How do we define literacy–our own and others’–in a world that is infused with multimodal (defined as multiple modalities including the visual, aural, and interactive) rhetoric? This is a survey course and a workshop; we will explore a very broad range of issues related to the rhetoric of productions in new media, then produce our own theories and works. Students will have the opportunity to engage a specific issue in depth through a final project. They will create their own theoretical frameworks for examination of the issue based on class readings, research, and discussions. We will explore online networked reading and writing practices, and examine the social, cultural, educational, and ethical dimensions of digital texts. We will also examine identity and representation, including class, race, and gender, in new media spaces.
The topics we cover, the readings we do, and the discussions we have in this course should help us to:
* explore and understand digital spaces as deeply rhetorical spaces through theory and practice;
* understand the sociocultural dynamics of digital composing spaces through theory and practice;
* better understand the multiple and layered elements of digital composing conventions and digital productions;
* become more sophisticated navigators of the information available to us in digital spaces; and
* become more effective producers and communicators in print and digitally mediated spaces
The course begins with an examination of the web as a place where we read and write, moving quickly into an investigation of the cultural development of the web and its texts. After the first assignment—an analysis of a webtext or other piece of digital media framed by readings in theory and practice, rhetoric, media convergence/remix, narrative theory, game theory, authorship, identity, design, or related areas—we’ll complete assignments which will feed the final project. Throughout the semester, short writing assignments (shared via blogs) will prompt class discussion and serve as a springboard for the final project.
Each student will maintain a weekly blog for responding to readings and videos. Final projects are designed primarily by the student, and may contain, but are not limited to, zines, videos/digital stories, audio presentations, podcasts, Prezis, and social networking sites. Although the amount of writing done will vary as needed by the project, each final project will be equivalent to approximately 15-20 pages of text. These projects will be probing investigations into a topic of importance and interest to the student in the area of digital rhetoric, new media literacies, writing and mechanization, history of media, social networking, film in the age of digital media, new media and art, or other related areas. All major coursework will be collected and presented in an ePortfolio (available to each student on campus).
For some, parts of the course will already seem dated, while others may feel they are entering strange and disquieting territory. For most, the experience will fall somewhere between. But I want to keep in mind two things: the Internet and its adjacent digital networks, where digital literacies occur, are always changing, and changing our lives as they go; and, digital networks are marked by narratives of living people wherever change occurs. Those narratives are as full of passion, drama, and revolution as anything you might have experienced previously. But you know, because you do experience them, too.
Many assignments and course materials will be publicly available, and learners are encouraged to use them outside of the school. Attribution is requested if you decide to teach with any of my course materials, but no further permissions are required.
Specific course locations and times, as well as office hours, are listed on Blackboard. Complete information is available in this course ePortfolio.
Instructor: Cynthia Davidson
Faculty webpage
ePortfolio
Blog
Twitter: cyndeewillow
Among the many scholars I owe a debt, I would like to especially acknowledge the influence of Danielle Nicole DeVoss on the original course concept and assignments that went into this and to my earlier 300-level new media course. Her generosity with her knowledge and materials is inspirational to those of us who follow.
Photo credits:
The header photo is courtesy of
Voom, Lainy (Pandora Popstar). Cyborg-gal-avi. Flickr. April 27, 2008. Web.
under a Creative Commons attribution/non-commercial/share-alike license.
“the flight of knowledge” from the animal surrealista series by jaci Lopes dos Santos (2011) is also available on Flickr under a Creative Commons attribution/non-commercial/share-alike license.