Overview:
The purpose of this course is to extend students’ knowledge of writing instruction theory and practice as it is evolving relative to the development of “Digital Humanities,” a term that can be understood in multiple ways–as a concept, as a discipline (or even anti-discipline), and as an organizing principle. Students will investigate one corner of what constitutes Digital Humanities by considering the scholarship and practice of writing and writing instruction as they are facilitated by digital tools and as “writing” is distributed and remixed in digital spaces. Students will explore the intersections of digital technology with composition studies (with room for considerations of creative writing and publishing, depending on who enrolls in the course).
Of central concern will be the dual-focus on both production and pedagogy, particularly within higher education; thus this course should be particularly relevant to both MA and PhD level students who might be headed onto the academic job market to teach writing in the near future. The course will proceed as a hybrid of theory and practice; certainly we will read and discuss a lot, as is the norm in traditional graduate level seminars, but we will also explore digital compositions and the tools for making them, learning in the process at least a handful of cloud-based tools selected (and taught) collaboratively by the students.
No prior knowledge of Composition and Rhetoric is absolutely required, but it will certainly serve as an effective foundation, as will previous study in writing pedagogy and/or digital literacy.
Assignments:
While small un-graded or “low stakes” assignments might be used, likely primary evaluated projects are as follows:
- Short Essay Wiki Contributions. (30%) Students will build a collaborative resource for understanding the materials of the course through regular individual contributions to a shared wiki, one that can be read, developed, and studied in an interactive, non-linear fashion; these will be short academic essays in response to the theory and practice we examine. The students will be responsible for developing the wiki overall and developing its hypertextual functionality. It will be a scholarly and creative resource for continued work.
- Presentations/Workshops (20%). Students will develop and deliver workshops on Digital Humanities tools and their products.
- Scholarly or Creative DH Publication (50%). Students, depending on their concentration and/or interest, will work on a 700-level major course project that is simultaneously appropriate as an example of Digital Humanities work. They will choose a target publication venue (digital of course) and work towards meeting its guidelines and content expectations.
Texts:
The following texts are likely texts: please don’t purchase them in advance without confirming with the instructor.
Books:
- Arroyo, Sarah J. Participatory Composition: Video Culture, Writing, and Electracy. Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 2013.
- Clark, Michael et al, ed. Creative Writing in the Digital Age: Theory, Practice, and Pedagogy. Bloomsbury Press, 2015
- Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Think. U of Chicago P, 2012.
- Hirsch, Brett, ed. Digital Humanities Pedagogy: Practices, Principles and Politics. Open Book Publishers. 2012.
- McGrath, Laura, ed. Collaborative Approaches to the Digital in English Studies. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital P/Utah State UP, 2011.
- Ridolfo, Jim and Hart-Davidson, William. Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities. Chicago University P, 2014.
PDF Selections from:
- Berry, David, Ed. Understanding Digital Humanities. Palmgrave/Macmillan, 2012
- Computers and Composition Online
- Enoch, Jessica, and David Gold, eds. Special issue of College English (76.2 2013): “The Digital Humanities and Historiography in Rhetoric and Composition.”
- Gold, Matthew K and Laura Klein, eds. Debates in the Digital Humanities. U of Minn. P, 2012
- Journal of Digital Humanities
- Digital Humanities Quarterly
- Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy
- Journal of Digital and Media Literacy
- Kairos: a Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students in 705 should expect to learn and demonstrate the following:
- Written abilities to place one’s own scholarly work within broader critical conversations and disciplinary schools of thought;
- Practice in independent research using primary and secondary sources;
- Advanced critical analysis in written and oral forms; and
- Practical and theoretical engagement with technological tools in ways that align with the aims and outcomes of Digital Humanities work.