom.
The group critique portion of the course may include an experiment conducted in conjunction with a researcher from Lucent technologies who designs 3D synchronous communication spaces. Because of the in-progress nature of this possible experiment, I have postponed assembling the packet. If we do coordinate with the Lucent research facility for this semester, the articles will be focused on questions specific to the project. Whether or not we work with the scientist from Lucent, after spending several weeks reading articles (expect a heavy reading load during this period), you will be required to spend substantial time exploring, in teams, locations such as Placeware.com, Archways6, and Persyst--each of which is a combination text and visual communication environment. Our goal for these critiques will be to generate criteria from the perspective of our discipline and based on the course reading as to what constitutes effective and meaningful online interaction. The work of the three major figures considered in the first part of the semester will be revisited as we consider these new technological spaces.
No particular experience with computers is required for this class, but you must be prepared to use the Internet as part of the course.
A course web site will be available at http://www.uta.edu/english/bek/teaching/grad/compwrit beginning the second week of the semester, and there is a course listserv that can be reached by sending a subscribe message to listserv@uta.edu for the list COMPWRIT. Subscription to the class list is required.
Course Schedule (subject to change)
August 26 Course Introduction
September 2 Understanding Media
September 9 The Global Village
September 16 War and Peace in the Global Village
September 23 The Second Self
September 30 Class to be rescheduled Life on the Screen
October 7 In the Age of the Smart Machine
October 14 tba from packet
October 21 tba from packet
October 28 tba from packet
November 4 tba from packet
November 11 tba from packet
November 18 tba from packet
November 25 tba from packet
December 2 tba from packet
December 4 Last class day; final papers due
Required texts and etc.
The Global Village : Transformations in World Life and Media in the 21st Century, by
Marshall McLuhan, Bruce R. Powers
Understanding Media : The Extensions of Man, by Marshall McLuhan, Lewis H. Lapham
War and Peace in the Global Village : An Inventory of Some of the Current Spastic Situations That Could Be Eliminated, by Marshall McLuhan, Quentin Fiore
Life on the Screen : Identity in the Age of the Internet, by Sherry Turkle
The Second Self : Computers and the Human Spirit, by Sherry Turkle
In the Age of the Smart Machine : The Future of Work and Power, by Shoshana Zuboff
Packet of articles (available at Zap copies on Abram St. later in the semester)
An active UTA email account
Course Grades
Course grades will be based on the following assignments:
2 Response papers: 20%
Contributions to website: 10%
Seminar Paper: 70%
Other Policies
Neither academic dishonesty nor plagiarism will be tolerated. Please reference the Regents Rules and Regulations Part One, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsection 3.2, Subdivision 3.22 for more detailed information about what constitutes academic dishonesty.
I will follow the university\rquote s add/drop policy.
Class attendance is required; if you have more than four absences your final grade will be lowered one letter.
Late papers are not accepted.
At times my office hours will be changed. I will inform you of the change as early as possible. If the change is a last minute one, I will send an email announcing the change to the class listserv.
You can always reach me by email; however, my "email office hours" are Monday-Thursday. If you send email on other days, you may have to wait until Monday for a response.
The University of Texas at Arlington is on record as being committed to both the spirit and the letter of federal equal opportunity legislation; reference Public Law 93112--The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. With the passage of new federal legislation entitled Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), pursuant to section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, there is renewed focus on providing this population with the same opportunities enjoyed by all citizens. As a faculty member, I am required by law to provide "reasonable accommodation" to students with disabilities, so as not to discriminate on the basis of that disability. Student responsibility primarily rests with informing faculty at the beginning of the semester and in providing authorized documentation through designated administrative channels.
Rhetoric Seminars
Rhetoric, Composition, Critical Theory HP & Program
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