Engl 3100, Spring 2004

ENGL 3100

New Media

Dr. Lucas 1

ENGL 3100 New Media Prerequisite: 1102 • Spring 2004 Dr. Gerald Lucas ([email protected]) http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/ (office hours, etc., are all on this web site) Office: M-117 This course explores our inexorable movement from atoms to bits: from media based on the physical (record players, tape recorders, VCRs, newspapers, books, records) — what some would call “dead media” — to that based on the movement of digital information (computers, VR, DVRs, MP3, hypertext, video-on-demand). Both the theoretical and practical will fall under the purview of this course: not only will we examine hypertext, but we will be involved in the construction of our own. The course will also focus on images of the digital in art, especially literature; that is, how will the notion of artistic production and consumption change as the virtual world becomes ever more integral to our everyday lives? We will attempt to define the role of new media in our lives and predict how our lives will change in the near future because of this paradigm shift in the flow of information.

Required Materials • • • •

Kurzweil, Raymond. The Age of Spiritual Machines. New York: Viking, 1999. Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck. New York: Freepress, 1997. Wardrip-Fruin, Noah. The New Media Reader. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003. A wired computer

Recommended Materials •

Childers, Joseph and Gary Hentzi, eds. The Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism. New York: Columbia UP, 1995

Course Requirements Two Exams (50%): Two exams, one at midterm and one final, will test your knowledge of the reading material and your ability to synthesize and discuss current topics in new media. Both exams will rely not only on the assigned readings for the class and lecture material, but also your research from your additional weekly trolling of online sources. Breadth of knowledge and understanding are key here. Exams will be open-book and open-note. Weekly Journal (Blog) (30%): Each student will be required to keep an online journal, or “blog,” of reactions to lectures, readings, or conversations about the course material. Blogs should further investigate and examine issues from class that interest you about the course material. Blogs may be introspective, biographical, critical, theoretical — using any form of intellectual examination that feels germane. By the end of the semester, you should have at least one blog per week for a total of fifteen (15); blogs should have a minimum of 300 words, but I am not too concerned about length, as long as you adequately apply your brain to the issue. Class Participation (20%): Regular class attendance and active participation in classroom discussion, the class forum, and the class interchanges are required. Some assignments will occasionally count for participation: quizzes, peer editing, the viewing of a film, and similar activities. Additional assistance may be obtained from me during my office hours or by appointment. Your participation in group activities both in-class and at a distance will be weighed heavily in evaluation. Since writing is an on-going process, participation, effort, and attitude will count as much as written work. For every assigned reading, a quiz should be expected. These quizzes are designed to test factual aspects of the text, not interpretation or evaluation. Read every text carefully and take reading notes — character names, general plot, important items, etc. — and the quizzes will be no problem. Quizzes, other class activities, and homework assignments not explicitly outlined on this document will be factored into your final class participation grade. In addition, at the beginning of class each week, we will discuss current developments in new media. To prepare for this brief discussion, you should get in the habit of reading periodicals, magazines, and newspapers that address breakthroughs and current trends in digital technologies. As you read, take notes about the article (know particularly where we can access the article) and be ready to give a brief synopsis of its content. You do not have to talk each week, but you should be aware of current technological innovations.

