Representations: Portraying Computer Programmers
Mechanism text:
“Representation” by W.J.T. Mitchell (from Lentricchia and McLaughlin)
Novel:
Transmission by Hari Kunzru
Other Texts:
War Games (film)
Video Clips of “Nick Burns” SNL Sketch
Video Clips of The IT Crowd
Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary by Linus Torvalds (excerpt)
Central Questions:
What do cultural texts do?
What do they represent?
How does a literary text relate to reality?
What kinds of stories do we tell about programmers?
Paper Assignment:
4-6 page analysis of a text in terms of representation
