Instructor:
Kimberlee
Gillis-Bridges
Meeting:
Tue/Thu
1:30-3:20
Room:
GLD 435
Office Hours:
Tue/Thu,
12:00-1:00 and by appointment
Office:
Padelford A305
Description | Goals and Methods | Texts | Requirements | Policies | Grading | PDF Syllabus
In this course, we will analyze how the Internet, digital media and computer technologies have altered the contemporary cultural landscape. To do so, we will employ the methodologies of cultural studies, focusing on the social, cultural, and political interactions that occur online, the ways in which electronic media convey and contest particular ideologies, the possibilities and limitations of virtual communities, the economics of participation in cyberculture, and technology’s influence on our notions of the human. Course readings include literary and cinematic representations of cyberspace as well as theoretical writings. Students will also examine digital artwork, social networking platforms, virtual reality environments, blogs and online gaming sites.
Students in the course work toward several goals: distinguishing the social, political, economic, and ideological factors that shape the development and use of digital technologies; developing an understanding of how the virtual and “real” worlds influence one another; appreciating the aesthetic dimensions of art depicting or produced within cyberspace; and recognizing how online environments both expand and circumscribe identities and interactions. They will also hone their critical thinking and writing skills. Course activities promote active learning, with most class sessions including a mix of mini-lectures, discussion, short writing exercises, and group work. My role is to provide the tools and resources you will need to advance your own thinking and writing. I will pose questions, design activities to help you think through these questions, and respond to your ideas. Your role is to do the hard work—the critical reading, discussion, and writing. You will analyze texts, generate ideas in electronic and face-to-face discussions, develop presentations with your peers, construct written arguments, and revise those arguments.
Films
All course films are on reserve at the Odegaard Media Library. While you
may not check out reserve films, you may view them at the Media Library.
Textbooks
Class discussion constitutes one key method of developing your analytical skills. Thus, I expect prompt, regular attendance and active participation in discussions of course texts. You should come prepared for each class session, with assigned reading completed. You should also plan to ask questions, make comments, summarize theoretical arguments, analyze texts, paraphrase your electronic postings, or contribute to small-group discussions. Like all skills, speaking in class becomes easier with practice. I do not expect fully polished commentary in class discussion; rather, your contributions represent ideas for further expansion. To generate discussion, I will frequently ask you to write short responses to assigned readings, films, or Web sites.
Students will use the class discussion board to reflect on course texts,
describe and analyze online experiences, and engage peers’ ideas. I will provide initial questions
or guidelines to help you structure your remarks. Each week, you will submit
a 200- to 250-word response to the discussion prompt. Alternate weeks, you
will post a 100-word reaction to one of your peer’s ideas. The electronic
posting board site allows us to extend class conversations, raise issues
for in-class discussions and generate ideas for papers or projects. Your
postings receive points on a credit/no credit basis, with full points granted
to on-time postings that meet the length requirement and demonstrate serious
engagement with the discussion prompt or peers’ thoughts. I have divided the
class into two groups to keep discussion manageable:
Students will work together in groups of two or three to craft a 15- to 20-minute lecture that summarizes an article from The Cultural Studies Reader and applies the author’s insights to a course novel, film, or digital text. [See PDFs of the presentation assignment and grading criteria.]
Students will author a 1,000- to 1,250-word analysis of a cyberculture “artifact”—a novel or film that depicts an aspect of cyberculture, a digital artwork, or an online text. Incorporating insights from The Cultural Studies Reader, you will examine how your artifact constructs a virtual world, deconstructs the human/machine boundary, or explores the influence of cyberspace on our notions of the body or self.
You may submit your work as a traditional essay or a Web site. For essays,
please title, paginate, type and double-space your submission, using one-inch
margins. In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, include your name,
the course number and the due date; this information should be single-spaced.
You may use a 10 or 12 point Arial, Century Schoolbook, Garamond, or Times
New Roman font. When citing sources, use MLA
format. For Web sites, include
a title, contact information, and a creation date. Students will use Collect
It to electronically turn in their essays or Web page URLs. [See PDFs of
the cyberartifact analysis assignment and grading criteria.]
Students will complete a final project focusing on virtual identity, Web
communities, online social interaction or user-authored texts. The project
includes three stages: a proposal, an in-class poster presentation in which
you will answer viewers’ questions, and a final draft. You will receive
feedback from me on all stages. As with the artifact analysis, the final
project may take multiple forms.
Lateness Policy
I will not accept late electronic postings, presentations, or project proposals.
Late artifact analyses and final projects will receive a 10-point deduction
per day late, including weekends. Failure to submit a final project proposal
or poster presentation will result in a 20-point deduction, as responding
from feedback constitutes an essential part of the assignment. I will make
exceptions to the lateness policy only in cases of documented illness or
family emergency.
Technology glitches do not constitute valid excuses for lateness. To avoid
computer problems, you should save frequently while working, and you should
back up work saved to a hard drive on a memory device or your Dante account.
To avoid problems submitting work via Collect It, give your files distinct names
so that you do not upload the wrong document. If the posting board or CollectIt
breaks down, email your work directly to me.
Plagiarism Policy
In your presentations and written work, you may draw upon the ideas and words
of other writers. However, you must make clear to your audience that you
are incorporating another’s work by placing quotation marks around exact
words and citing the author’s name whenever you quote, summarize or
paraphrase. Failure to credit sources may result in a failing grade for the
assignment,
a failing grade for the course, or expulsion from the university.
Grades in English 207 will be computed by points, with 400 points equaling a 4.0, 300 points a 3.0, and so on. If your total falls between grades, I will round up if you score one to five points below the higher grade and round down if you score one to four points above the lower grade. For example, 274 points equals a 2.7 and 275 points a 2.8. Students who score less than 65 points total will receive a 0 for the course, as the UW grading system does not scale grades lower than .7.
Apart from postings, which are graded on a credit/no credit basis, points for each assignment will be awarded based on quality of work submitted. I will distribute grading criteria for each assignment early in the term. Each component of the course is worth the following number of points: