51229 ENGL 3145.01 TR 10a-2:40p PSC-107 Online

Introduction

This section of Technology and the Creative Artist will examine several key thinkers positioned in the interstices of the networked digital information and cultural production. What becomes of “art” and the “artist” in “new media”?

Note: this course will be taught as an online seminar. We will not be meeting face-to-face, but class discussion about the key texts will occur on this web site’s forums. Compounding the online component of this course is the fact that it is a first session summer section, so the reading and interaction will need to happen on a daily basis.

Required Texts

These texts will be available in the bookstore, but I recommend your buying them from the links below in order to save a buck or two.

Requirements

Class Participation

Active participation in class discussion and on the class forum are required. Forum discussions about each text are expected, and I will often ask you to respond to a particular question or questions concerning the text. If you are given no direction, you may write about any aspect of the text that you find interesting. You should use the forum discussions to help with your weekly blog entries.

Any other assignments not specified below will fall under participation.

Blog (Journal)

Your blog will be (in)formal responses to assigned texts. You should write at east one response a week, for each of the assigned texts. The focus of your entries should be on the class theme: what does the text say about “art” and the “artist” in the age of new media? You should cite the primary text using MLA style as well as any secondary texts. Be sure you’re practicing good blogging techniques.

Also, part of this requirement will be to respond to your classmates’ entries in the form of comments. Post a minimum of one comment per week to one of your classmate’s blog entries.

All blogs should be kept on LitMUSE.net; therefore, you should sign up for an account as soon as possible to begin your work. You should personalize your blog by choosing a theme and customizing your links. Also, be sure to upload a picture to your account.

Please sign up for a blog on Blogger or WordPress. Once you have secured a blog, send me the URL so I can post it for all to see. The list of student blogs is on another page.

Project

Your project will be to apply the weekly reading to a novel, Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash. Consider this like a final exam in which you show your knowledge of the weekly readings by applying the main themes and arguments of those readings to Stephenson’s novel, considering Hiro or YT as your artist working in a digital realm. This project should be in essay form — i.e., it should flow logically from one idea to the next, have a thesis statement, and synthesize the semester’s material.

This project should be a blog entry, and it will be due on the last day of class.

Policies

Aspects of the following policies may be untenable in a distance-learning environment, but please be aware of the tenor of each. I will always fall back on written policies if there is any contention.

Schedule

This schedule is designed to fit within the confines of a session course, but you will want to begin early. It has a fairly demanding reading and writing schedule, so start as soon as you can. If you wait until June 2 to begin, you may not have enough time to finish the class.

Week 0: Before class officially begins on 6/2

  • Make an Account, including a blog on Blogger or WordPress
  • Complete Your Profile; please include a picture
  • Join the TechArt Group
  • Write your first blog post: introduce yourself to your classmates
  • Personalize your blog by setting the links and theme
  • When you have accomplished the steps above, announce your blog and it’s URL on the TechArt Group wire send your URL to me

Week 1: June 2 & 4

  • Reading: Murray
  • To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion

Week 2: June 9 & 11

  • Reading: Jenkins
  • To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion

Week 3: July 16 & 18

  • Reading: Lessig
  • To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion

Week 4: June 23 & 25

  • Reading: Hayles (optional extra credit reading)
  • To Do: Blog entry, forum discussion (optional)
  • Project Due: Midnight, June 25
Last Updated: 5/17/09 @ 9:51am