syllabus

By lordbyrne

ENGL278W: Literature in a Wired World
Spring 2011

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:00pm-12:50pm (Tawes 0223)

Joseph Byrne
byrnejo@umd.edu
Office: Tawes 2132
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11am, and by appointment

This syllabus may—and most probably will—be “tweaked” as the semester progresses, to better fit the needs and interests of the class.

Put “ENGL278W” in the subject line of any emails you send relating to class.

Class Blog: http://engl278w.wordpress.com

Course Description:

This course looks at a new kind of literature: that which makes use of digital, or electronic, technologies. We will begin with the book—the original digital reading technology—and end with wikis, and explore many other genres of digital literature along the way. In addition to close readings of digital works, we will also examine the theoretical and contextual issues involved in digital literature. This includes considering the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 digital forms.

Writing will be an essential part of the course. There are two paper assignments for the course, and students will also be expected to make frequent contributions to the course blog. There will also be a midterm and a final exam, which will involve some essay writing.

Course Goals:

For many, digital literary works do not qualify as “literature.” A major goal of the course, then, is to explore what we mean by “literature,” and how digital works might fit into that definition. There will also be a large “praxis” component of the class as students, individually and in groups, will do online research and create digital works as a way of understanding how digital literature functions.

Required Texts:

  • Shelley Jackson. Patchwork Girl. CD-ROM (Eastgate Systems, 1995). ISBN: 1884511236
  • Marge Piercy. He, She, It. New York: Random House, 1991.

Grading:

  • 30% Class participation (in-class discussion, group work, and blog comments)
  • 10% Mid-term paper
  • 10% Mid-term exam
  • 30% Semester Project
  • 20% Final Exam

Papers and Projects:

The university requires 10 pages of formal written work in undergraduate courses. In this course, the 10-page requirement breaks down as:

  • Mid-term Paper: 3-4 pages analyzing a digital work we have not discussed in class, in a genre we have discussed in class (i.e. hypertext, digital poetry, interactive fiction, etc.).
  • Semester Project: 5-7 pages presenting, and analyzing, a digital work that you have created. Details will be provided later, but it is expected that the analysis, or “manifesto,” portion of your paper will draw upon the works and themes of the entire course.

Note: All class papers and projects need to be submitted electronically, sent (by attachment or link) to my email address listed above. Papers can be in MS-Word format, PDF, HTML, or any other format which can be transmitted, and read, electronically. Please convert Open Document format (.odt) to MS-Word format

Class Blog:

The course blog will be in effect our virtual classroom. All the readings will be posted there, along with lecture notes, class exercises, and announcements. We will also be using the blog for much of our writing in this course, using it to carry on virtual class discussion, and “publish” papers. Since the blog will represent an important complement to our in-class work, participation will be required. The breakdown of your requirement is as follows:

  • Journal Entries: The class will be divided into 7 groups; one group will be published on the class blog each week. This means that each student will submit one journal entry throughout the semester. Journal entries are typically 5-7 sentences in length. Although journal entries are not considered formal class writing, they should engage with the material discussed in class and grapple with some of the course’s major themes.
  • Comments: Each student will be required to make 7 comments on the class blog during the semester. Each comment should be at least a paragraph in length (3-5 sentences). Comments can be responses to discussions then underway on the blog, or in class. More than by number, comments will be judged on the insightfulness of the commentary and the tendency to provoke further discussion; they fall under the participation portion of your grade. You are more than welcome to submit more than 7 comments. In commenting on other students’ work, it is important that you are respectful of the ideas of others, even if you do not agree with them. As the blog administrator, I will eliminate any posting that may be offensive to other students.

Attendance Policy: It is essential that you attend class to participate in discussions, group work, etc. Students should have no more than 4 unexcused absences throughout the semester. Any more than 4 will negatively impact your grade. More than 10 unexcused absences will result in zero credit for the class participation portion of your grade. An unexcused absence is defined as any absence that is not the result of personal illness, family illness, or official religious observance. I will require supporting documentation to excuse most absences.

University Policies:

  • Academic Integrity and Honor Pledge: Plagiarism, whether it is submitting someone else’s work as your own, submitting your own work completed for another class without the permission of the instructor, or otherwise violating the university’s code of academic integrity, will not be tolerated. You are expected to understand the university’s policies regarding academic integrity. These can be found at the Student Honor Council website at www.studenthonorcouncil.umd.edu. Please visit this website, click on the “students” link, and read the information carefully.
  • Special Needs: If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me immediately. If you have a disability and have not yet registered it with Disability Support Services in the Shoemaker Building (4-7682 or 5-7683 TTY-TDD), you should do so immediately.
  • Religious Observance: Please inform me of any intended absences for religious observances at the beginning of the semester.

