English 325: Writing in Digital EnvironmentsSpring 2019

Policy Statement – 2 Schedule – 5 Assignments – 7

English 325: Writing in Digital EnvironmentsSpring 2019

Professor: Matt King (he, him, his; more on pronouns here and here)Email: mrking@sbu.eduPhone: 716.375.2457Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:30-4:00 and by appointmentOffice Location: Plassmann D6Class Website: http://mattrking.com/courses/e325

Class texts will be made available online as needed.

Professional and Creative Writing Major Objectives Write effective texts in different genres and in multiple media to respond to a variety of

professional and creative needs. Construct professional identities as writers, readers, and researchers who can make

valuable contributions in a variety of professional settings. Interpret cultural, political, and historical situations using specific theories from

rhetorical, literary, and writing studies. Display the ethical commitment of writers to improve society.

Course DescriptionThis course will give students experience writing in a range of digital spaces. Possible writing environments and technologies include blogs, wikis, websites, videos, podcasts, social media platforms, interactive and electronic fiction, video games, and virtual worlds. Students will develop skills and writing practices related to analysis, argumentation, creative writing, media production, design, editing, and coding. At the same time, the course foregrounds writing in specific digital environments and asks students to consider how these contexts shift and shape the act of writing. (3 credits; no prerequisites)

Course Goals: Become better readers of digital writing through understanding and applying key

terms and concepts in digital rhetoric; Develop writing and production strategies that facilitate both academic (analysis,

argumentation) and creative (experimentation, play, discovery) pursuits; Produce texts that effectively address concerns of audience and purpose with

particular attention to digital publics, editing and design practices, and the capacities of a given media/platform;

Reflect on and attend to the relationship between digital writing, academic writing, and writing in your field or future profession;

Understand and apply standards and best practices in documentation, fair use, and accessibility in digital writing.

Grading PolicyShort Projects

Social Media Analysis 10% Remix 10% System Design 10%

Final Project 40%Class Website 20%Participation   10% TOTAL  100%

Late Work. I am pretty flexible concerning late work as long as you let me know ahead of time. I would rather you spend the time you need on your writing in order to succeed, and if you need an extra day or two beyond the deadline to achieve that, I want you to take advantage of that time. That being said, excessive or unexcused late work will not be acceptable; in such circumstances, late work will be penalized with points deducted equivalent to a letter grade. If circumstances prevent you from being able to submit an assignment on time, you should discuss the situation with me at least 24 hours in advance.

Attendance. You should arrive to class on time with all assigned readings and papers completed. You are allowed three absences throughout the semester without a grade penalty. After three absences, each absence will deduct 2 points from your participation grade (i.e., with four absences, you cannot get higher than 8 pts for participation; with five absences, you cannot get higher than 6 pts). If you have more than eight absences, you will automatically fail the course. Tardiness can also contribute to your absences; every 3 instances of tardiness will count as an absence. If you arrive to class more than 15 minutes late or leave more than 15 minutes early, you will be counted absent.

This policy does not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences except for athletes or other students with official university responsibilities. For athletes, students who provide documentation for absences related to athletic competitions will be excused for all such absences. Student athletes can also miss two more class periods throughout the semester without a grade penalty. If you have three or more unexcused (non-athletic) absences throughout the semester, then all of your absences will be counted toward the attendance policy.

+/- Grades. Plus and minus grades will be used in awarding final grades for this course. The letter-to-percentage conversion is given below.

Paper Grades Semester AverageA+ = 98.5 A = 95 A- = 91.5 93-100 = A 90-93 = A- B+ = 88.5 B = 85 B- = 81.5 87-90 = B+ 83-87 = B 80-83 = B- C+ = 78.5 C = 75 C- = 71.5 77-80 = C+ 73-77 = C 70-73 = C-D+ = 68.5 D = 65 D- = 61.5 67-70 = D+ 63-67 = D 60-63 = D-F = 55 Less than 60 = F

Student Success CenterRevising and responding to feedback will be an invaluable and necessary part of your development as a writer this semester. Toward this end, you are strongly encouraged to visit me during office hours and to visit the Student Success Center on the first floor of Plassmann Hall to meet with a writing tutor. Bring your work with you to your appointment.

