ENG 5992: New Media and the Futures of Writing (Winter 2011)

Code on the Wall

Photo Credit: "Code on the wall" by Nat W

Writing is more than words on a page. The various futures of writing involve a number of emerging practices, and this class will approach these practices by defining writing very broadly. We will write with images. We will write with video. We will write (with) code. As we learn the basics of each of these new media technologies, we will build new theories for emerging writing technologies.

Students tinker with various technologies to remix texts, to learn about how new media tools enable and constrain different types of writing, and to explore how tools that seem to be outside the realm of English studies might be applied to our disciplinary practices. The main task of this class is to stretch the limits of English studies as students help invent the future of writing. As future scholars and teachers, students taking this course are in a position to rethink the possibilities of what English studies can be, and the tinkering we will do in this course will give these students multiple ways to think through those possibilities.

No technological expertise is required for this course. The goal is to play with technologies, not to master them. We will be using the classroom as a laboratory for exploring various writing tools.

Required Texts
These texts are available at Marwil Bookstore and online:

Supplementary Texts

  • Bogost, Ian. “The Rhetoric of Video Games" inThe Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Edited by Katie Salen.
  • Chun, Wendy. "Did Somebody Say New Media?" in New Media, Old Media: A History and Theory Reader
  • Manovich, Lev. "New Media from Borges to HTML," in The New Media Reader
  • Mateas, M. 2005. Procedural Literacy: Educating the New Media Practitioner. On The Horizon. Special Issue. Future of Games, Simulations and Interactive Media in Learning Contexts, v13, n2 2005.
  • Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck (excerpt).
  • --- "Inventing the Medium," in The New Media Reader

Syllabus

ENG 5992: New Media and the Futures of Writing

Professor: Jim Brown
Class Meeting Place: 335 State Hall
Class Time: T 6-9pm
Office: 5057 Woodward Avenue, 10-410.2
Office Hours: T/Th 3pm-5pm (or by appointment)
Email: jimbrown [at] wayne [dot] edu
Website: http://courses.jamesjbrownjr.net/5992_winter2011

Required Texts
These texts are available at Marwil Bookstore and online:

I will provide copies of (or links to) these texts:

  • Bogost, Ian. “The Rhetoric of Video Games" inThe Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Edited by Katie Salen.
  • Chun, Wendy. "Did Somebody Say New Media?" in New Media, Old Media: A History and Theory Reader
  • Manovich, Lev. "New Media from Borges to HTML," in The New Media Reader
  • Mateas, M. 2005. Procedural Literacy: Educating the New Media Practitioner. On The Horizon. Special Issue. Future of Games, Simulations and Interactive Media in Learning Contexts, v13, n2 2005.
  • Murray, Janet. Hamlet on the Holodeck (excerpt).
  • --- "Inventing the Medium," in The New Media Reader

Permits and Prerequisites, General Education Credits:
Advance approval is required from Royanne Smith, the English Department Academic Advisor. Email her at ad2073@wayne.edu. Then, follow her instructions for procedure and forms.

ENG 5992 is typically the course in which English majors complete the General Education Writing Intensive (WI) Requirement with co-registration in 5993. Open only to undergraduate English majors; taken in the last year of course work; requires 12 credits in English above the 1000-level.

ENG 5993 co-registration for WI requirement. Also satisfies Computer Proficiency Level 2 requirement with web-based and new media assignments, training in information technologies, use of online tools, and ongoing evaluation of the impact of new technologies.

This course also meets with the ENG 4991 Honors Seminar.

Course Goals

  • To develop theories and practices for emerging digital environments
  • To develop a working knowledge of various theories in the fields of New Media Studies and Rhetorical Theory
  • To collaborate with classmates on various new media projects and paper assignments
  • To develop a sustainable writing process

Course Work and Grades
We will complete a number of writing assignments and new media projects. The grade breakdown is as follows:

10% 2 short response papers (500 words each)
25% 1 Procedural authorship project (Game + 1000 word paper)
25% 5 Short Ancient+Modern Papers: (750 words each)
25% Expansion of one Ancient+Modern paper (Mashup + 1500 word paper)
15% In-class participation (discussion, new media lab work)

Attendance and Lateness
The English Department requires every student to attend at least one of the first two class sessions in order to maintain his or her place in the class. If you do not attend either of these sessions, you may be asked to drop the class. If this happens, you will be responsible for dropping the class.