ENGL 3100

New Media

Dr. Lucas 2

Classroom Policies Assignments: our work represents you. Therefore, I expect everything you turn into me to exemplify the very best of your professional self. Every out-of-class assignment must be word-processed on white, wrinkle-free paper. I will not accept any hand-written assignment, period. Please plan ahead so that you have plenty of time to make your assignments as presentable as possible. All essays must be formatted according to MLA Style: typed, double-spaced, and contain your name, class name and number, my name, and date in the upper-left-hand corner of the first page; all pages must have the your last name followed by the page number in the upper-right-hand corner 1/2-inch from the top. Additionally, the essay's title should be centered and appear directly before the introduction. Use a twelve-point, serif font (no smaller or larger) and refrain from superfluous underlining, bolding, etc. (For a visual of MLA format, see Hacker page 371.) Also, be sure to review the Editor's Checklist (on web) before turning in your essays. Finally, always keep copies of your assignments, especially when they have been graded and returned. All essays should be submitted in a folder with pockets; reader-responses (less-formal writing) may just be stapled and handed in without the folder. Do not attach your essay to the folder; put it in the pocket with anything else required for the assignment. If you submit an assignment late or early for some reason, please do so through my departmental mailbox located in the Humanities office. Do not slide anything under my door, as it may get lost. Attendance: Attendance will be taken at every class meeting. A sheet of paper with the day’s date will be sent around at the start of every class; your name must appear on this list, or you were absent for that day. If you come in late, it is your responsibility to ask me for the attendance sheet so that you may sign in. The college’s official attendance policy states that students should not be penalized for missing three (3) hours of class per semester, but a student’s grade will be negatively affected if absences exceed three (3) hours in one semester. There are no “excused absences” in my class, but you are allowed to miss two (2) classes, no questions asked, before your grade suffers. If you attend all classes, you final class participation grade will receive an additional three (3) points. If you miss only one class, you will receive an additional two (2) points on your final class participation grade. Missing two classes has no beneficial or adverse affect on your grade. Each additional class missed beyond three will decrease your class participation by one (1) point, and on down the line. Two (2) tardies — i.e. coming late or leaving early — count as one absence. Remember: the only thing that counts here is the physical presence of a body in class; excuses will not help this measurable fact at all. It is your responsibility to discover what was missed in class and any assignments. Quizzes and in-class activities cannot be made up for any reason. Children: Since class lecture and discussion will often touch on the controversial, this classroom is not an appropriate place for children. Please make arrangements to have your children looked after while you attend class. Class Time: Because discussion and active participation are integral to the learning process, I rarely lecture. Therefore, time in class will be spent on discussion of readings, student writing, and exercises with the occasional short lecture. Quizzes, practice essays, discussions, and lectures are designed to benefit the entire group while personal problems and concerns should be handled during office hours. Deadlines: Late work is not acceptable and will receive a zero. Allowing for a single contingency, one late assignment will be accepted; this assignment cannot be more than a week late. After this limit, I can accept no late assignments. The reason for this: what you write for each class will create the class. If you write nothing, then the class does not exist. To ensure the existence of class, you are allowed only one late daily assignment. Plan ahead and turn in your work on time. Late essays cannot, for any reason, be rewritten for a grade increase. Electronic Communication Devices: Please leave all distracting electronic devices, cell phones and beepers, in your car, or silence them during class. I understand our contemporary need to be in contact with everyone all the time, but do not let this personal need distract the rest of the class. In addition, I do not allow class discussions to be taped, so do not bring any voice recording devices to class, though I do encourage your bringing an ink interface and dead trees on which to take notes. Grades: Final grades will be based upon a traditional ten-point scale for letters and then a plus or minus for a more accurate grade. Also see individual course descriptions for specific requirements. You are not in competition with each other; you will each receive the grade you earn. For a description of what letter grades mean, see grade descriptions (on web site) or refer to the Macon State College Academic Catalog. I do not transmit grades electronically at any time. I have no problem apprising you of your current standing in this class, but I will not do so over any electronic medium, including email or the phone. If you would like to know your official grade, you should see me during my office hours or make an appointment. Incompletes: This course will strictly abide by University and departmental policies regarding incompletes. An incomplete can only be given if a small portion of the course work is missing and you’re doing otherwise satisfactory work. “I” grades are not assigned automatically, but only upon consultation with me. You have one semester to remove an “I” grade; otherwise it is changed to an “F.”