Academic Honesty The work you submit for our class should be your own; when you draw on the work of others, you should acknowledge it and include appropriate citations. Instances of plagiarism can result in failed assignments and potentially failure of the course. A list of unacceptable practices and procedures to be followed in prosecuting cases of alleged academic dishonesty can be found here.

Students with Disabilities Students with disabilities who feel they need academic accommodations should contact Adriane Spencer (aspencer@sbu.edu), Director of Disability Support Services Office, 100D Plassmann Hall (Student Success Center), 716-375-2065. Please reach out early in the semester so that they can assist you as soon as possible. Documentation from the Disability Support Services Office is required before I can make accommodations.

EmailEmail will serve as an official means of communication for this class, and you should check the email account you have registered with the university regularly. Feel free to email me with your questions and concerns.

Title IXTitle IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can find the appropriate resources at the Health and Wellness Center or at the Campus Safety Office. For on-campus reporting, see the Title IX Coordinator (Sharon Burke, Director of Human Resources) and Residence Life Staff (RAs, RDs, and other professional staff). The University’s policy and procedures regarding gender-based and sexual misconduct can be found online.

In the event of an emergency, call Campus Safety at 716-375-2525 or contact Nichole Gonzalez, Residential Living and Conduct, 716-375-2572, ngonzale@sbu.edu. Be aware that most university employees are mandated reporters.

Other ConcernsIf you have any other concerns that affect your ability to succeed in this course – for example, affording costs related to the class, having regular shelter and food, dealing with mental health issues, etc. – please let me know, and I will do what I can to help.

Schedule

Date Major Due Dates; Homework (due day listed); In class

W 1/23 Introduction to Course

F 1/25 Read Taylor (Moodle); Start working with WordPress; Notes

M 1/28 Digital Reflection due; Discuss emails

W 1/30 Read Yang; Notes

F 2/1 Read Brown, Mazanec, and Jones; Notes

M 2/4 Bring in draft of Social Media Analysis; Discuss rubric and WordPress

W 2/6 Social Media Analysis due for peer reviews

F 2/8 Social Media Analysis due with revisions

M 2/11 Read Ridolfo and DeVoss (intro, remix) and Ennenga

W 2/13 Read Roberts and Loofbourow

F 2/15 Art Analysis due; Notes

M 2/18 Work on Remix

W 2/20 Remix due for peer reviews

F 2/22 Remix due with revisions; Notes

M 2/25 Read Bogost (Moodle); Discuss Gee and mapping systems activity

W 2/27 Read Parrish; Hacktivity

F 3/1 System Analysis due

M 3/11 Bring draft of System Design to class

W 3/13 System Design due for peer reviews; Notes

F 3/15 System Design due with revisions

M 3/18 Conferences; Final Project Proposal due at conference

W 3/20 Conferences; Final Project Proposal due at conference

F 3/22 Read @HeerJeet‘s Tweet thread and Nussbaum; Notes

M 3/25 Work on Final Project

W 3/27 Final Project Workshop; Discuss Dibbell

F 3/29 Read Chief Elk-Young Bear and Kane

M 4/1 Blog Post due

W 4/3 Final Project Workshop

F 4/5 Read Szymielewicz; Notes

M 4/8 Final Project Workshop; Discuss Jackson

W 4/10 Read Byrne; Notes

F 4/12 Read Tufekci; Discuss Canbek and Haberstroh

M 4/15 Blog Post due; Discuss Kazemi and Sugar; Final Project Workshop

W 4/17 Read Koerner; Notes

T 4/23 Conferences

W 4/24 Conferences

F 4/26 Read Tolentino; Discuss Zaino

M 4/29 Blog Post due; Discuss accessibility

W 5/1 Work on Final Project

F 5/3 Final Project Peer Review

M 5/6 Work on Final Project

W 5/8 Meet to wrap up class; Final Project (Project and Reflection) due by end of Friday