Success in this class will require regular attendance. I will take attendance at each class meeting. Your Learning Record will include a discussion of attendance. You are required to attend class daily, arrive on time, do assigned reading and writing, and participate in all in-class work. Please save absences for when you are sick or have a personal emergency. If you find that an unavoidable problem prevents you from attending class or from arriving on time, please discuss the problem with me.

If you are more than 5 minutes late for class, you will be considered absent. If there is something keeping you from getting to class on time (i.e., you have a long trek across campus right before our class), please let me know during the first week of class.

Late Assignments
Due dates for assignments are posted on the course schedule. I do not accept late work.

Intellectual Property
Much of what we'll be working on this semester involves the appropriation of existing texts. This is no different than any other type of writing - all writing involves appropriation. The key will be to make new meaning with the texts that you appropriate. Copying and pasting existing texts without attribution does not make new meaning. Some of your work will make use of different materials (text, video, audio, image), and you will have to be mindful of intellectual property issues as you create texts for this class. If you have questions about Wayne State's Academic Integrity policy, please see the Dean of Students website.

Technology Policy
We will use technology frequently in this class. Although I am assuming that you have some basic knowledge of computers, such as how to use a keyboard and mouse, and how to use the Web and check e-mail, most things will be explained in class. If you don’t understand what we are doing, please ask for help. If you are familiar with the technology we are using please lend a helping hand to your classmates.

Course Website and Email
You should check your email daily. Class announcements and assignments may be distributed through email. The course website will also have important information about assignments and policies. Pay close attention to the course calendar as we move through the semester. I reserve the right to move things around if necessary.

Emails to me must come from your Wayne State email address. They must include a title explaining the email, a salutation (for example, "Dear Jim"), a clear explanation of your reason for emailing, and a signature.

Cell Phones
Please silence and put away cell phones during class.

Writing Center
The Writing Center (2nd floor, UGL) provides individual tutoring consultations free of charge for students at Wayne State University. Undergraduate students in General Education courses, including composition courses, receive priority for tutoring appointments. The Writing Center serves as a resource for writers, providing tutoring sessions on the range of activities in the writing process – considering the audience, analyzing the assignment or genre, brainstorming, researching, writing drafts, revising, editing, and preparing documentation. The Writing Center is not an editing or proofreading service; rather, students are guided as they engage collaboratively in the process of academic writing, from developing an idea to editing for grammar and mechanics. To make an appointment, consult the Writing Center website: http://www.clas.wayne.edu/writing/

To submit material for online tutoring, consult the Writing Center HOOT website (Hypertext One-on-One Tutoring): http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-inner.asp?WebPageID=1330

Student Disabilities Services
If you feel that you may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, please feel free to contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. Additionally, the Student Disabilities Services Office coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. The Office is located in 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library, phone: 313-577-1851/577-3365 (TTY). http://studentdisability.wayne.edu

WSU Resources for Students

Schedule

Part I - Writing Procedures

January 11
Introductions, Syllabus, Discuss Rushkoff

January 18
Read: Rushkoff, Chun; Murray and Manovich
Write: Short Response Paper #1 (posted to blog by 1/16 at midnight)
In class: Discuss Rushkoff, Chun, Murray, Manovich

January 25
Reading: Murray; Mateas and Stern; Bogost
Write: Short Response Paper #2 (posted to blog by 1/23 at midnight)
In class: Discuss readings, introduce Inform7

February 1
Snow Day

February 8
Read: Joyce, Aarseth
Write: Blog post (posted by 1/30 at midnight); comment on two other posts by Tuesday at 3:00pm
In class: Inform7 Workshop

February 15
No Class

Write: Inform7 Project 1.0 and 1-2 page (250-500 words) paper proposal uploaded to Dropbox by February 16 (midnight)
**Students can schedule a meeting with me (virtually or in person)

February 22
Write: Inform7 Project 2.0; Paper draft (saved to Dropbox prior to class)
In class: Inform7 Workshop (Game 2.0 user tests), Writing Workshop

Supplemental Readings: Hayles; Walker

March 1
Write: Inform7 Project 3.0 and Paper Due (saved to Dropbox prior to class)
In Class: Screening of RIP: A Remix Manifesto, Ancient + Modern Mashup example (Jim) [Longinus+Booth]

Part II - Rhetoric: Ancient + Modern = ?

