Overview:
English 407 is
designed to help you become more productive and critical at reading and writing
in digital spaces. (Of course, “reading” and “writing” might be more accurately
termed “producing” and “consuming” to account for the multimodal texts that now
comprise most online discourse, such as video assemblages, podcasts, and
digital compositions.) Taught in a computer classroom, this course examines
online discourse communities and the ways in which people can write to them, in
them, and for them. Students will enhance their understandings by reading and
discussing critical theories of technology and contemporary rhetoric, and by
analyzing and engaging in communicative practices online.
This course is
designed for technophobes as well as technophiles, newbies as well as seasoned
experts. So long as you know what the World Wide Web is, how to use email, and
how to compose in a word-processing program, you will be able to succeed. In the past, this course has been very
popular among majors in English, education, CIS, journalism, and business.
Students in the
course will learn its content by engaging in a sustained team project—namely
developing an online forum for public writing around a theme and within a
context decided upon collectively.
Assignments:
A series of short
exploratory essays; a group website template; and individual contributions to
online forums, including student-produced websites.
Required Texts:
One packet of
course readings available via PDF