T 5/14 Final Draft of Website due

Class Website

This semester long project gives you an opportunity to explore the challenge of website design and production. While the website mainly serves as a space for you to submit your work for class, it also allows you to consider other aspects of creating a blog or website related to making the site visually appealing and effectively organized, adding more ways for your audience to engage with and navigate through your work, sharing other interests, and developing a professional identity.

For your site, I will ask you to use the same platform I use for my website: WordPress. (You can potentially use a different platform, such as Weebly or Wix, but I won’t be able to offer as much support for these.) To get started, create a WordPress account and think about what you would like to name your site. You don’t necessarily need to share this site beyond our class, so you are welcome to use a name that is mainly functional or fun. You might consider using this as the foundation of a professional site (something you use beyond this class), and in that case, it would help to use your name for the site or something else that captures your professional identity. Once you have decided on a name, go ahead and register your own WordPress site. For our class purposes, there is no need to pay for anything, although you are welcome to do so for your own purposes if you would like to register your domain name or get more functionality.

As the semester progresses, we will mainly use the site as a space to submit and share work. Beyond submitting your work to the site, there are not specific requirements for the website. That being said, the most effective sites will consider and address the following concerns in some way.

Theme. Your WordPress theme goes a long way toward shaping the layout and design of your site. Try experimenting with different themes until you find what works best for you.

Visual Design. You have control over many visual aspects of your site: colors, the header image, the background, etc. This can be a good way to add personal touches or to help establish the atmosphere and identity of your site.

Organization. Your site should help any reader (including people outside of our class) navigate through the content on the site. This can be done by using tabs/menus, parent pages and child pages, or widgets that allow readers to look over recent posts, tags, or archives.

Embedded Content. Embedding links, images, videos, tweets, etc., allows you to incorporate different types of content, to cite relevant people and conversations, and to engage your audience through different modes of writing.

Widgets. In addition to widgets that help you organize and share site content (Archive, Category Cloud, Recent Posts), there are a range of widgets that help you share other content, interests, and links. These include a Twitter widget that posts recent tweets, Blogs I Follow, Flickr or Instagram, a Music Player, and Links.

Additional Pages. Consider adding extra pages that address other interests or help you develop your online professional identity. This could include an About page, a resume, a page that includes embedded content that captures an outside interest, or anything else that goes beyond our class assignments.

Creative Commons. Consider adding a Creative Commons license to let others know how they can use content from your site.

Responsive Web Design. Consider how your site looks on different screens – desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc. Does it translate across devices?

Final. For the final submission of your site at the end of the semester, you should also add one last post or page (500-800 words) that reflects on your semester and the site. Your reflection should address the following prompts.

How have you developed as a writer this semester? Where has your work been most effective this semester? Least effective? How so?

What are the three (or more) main things you have learned about writing in digital environments? What do you enjoy most about writing in digital environments?

Comment on your site. What have you tried to accomplish through developing its functionality and visual appeal? Is there anything you weren’t able to accomplish that you wanted to? What about your site are you most happy with, most proud of?

Digital Reflection

This short assignment (600-900 words) asks you to reflect on the role that digital writing and digital technologies play in your life. Post your work on your website as a static page or a blog post. Your thinking should address the following prompts and questions. Feel free to take advantage of the functionality offered by WordPress (adding links, embedding images or videos, etc.) however you are inspired to do so.

What role does writing play in your life? How does writing contribute to your identity? How does writing help you understand your identity?

How would you describe the difference between writing in general and digital writing? If you don’t see much of a difference, in what ways are they similar?