March 8
Read: Isocrates, Antidosis + Richards, The Philosophy of Rhetoric
Write: Mashup Paper 1 (posted to blog by 3/7 at midnight)
In class: Discuss readings, YouTube editor workshop

March 22
Read: Gorgias, Encomium of Helen + Derrida, Signature Event Context
Write: Mashup Paper 2 (posted to blog by 3/21 at midnight)
In class: Discuss readings, Myna workshop

March 29
Read: Aristotle, from Rhetoric + Burke, from A Rhetoric of Motives
Write: Mashup Paper 3 (posted to blog by 3/28 at midnight)
In class: Discuss readings, Jing workshop

April 5
Read: Erasmus, from Copia + Gates, from The Signifying Monkey
Write: Mashup Paper 5 (posted to blog by 4/4 at midnight)
In class: Discuss readings, open lab

April 12
Writing: Expanded Mashup Paper, Mashup (uploaded to Dropbox prior to class)
In class: Writing workshop, open lab

April 19
Final Paper and Mashup Due (uploaded to Dropbox prior to class)
Course evals, course wrap-up

Assignments

The pages below describe the course assignments in detail.

Short Response Paper 1: What is New Media?

Due Date: 1/16 (by midnight)
Point Value: 10 points
Submission Guidelines: Papers will be submitted to the class blog

The purpose of these short response papers is to get you thinking about the readings, how they are related, and what most interests you about them. These papers will serve as fodder for our class discussions, and you will be expected to read through your classmates papers prior to class.

Janet Murray, Lev Manovich, and Wendy Chun are all working through various ways of defining and conceptualizing "new media." In this response paper, choose one or more of the following discussion questions and write a 500-word response paper. Be sure to address at least two of the readings in your discussion:

  • How do the definitions of new media put forward by these scholars overlap and/or collide?
  • How do the discussions of these authors relate to Rushkoff's arguments in Program or Be Programmed?
  • How do these authors conceptualize the role of the humanities in the emerging field(s) of new media studies?

Grading Criteria:

When grading these papers, I will be asking:

  • Does your paper show evidence that you have carefully read and thought about the assigned reading?
  • Have you made specific claims about the readings?
  • Have you used specific examples from the readings to support your claim(s)?
  • Have you addressed at least two of the readings in your paper?
  • Was your paper submitted on time? (I do not accept late work.)
  • Is your paper 500 words long?
  • Does your paper have minimal grammatical and/or structural problems?

Short Response Paper 2: Procedurality

Due Date: 1/23 (by midnight)
Point Value: 10 points
Submission Guidelines: Papers will be submitted to the class blog

The purpose of these short response papers is to get you thinking about the readings, how they are related, and what most interests you about them. These papers will serve as fodder for our class discussions, and you will be expected to read through your classmates papers prior to class.

Janet Murray, Ian Bogost, Michael Mateas, and Andrew Stern discuss procedurality and how it opens up new possibilities for expression, authorship, and argument. In this response paper, choose one or more of the following discussion questions and write a 500-word response paper. Be sure to address at least two of the readings in your discussion:

  • What are the differences and/or similarities amongst these authors discussions of procedurality?
  • How is procedural authorship the same as or different from other types of authorship?
  • What does a focus on procedurality offer scholars, teachers, and theorists in the humanities who are attempting to imagine the future(s) of writing?

Grading Criteria:

When grading these papers, I will be asking:

  • Does your paper show evidence that you have carefully read and thought about the assigned reading?
  • Have you made specific claims about the readings?
  • Have you used specific examples from the readings to support your claim(s)?
  • Have you addressed at least two of the readings in your paper?
  • Was your paper submitted on time? (I do not accept late work.)
  • Is your paper 500 words long?
  • Does your paper have minimal grammatical and/or structural problems?

