Objectives

The seminar is designed to address a wide range of student interests. The readings in rhetoric and aesthetics, which include authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Longinus, Augustine, Campbell, Nietzsche, Bakhtin, and Foucault, are essential for students in all areas of English studies. Students will also get an introduction to the diversity of contemporary media representing applications for literary and artistic creation, the teaching of writing and literature, technical communication, and public information. In light of the importance of images and interface design in many electronic documents, we will give particular attention to the developing field of visual rhetoric.

The seminar will be devoted primarily to discussion of the issues raised by the assigned readings and examples of electronic publications. No prior experience with computers or electronic media is required, but students must have an active email account and will be expected to participate in the class email discussion list. Some time will be devoted to workshops that will give participants enough familiarity with the practical dimensions of electronic document development to allow them to approach these materials as informed, confident critics.

Policy

Begin planning your written and oral contributions to the seminar right away. We will begin scheduling class presentations for the third week. You may produce précis for any three primary texts; I recommend that you don't wait until the last weeks of the semester to do them. All three précis are due by the last day of class, along with all other written work for the seminar.

I will accept late work only in extraordinary circumstances; the same policy applies to incompletes.

Materials

Required Texts

Aarseth, Espen. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

Aristotle, Poetics, Longinus, On the Sublime, Demetrius On Style.
Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1995.

Bizzell, Patricia and Bruce Herzberg. The Rhetorical Tradition: Readings from Classical Times to the Present.
Boston: Bedford, 1990.

Landow, George P. Hypertext 2.0: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Technology.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1997.

course packet available from Professional Image in Puck's Alley

Media on Reserve

Hamilton Library has placed a number of hypertext materials on reserve for this class. The following materials will be assigned; more are available for you to examine and, if you like, to incorporate into your semester projects.

Greco, Diane. Cyborg: Engineering the Electronic Body.
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1995.
(Macintosh 3.5 disk)
Q 315.G74 1995

Joyce, Michael. afternoon, a story.
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1987.
(Macintosh 3.5 disk)
PS 3560.O885 A38 1990

---. Twilight, A Symphony.
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1996.
(CD-ROM)
PS 3560.O885 T95 1996

Kolb, David. Socrates in the Labyrinth:
Hypertext, Argument, Philosophy.
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1995.
(2 Macintosh 3.5 disks)
BC 177.K595 1994

Landow, George. The Dickens Web.
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1991.
(2 Macintosh 2.5 disks)
PR 4588.D54 1992

Larsen, Deena. Marble Springs.
Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1993. (Macintosh 3.5 disk)
PS 3562.A 733 M37 1993

World Wide Web

We will be adding to a list of online resources as the semester goes on. The following will be assigned.

Morkes, John and Jakob Nielsen.
Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web.
Jakob Nielsen. Usit.com: Usable Information Technology.
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html.
January 4, 1999.

Selfe, Cynthia.
"Technology and Literacy: A Story about the Perils of Not Paying Attention."
Keynote Address, CCCC 1998.
http://www.ncte.org/forums/selfe/

Sterling, Bruce.
"Short History of the Internet."
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1993.
http://www.swifty.com/VB/cone/view/sterling.htm

Syverson, Margaret A.
Patterns and Process of Reasoning in Virtual Worlds.
Proceedings of the Virtual Worlds And Simulation Conference (VWSIM '98).
Christopher Landauer and Kirstie Bellman, Eds. Simulation Series Vol. 30 No.2.
San Diego: Society for Computer Simulation International. 107-112.

Assignments

• written précis on your choice of three (3) primary texts (20%);
• an in-class report on an assigned text (15%);
• an in-class presentation based on your semester project (15%);
• a term paper of 20-25 pages (50%).

All written work for the seminar is due by the last day of class.