Today the audience for web content in privileged societies is growing rapidly, and with technologies that drive popular websites like Blogger, YouTube, CurrentTV, GooglePages, GoogleDocs, and Wikipedia compositions for the World Wide Web have taken forms which emphasize new modes and styles of writing, reading and thinking. This course will focus on the conceptual aspects of composing for the WWW. How do the protocols of the Web shape our reading and writing habits? Our expectations for clarity, context, audio and visual content, etc.? What potential is there for thinking and communication in the emerging and re-emerging forms of composition taking place in cyberspace? "Composition" is broadly conceived here to include digital images, video and audio content which accompany written text in order to produce what Espen Aarseth calls "cybertexts." We'll be learning the basics of HTML, analyzing the protocols and structures of cybertexts, reading scholarly reflections on the nature of the WWW, and producing our own web compositions. The core of the class will be our collective thinking about the implications for both writing and reading that cybertexts and the WWW present, so discussion and collaboration will be an important part of the class. Students will be expected to complete several composition assignments over the course of the quarter, refining basic HTML skills, and creating an individually-authored cybertext on a researched topic that reflects an engagement with the concepts covered in the course. As this course is an introduction, no background in HTML code or any particular programs is required, but some basic familiarity with working in Microsoft Windows environments and internet browsers is strongly recommended.
The general objective of this course is to deepen your understanding of the philosophical and cultural aspects of "composing for the web." By the end of the course you will have:
Final grades are based on the following percentages: 20%: Participation
* timely homework submission 50%: Assignment Projects
* Short Responses to Reading [30%] 30%: Cybertext Project + Reflection
* purposive design (cybertext) and academic rigor (reflection)
Late Work - work submitted late will have 0.1 grade point (on the 4.0 scale) removed for each calendar day after the due date. Exceptions given only in advance of due date.
Because most of the work is project-oriented evaluation will be relative to the directions of each assignment (read the assignments closely!). This class is not all about memorizing code or aesthetics of design, yet you will be responsible for making basic, functioning html-based hypertexts that have purposeful design. Hence, tech saavy individuals shouldn't assume they can rest on their laurels - you'll have to demonstrate an awareness of the implications for the user-experience of the technology; writers should also take note - you'll have to engage the medium as more than a means, learning protcols not open to interpretation. In general, then, you'll be evaluated on some objective/technical tasks like making webpages that work with specific content requirements - easy points, and on some creative and critical/reflective tasks in which you'll have to demonstrate your awareness and understanding of the relevant perspectives and concepts covered in the readings, discussions and lectures. In these cases, clarity, quality of thought, and rigor are the touchstones. I'll be giving you short written feedback on reading responses along with a point total, and on projects you'll get a bit more feedback.
Please let me know if you need accommodation of any sort in the classroom. I can work in conjunction with the University of Washington Disabled Student Services to provide what you require I’m also very willing to take suggestions specific to this class to meet your needs.
Respect for your fellow peers who may be of different races, ethnicities, ages, genders, sexual orientations, ability/disability, political or ideological convictions, and so on—is vital to creating a safe and good intellectual environment. Please use language that honors this academic goal as well.
According to university and departmental policy, plagiarism—passing someone else’s work off as your own—constitutes grounds for failure of the assignment in question, which can greatly affect the your grade in the course. If I find a plagiarized assignment I often turn it over to the College of Arts and Sciences review board. They take disciplinary steps, including noting the instance of plagiarism on your transcript. Save all drafts of papers, homework, and notes: I may ask to see evidence of your writing process at any time. We will go over proper documentation of sources, and following the guidelines for quoting and paraphrasing will be expected. If you are having so much difficulty doing the work that you are tempted to use someone else’s, a much better alternative is to come and talk to me—we can work together to overcome any writing difficulty you are experiencing.
|