ENGL 3100

New Media

Dr. Lucas 3

Materials: Course readings are integral parts of the class and should be brought daily. When readings are assigned to be discussed in class, please bring a copy of the reading with your reading notes ready to participate in the discussion. Do not come to class without your books. Notes: Students must keep thorough notes, both from classroom lecture and individual reading. Even if students are absent, they are held responsible for obtaining missed notes. Notes should not only reflect good listening skills, but individual interest in every topic discussed in class. Students are encouraged to individually research topics discussed in class. Although notes will not receive a grade, they should be diligently kept in all classes. One should always endeavor to improve note-taking skills. Plagiarism: The Oxford English Dictionary defines plagiarism as “the wrongful appropriation or purloining, and publication as one’s own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas (literary, artistic, musical, mechanical, etc.) of another,” or “a purloined idea, design, passage, or work.” Any time you use ideas that are not your own in anything that you write, you must supply a citation in an identifiable citation method, e.g., MLA, Chicago, etc. Plagiarism will result in automatic failure of this class and will be pursued to incite the utmost penalty for such dishonesty. Academic falsehood, in any form, will constitute class failure. Special Needs: Any student who has special needs because of a disability should contact Ann E. Loyd at the Counseling and Career Center (478-471-2714 / S-230) and fill out the appropriate paperwork. The student should then see me with the documentation so that the necessary accommodations can be made.

Course Schedule (First half of the semester) This schedule represents the ideal outline for our study this semester. Yet, like all best-laid plans, we will probably not be able to keep up with our agenda. Please be flexible and try to look and read ahead whenever possible. We will do our best to stick by this schedule, but we will inform you verbally whenever there is a change in or an addition to an assignment. Getting these updates is solely your responsibility. Therefore, this syllabus is tentative and subject to change contingent upon the needs of the students and the professor, and dictated by time and other constraints that may affect the course. This syllabus reflects only an overview of the assigned reading and other major course assignments. It does not always indicate other specific class session assignments or activities. Note: Reading and homework assignments will be due the following class period unless otherwise noted. For example, if your class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, a reading assignment that appears under Tuesday will be due on Thursday.

Week 1: Jan 12, 2004 • • • • • •

What is “new media”? What is “old media” for that matter? Discuss course policy statement, syllabus, and requirements. Sign up for the course web site and begin your journal. Discuss class forum. Video: “Secret, Strange, and True: Becoming Cyborgs” (40 min.) Reading (1/19): Murray “Inventing the Medium” (NMR 3-12); Manovich “New Media from Borges to HTML” (NMR 13-25); Wolf “The Great Library of Amazonia” (Wired 12.03) Writing (1/19): Blog 1 on Murray, Manovich, and Wolf: how do you begin to define “new media”?

Week 2: Jan 19, 2004 • • • •

Any questions about course? New Media Introduction: What is “new media”? Reading (1/26): Borges “The Garden of the Forking Paths” (NMR 29-34); Turing “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” (NMR 49-64); Wiener “Men, Machines, and the World About” (NMR 65-72) Writing (1/26): Blog 2 on Borges, Turing, and Wiener; suggest at least one link for the new Links page. Email me the link(s) you submitted.

Week 3: Jan 26, 2004 • • •

The Complex, the Changing, and the Intermediate Reading (2/2): Bush “As We May Think” (NMR 35-48); Licklider “Man-Computer Symbiosis” (NMR73-82); Nelson “A File Structure” (NMR 134-145) Writing (2/2): Blog 3 on Bush, Licklider, and Nelson

ENGL 3100

New Media

Dr. Lucas 4

Week 4: Feb 2, 2004 • • •

The Complex, the Changing, and the Intermediate (cont.) Reading (2/9): McLuhan “The Medium Is the Message” (NMR 203-209); Baudrillard “Requiem for the Media” (NMR 277-288); Williams “The Technology and the Society” (NMR 289-300) Writing (2/9): Blog 4 on McLuhan, Baudrillard, and Williams

Week 5: Feb 9, 2004 • • •

Collective Media, Personal Media Reading (2/16): Deleuze and Guattari from A Thousand Plateaus (NMR 405-409); Nelson from Computer Lib / Dream Machines (NMR 301-38); Boal from Theater of the Oppressed (NMR 339-352) Writing (2/16): Blog 5 on D&G, Nelson, and Boal

Week 6: Feb 16, 2004 • • •

Collective Media, Personal Media (cont.) Reading (2/23): Enzensberger “Constituents of a Theory of the Media” (NMR 259-275); Nelson, Negroponte, and Levine from Software (NMR 247-258) Writing (2/23): Blog 6 on Enzensberger, et al.

Week 7: Feb 17, 2004 •

Collective Media, Personal Media (cont.)

Week 8: Mar 2, 2004 •

Midterm Exam

Note: Syllabus will continue on the course web site: http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/