Following Taylor’s understanding of the term, in what ways are you a producer of culture? Who benefits from what you produce, and how? What digital technologies and writing platforms do you use? Do you use them for social, personal, professional, creative, political, artistic, academic, etc., reasons? How so? How do they shape your life, your interests, and your ways of interacting with other people and the world around you?

Similarly, in what ways are you a consumer of digital culture? Who benefits from what you consume, and how? What type of digital content do you consume? How does this content reflect or inform your identity and interests?

What role do digital technologies play in your academic discipline/future profession?

Social Media Analysis

Our first short project (900-1200 words) asks you to analyze some aspect or example of digital culture through the lens of our class readings. To submit your work, post your writing as a new post or page on your class website. Your analysis should include three parts:

Argument. Your analysis should offer an argument, claim, or insight about digital culture. Think of our class readings: Taylor makes an argument about the material and cultural costs of digital technologies and the role of advertising in the digital sphere; Yang makes a series of observations (each a different claim or insight) about what our digital content reveals about us as people. Your argument should be specific and help us understand digital culture in a productive and engaging way.

Examples. Your analysis should incorporate specific examples from social media or other aspects of digital culture. This could be a collection of social media posts (tweets, Facebook or Instagram posts, etc.), a particular account (someone who posts on Twitter, a YouTube account, etc.), a hashtag, or anything else along these lines.

Analysis. Your analysis should comment on your examples to show they support and demonstrate your larger argument. Help us see the significance of your examples, why they are important and what we learn from them; help us understand the importance and implications of your argument. Your analysis should draw on at least one of our class readings, and it will likely help to quote from the reading to bring in a specific idea or perspective. Your use of the reading should forward, counter, and/or extend it in some way. For example, if you were drawing on Yang, you could look at examples that further demonstrate his point about “the anxiety of too much choice” or examples that work against this point, or you could extend Yang’s thinking by making a new observation not included in his list.

Your writing should also draw on the functionality of WordPress, embedding relevant links, images, or other content. For example, if you draw on one of our class readings, include a link to it; if you are analyzing a tweet or image or video, embed it in your post.

The Social Media Analysis is worth 10% of our final grade, and you will thus be graded on a 10 pt scale that corresponds roughly to letter grades (10 = A+, 9 = A, 8 = B, 7 = C, etc.). You will be graded on the effectiveness of your argument, examples, analysis, and use of digital elements.

Art Analysis

This short assignment (at least 500 words, posted on your class website) asks you to visit the Quick Center on campus and to find a piece of art to observe and analyze. Some pieces are on display in the lobby or other open areas, and there are many more paintings and pieces in the galleries. Wander around until you find something that captures your attention. Once you find a particular work to observe, study it for at least thirty minutes. It could help to take notes of your observations at this time. Keep in mind that you don’t need to have any prior knowledge of art history or experience with art criticism. This is about your observations and insights. Your writing should address some combination of the following prompts and questions:

What details do you notice? Think about different possible aspects of the art: subject, character, setting, narrative, color, medium and material (e.g., oil paint, water color, pencil, wood, stone, etc.), light, texture. What is the significance of these details? How do they shape your understanding of the art? How do they affect your experience of it? How do they shape its meaning? Similarly, how does the larger situation (the date the art was produced, who the artist was and their background, and even the immediate situation: the lighting in the room, where the art is located, what time of day it is, what other people are around, etc.) shape your experience or understanding of the art work?

Orient yourself toward the artwork in different ways. Focus on its social meaning, what it depicts, what its subject is, and how it contributes to our understanding of this subject or takes a position or offers a perspective on this subject. Alternately, focus on how it affects you, how it makes you feel, and what sort of experience you have looking at it. Alternately, focus on its technique, on the actual work of art itself, how the materials are used.

