Prior to each class during the first seven weeks of the course, I will distribute a short video that contextualizes our readings as well as a quiz based on the video and readings. You must complete the quiz prior to our class meeting, but you can retake the quiz as many times as you'd like. Videos and quizzes are meant to provide an introduction to the reading and to frame our class discussion, and the videos will be designed so that we won't need to take up class time with lectures. This also means that you should arrive in class ready to discuss the readings and ready to ask questions (for more details on the kinds of questions you should prepare, see the assignment sheet for response papers).
In response to each of our readings, you will compose a brief response paper. These papers are short, and they are meant to help you prepare for class discussions. On most days, we will be covering two readings, and this means you will compose two response papers. Each paper is worth 2 points. You should upload papers to Sakai before you come to class.
Please bring a printed copy of these papers to class. As a way to start discussion each day, I will ask you to share these papers with a partner. This will help us begin thinking about the readings for the day and how others in the class interpreted them.
Each response paper must include the following sections:
Outline of Chapter
Using no more than one page, provide an outline the chapter. You can do this with roman numerals, with bullet points, or in some other format, but your outline should reflect that you understand how the argument is put together and how its different pieces fit together. This outline should be useful to you (providing you with notes for class discussion) while also demonstrating that you've read and understood.
Explanation of how the chapter connects to the concept of comparative textual media (150 words maximum)
Each chapter in this book relates to the idea of comparative textual media in some way. This section should explain that relationship. How does the chapter engage with the ideas, methods, and theories of comparative textual media?
Potential links to your R-CADE project (150 words maximum)
Throughout the semester, one of your tasks is to link our readings to your R-CADE project. In this section, you should be trying to consider how the chapter relates to your project. Are there ideas that you can apply to your group's R-CADE research? What are those ideas, and how might you apply them? Note that some chapters will be more closely related to your project than others. The purpose of this section is to try as hard as possible to seek out links between the chapter and your group's project.
Questions of Clarification (no limit)
Were there ideas, terms, or concepts that you didn't understand? Ask those questions here, and be ready to ask these questions in class. The more questions you list in this section, the better evidence you're providing that you've productively engaged with the reading. Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions of clarification.
Questions for Discussion (no limit)
While the previous section focuses on things you didn't understand or that you'd like us to clarify, this section is about questions that will help us discuss the reading. How is this reading related to other things we've ready and discussed? What is unique about the chapter's argument or method? How did it help you think about the idea of comparative textual media in a new way? These are just a few examples of how you might approach this section. Again, try to ask as many questions as possible.
When grading response papers, I will be asking the following questions:
The R-CADE research project is a group project, meaning that the assigned grade is the grade that all group members receive. However, if all members of a group approach me with complaints about a member of the group who is not contributing, I reserve the right to remove that person from the group and to then assign that person an individual R-CADE project. To be clear: This means that if you are unable to effectively collaborate with others, you will be required to complete the work of an entire group by yourself. In addition, you would receive a grade of 0 for any previous portions of the assignment submitted by your group, and you will not be permitted to make up those assignments.
Each R-CADE group will lead a class session on the subject of their research project. This session should provide the rest of the class for some context for the technology the group is studying, but it should also be used as a way for the rest of the class to help the group conduct their research. This means that groups leading these sessions should be both teaching their peers things and learning new things from their peers.
Groups are responsible for running a one hour and thirty minute session that includes discussion, activities, and collaborative research. All group members should be involved in the planning and execution of this session, and grades for this portion of the project will be based on the following questions:
Due December 12
Your project can make use of any medium you choose (print, video, audio, some combination of these, or something else entirely), but the medium you choose needs to be chosen purposefully. Your task is the share the results of your semester-long research project in the most effective way possible. For each project, this may mean using different media, and your group's decision may also be shaped by the strengths and experience of group members.
R-CADE projects should make use of the theories and methods discussed in the Hayles and Pressman collection in order to make some kind of argument about your R-CADE artifact. In other words, you are using the tools of a comparative textual media framework in order to make sense of your artifact.
When grading these final projects, I will be asking the following questions:
During the last class session, each group will make a 20-minute presentation on their R-CADE research project. That presentation should provide a detailed account of the group's research into their chosen artifact, and it should make clear that the group has applied the methods and theories of comparative textual media. In addition, the presentation should demonstrate that the group has incorporated feedback from the class session it organized. Group presentations should be 20 minutes in length, and they should carefully composed and choreographed.
When grading presentations, I will be asking the following questions:
Graduate students in this class will complete a paper that describes a subfield that is part of or related to comparative textual media. This paper will lay out the key texts in this subfield, the research questions that define it, the key figures in the field, and how it relates to a comparative textual media approach to research.
Due October 24
The first step in your profile will be a detailed annotated bibliography. Each entry in the bibliography should include an MLA formatted citation (I'd recommend using citation software like Zotero to generate these) as well as a brief paragraph that summarizes the source and describes its significance. These bibliographies should have at least 20 sources, but their length will likely differ based on the subfield you are profiling.
When grading bibliographies, I will be asking the following questions:
Due November 14
In a 1500-2500 word paper, you will profile your assigned subfield by discussing its history, key figures, major research questions, and methods. This should offer a detailed account of what kind of research is conducted in this area or subfield. While this profile will certainly draw upon the work you've done in the annotated bibliography, it should also extend that work. Rather than just cataloging sources, this profile should be identifying trends and key research questions.
When grading these papers, I will be asking:
Due December 5
In a 1500-2500 word paper, you will explain how your subfield is related to a comparative textual media approach. Hayles and Pressman argue that the CTM approach can and should be the way forward for humanities research, and some of the fields and subfields have more obvious connections to that approach than others. Some are already making the shift, and others are not. Your task in this paper is to lay out how the subfield you have researched and profiled is related to CTM. For some, this paper will document the research already happening in the area and how we might classify it as CTM, and for others this may mean describing how research in the area could more explicitly take up a CTM approach.
When grading these papers, I will be asking the following questions: