- Description
What is so “new” about the internet, anyway? Developed in the late sixties, it ballooned in the early nineties and supposedly burst by decade’s close. Hypertext, the peculiar and innovative writing style supported by HTML language, had been invented by literary modernists long before the development of hypertext software. All the same, the World Wide Web and the hypertext it supports are lumped into the nebulous category entitled “new media.” Shouldn’t we be over it by now? Despite its growing history and every expanding network of nodes, there is something mystical about composing for the web, something utterly unlike writing on the page, something still untapped. Perhaps its capacity to integrate text with video, audio, and visuals. Perhaps it is the ability to make us wander through a garden of interlinked pages. Perhaps it is the universality and freedom of communication. Perhaps it is all this and more.
Over the course of 10 weeks, this course will attempt to identify what it is that makes composing for the web a unique. By examining contemporary theories of hypertextuality, cyperspace, and the future of the book, we will locate the essential features, capacities, and potentials of internet writing and experiment in hypertext argumentation. We'll discuss such things as relationships between text and images, hypertext linking, and alternative narrative organizations, as well as what these mean for audience and persuasive argument. We will begin the quarter covering the basic grammars used for composing webpages: (X)HTML and CSS, which will be necessary for the final project. Throughout the quarter, we will spend time analyzing existing webpages, ones interesting from an academic or critical standpoint, in terms of their form and content. We'll read a variety of examples of theories of the web and the way writing is changed by this technology by such authors as Janet Murray, George Landow, Umberto Eco, Arthur Kroker, and others. These readings provide a vocabulary for talking about websites, assessing the rhetorical use of such things as "immersion," "participation/agency," "disorientation," etc.
Students will be expected to complete several composing assignments over the course of the quarter, refining basic HTML and CSS skills, while using contemporary perspectives on hypertext to make thoughtful webpages that take advantage of the unique possibilities the medium offers. The final project is an individually-authored webpage 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 Windows will be helpful.
- Texts
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- Castro, Elizabeth HTML for the World Wide Web 5th ed., Student Edition. (Available at University Bookstore)
- Engl 282 Course Reader (Available at Ave Copy Center on University Ave. second week of class)
- CIC Student Guide (Available here)
- Computer Integrated Courses
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The computers in the computer-integrated classroom (LAN) allow you to use webwriting programs, access the internet for this course's purposes, comment on and critique your peers' work, and keep a record (in your individual folder) of your work. Though there are printers in the LAN, you will not need to use them for this course, therefore, they are off limits.
You may need to put in time and effort early in the quarter in order to become comfortable with the computer skills necessary for success in this class. This is not a computer course nor is it a course on HTML coding. This means that the burden is on you the student to become comfortable with the computers, relevant programs, and more complex coding language. I will show you the basics of a few simple programs and fundamental coding elements. Where you go from there is up to you. Feel free to explore Castro’s book and expand your own web skills. (Also note, if you choose to use any other web developing programs than the ones we use in this course, you are responsible for the success of those programs.)
In order to complete assignments for this class, you may need to use the LAN outside of class hours. Hours when the LAN is open for use by students enrolled in CIC classes are posted in the LAN. You cannot use the LAN during the breaks between scheduled classes. The LAN also has specific classroom policies, outlined in the "Student Guide to the LAN," with which you must familiarize yourself and adhere to.
All assignments will be submitted by publishing it to the web. Each will be in the form of an HTML document, placed in the appropriate folder in one's student_html space, and linked to from one's website. Assignments shall not be accepted in any other format. Furthermore, all assignments are before class begins unless otherwise specified.
- Accommodation
- 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.
- Inclusive Environment
- 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.
- Academic Integrity Policy
- 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.
- Grading
- Final grades are based on the following percentages:
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- 25%: Participation:
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- homework (count on one being due every class meeting)
- class work
- small group activities
- responsiveness to instruction
- regular and timely attendence
(obviously to get full credit for any of the above you have to be in class and on time)
- 25%: Assignment Sequence Projects
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- HTMLed Survey
- Hypertexted Text
- Website Redesign
- Wesite Analysis
- 50%: Webpage final project
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- elements of academic argument
- correctness of writing
- use of design concepts covered over the course of the quarter (overall plan and stylistic touches)
- elegance of html coding and correct functioning (links working, images appearing, accessibilty, etc.)
- evidence of thorough revision of design and content
- Late Work
- Work submitted late will have 1/10 grade point (on the 4.0 scale) removed for each calendar day after the due date. Exceptions given rarely and only in advance of due date.
- N.B. “Computer failure” is no excuse for late work.