Class Schedule:

Monday 24 January
Digital Literature: An Oxymoron?

  • General Introduction and review of syllabus, course policies

Wednesday 26 January
The Book: the Original Digital Object

Readings:

Friday 28 January
The Book: Lab

  • Group work: creating an analogue book from digital materials

Readings:

Monday 31 January
Re-versioning Frankenstein

Readings:

Wednesday 2 February
He, She, It, You: Part I

Reading:

  • He, She, It, chapters 1-16

Due: Team G Blog Entries (10pm)

Friday 4 February
Frankenstein: Lab

  • Group work: Re-versioning Frankenstein

Monday 7 February
Introduction to Remediation

Readings:

Wednesday 9 February
He, She, It, You: Part II

Reading:

  • He, She, It, chapters 17-33

Team A Presents: Remediation

Friday 11 February
Remediation: Lab

  • Group work: digitizing an analogue book

Monday 14 February
Introduction to Hypertext

Readings:

Wednesday 16 February
Hypertext in Word and Action

Friday 18 February
Hypertext: Lab

  • Group work: create hypertext fiction in class

Team B Presents: Hypertext

Monday 21 February
Introduction to Patchwork Girl

Readings:

Wednesday 23 February
Patchwork Girl and Other Remediations

Due: Team F Blog Entries (10pm)

Friday 25 February
Patchwork Girl: Lab

  • Group Readings of Patchwork Girl

Monday 28 February
Digital Poetry: Introduction

Readings:

Wednesday 2 March
Digital Poems: Selections

Readings:

Team C Presents: Digital Poetry
Due: Team E Blog Entries (10pm)

Friday 4 March
Digital Poetry: Lab

  • Group work: creating a digital poem

Monday 7 March
Interactive Fiction/Text Games: Introduction

Readings:

Wednesday 9 March
Interactive Fiction/Text Games: Selections

Team D Presents: Interactive Fiction/Text Games

Friday 11 March
Interactive Fiction/Text Games: Lab

  • Group play of interactive fiction games

Readings:

Due: First Paper

Monday 14 March
Textual Immersion and Virtual Reality: Introduction

Readings:

Wednesday 16 March
Textual Immersion: Lab

Readings:

Team E Presents: Textual Immersion/Virtual Reality

Friday 18 March
Mid-Term Exam

Monday 21 March
No Class: Spring Break

Wednesday 23 March
No Class: Spring Break

Friday 25 March
No Class: Spring Break

Monday 28 March
Introduction to Personal Fictions (Cyborgs/Avatars)

Readings:

Wednesday 30 March
He, She, It, You: Part III

  • He, She, It, chapters 34-49

Friday 1 April
April Fool’s Day

  • Group Work: Possible class visit to Second Life; creating fictional profiles/avatars

Monday 4 April
Introduction to Fiction Blogs

Readings:

Wednesday 6 April
Fiction Blogs: Selections

Readings:

Due: Team D Blog Entries (10pm)
Team F Presents: Fiction Blogs

Friday 8 April
Fiction Blogs: Lab

  • Group reading/writing of fiction blogs

Monday 11 April
Introduction to Fiction Wikis

Readings:

Wednesday 13 April
Fiction Wikis: Selections

Readings:

Due: Team B Blog Entries (10pm)
Team G Presents: Fiction Wikis

Friday 15 April
Fiction Wikis: Lab

  • Group reading/writing/editing of fiction wikis

Monday 18 April
Introduction to Film/Fiction Hybrids

Wednesday 20 April
Film/Fiction Hybrids: Selections

Due: Team A Blog Entries (10pm)

Friday 22 April
Semester Project Work Day

  • Use time in lab to work on semester projects

Monday 25 April
Semester Project Presentations I

  • Presentations of individual student projects

Wednesday 27 April
Semester Project Presentations II

  • Presentations of individual student projects

Friday 29 April
Semester Project Presentations III

  • Presentations of individual student projects

Monday 2 May
Digital Literature and Humanities Computing

Readings:

Wednesday 4 May
Future of Digital Literature

Readings:

Due: Team C Blog Entries (10pm)

Friday 6 May
Digital Literature Jeopardy

Monday 9 May
Semester Review and Wrap-Up

Due: Semester Projects

FINAL EXAM: Tuesday 17 May 8:00am-10:00am

 

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