Procedural authorship project

Due Dates:

February 15
Inform7 Project 1.0; Paper, rough draft (both saved to Dropbox prior to class)

February 22
Inform7 Project 2.0; Paper, second draft (both saved to Dropbox prior to class)

March 1
Inform7 Project 3.0 and Paper Due (saved to Dropbox prior to class)

Description
We've read about procedural authorship, and this project will give you a chance to put these ideas to work. Using the Inform7 system, you will design a piece of interactive fiction. Your project will be inspired by Michael Joyce's hypertext novel afternoon: a story. The nature of this "inspiration" is up to you. You may choose to use the content of the novel as your inspiration, or you may choose to focus on the form and structure. Or you may decide to draw upon both.

In addition to designing this piece of interactive fiction, you will write a paper describing and explaining what you've created in terms of the theories of procedurality, procedural authorship, and procedural rhetoric that we've read in class. Your paper will be roughly 1000 words (four pages double-spaced) and will:

1) Explain how your project is related to Joyce's novel. What did you use as inspiration?

2) Explain how your project uses procedural authorship. How does your project make use of procedural expression? What is your project's procedural rhetoric? How would you describe the "process intensity" of your interactive fiction?

3) Explain how you incorporated feedback that you received during the testing phase. Your classmates will play the various versions of your game, and you will incorporate the feedback you receive during this "user tests." Your paper should explain what changes you made and how you addressed this feedback.

Grade Criteria
When grading these papers, I will be asking:

  • Does your project show evidence that you have understood and made use of the theories of procedurality that we've read and discussed?
  • Does your project use procedural expression effectively?
  • Does your paper explain your project's relationship to Joyce's novel?
  • Does your paper explain how your project uses procedural expression and/or rhetoric?
  • Was your paper submitted on time? (I do not accept late work.)
  • Is your paper 1000 words long?
  • Does your paper have minimal grammatical and/or structural problems?

Ancient + Modern Papers

Short Paper Due Dates: 3/8, 3/22, 3/29, 4/5
Expanded Paper Draft Due Date: 4/12
Expanded Paper + Mashup Due Date: 4/19

The second half of our course will explore the logic of the mashup. We'll be reading rhetoricians, ancient and modern, and then figuring out what new rhetorical concepts we can build when mashing up these theorists. Each short Ancient+Modern paper will take one ancient rhetorican and one modern rhetorician and combine them to create a new term or concept.

Papers will be 750 words long and will be posted to the class blog. The papers will include a 250-word summary of each theorist and a 250-word explanation of the concept or term that you've created.

These papers will be difficult to write. I'm asking you to do a lot in only 750 words, but this is part of the assignment. When summarizing, you'll have to distill longer pieces of writing. Your task is to give us a 10,000 foot view of these writings and to point out what is most important. Summary should not include any evaluation. I'm not asking you to agree or disagree. I'm asking you to provide a 250-word summary of the author's argument.

Your mashup concept should find a hinge-point between these two authors. What point of overlap can you find? What is the significant of that overlap?

My recommended procedure for these papers is as follows:

1. Read and take notes
2. Set aside for at least one day
3. Read again (paying attention to your notes)
4. Summarize
5. Look for an overlap, a “hinge point” between the two texts
6. Make up a word, concept, phrase
7. Explain what you made up

During class, we'll be working with technologies that you might use to create mashups. You'll have the opportunity to use the concepts you develop in creating those mashups

You will write four of these short papers, and you will expand one of the four into a longer paper for your final project. That expanded paper will be 1500 words long and will be accompanied by a mashup (in whatever medium you choose) that demonstrates the rhetorical concept you've developed.

When grading these Ancient + Modern papers, I will be asking these questions:

  • Have you observed the word limits?
  • Are you summaries fair and concise?
  • Does your concept combine these authors to create something new?
  • Have you clearly articulated what your concept means?
  • Is your paper written effectively and coherently with very few grammatical errors?
  • Was the paper turned in on time?