How does this piece of art fit in with our conversation about the relationship between images, remix, and commodification? What aspects of the world does the work draw upon, and how does it reconfigure them or present them in a new way? How does it shape our understanding of reality? How does it contribute to or work against commodification – the way images sometimes present an ideal reality that is easily consumed and discarded and that obscures the labor and capital necessary to produce and sustain this ideal?

Remix

Our second short project will ask you to compose with audio and images. You will produce either a short audio file, video, or collection of images, and you will also write a short reflection on your work. Your work does not need to be polished. The goal here is to experiment with remixing in hopes of producing something interesting, fun, funny, critical, inspiring, or anything else that moves us. Here are the expectations for the various approaches.

AudioAudio remixing offers an opportunity to splice together or layer different audio files and sound sources. Your work could go in a few different directions. You could remix multiple songs or pieces of music to create a mashup; you could take a speech or other vocal recording and add music or other sound to the background; you could take various audio sources and combine them in a unique way to create a sound collage. One challenge will be thinking about purpose: what are you hoping to achieve here? Is this for humor, for satire or critique, something artistic? Be mindful of your purpose when you select materials and put them together.

If you are looking for audio files to incorporate, I would recommend checking out these sites for public domain or Creative Commons licensed materials: the Free Music Archive, Musopen, American Rhetoric, Wikipedia Sound/list, LOC Sound Recordings, and the Internet Archive. If there is audio you want to use on YouTube, you can download it.You might have audio editing and production software on your computer (e.g., GarageBand), and you are welcome to use this. Otherwise, you will need to download software onto your computer or onto a Bonaventure computer. I would recommend Audacity. You might also try DJ software like Mixxx.

VideoVideo remixing offers an opportunity to splice together or layer different video and audio files and images. Your work could go in a few different directions. You could remix multiple videos or images and audio files to create a mashup; you could play music or a speech or other sound source over a set of videos or images; you could take various video and audio sources and combine them in a unique way to create a story or collage. One challenge will be thinking about purpose: what are you hoping to achieve here? Is this for humor, for satire or critique, something artistic? Be mindful of your purpose when you select materials and put them together.

If you are looking for video files and images to incorporate, I would recommend checking out these sites for public domain or Creative Commons licensed materials: the Public Domain Review, the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress, and Flickr. Keep in mind that sites like YouTube and Flickr allow you to search for Creative Commons licensed material. On YouTube, you can select a “Creative Commons” filter on your search. On Flickr, you can do this under the advanced search option. If there is video you want to use on YouTube, you can download it or get a screen capture using software like Debut.

You might have video editing and production software on your computer (e.g., iMovie or Final Cut Pro), and you are welcome to use this. Otherwise, you will need to download software onto your computer or onto a Bonaventure computer. I would recommend VideoPad.

ImagesFor image remixing, we’re looking for ways to repurpose images. Your work could go in a few different directions. You could create a set of memes by taking existing memes or new images and adding your own words to them using a site like imgflip. You could create a collage by combining a series of images and laying them out in a specific way. You can create a comic strip using a platform like StoryboardThat or ToonDoo. One challenge will be thinking about purpose: what are you hoping to achieve here? Is this for humor, for satire or critique, something artistic? Be mindful of your purpose when you select materials and put them together.

ReflectionYour work on the project should be organized on your website on a “Remix” post or page. If possible, you should embed your work on the page. For example, if you post a video to YouTube, embed the YouTube video on the page; if you create a set of memes, include the images on the page. Any work that is not embedded or linked to on this page can be submitted through a class folder on Dropbox.

In addition to the multimedia composition you produce, you should also post a reflection (400-700 words) on your class site that addresses your work on the remix. Your reflection should address the following prompts.

What was the main purpose of your remix work? What did you hope to achieve or communicate here? Where were you most successful in achieving this purpose? Least successful? Point to specific aspects of your work and explain how they add to your project.

How did you spend your time on the remix? What challenges did you encounter? How would you describe the challenge of writing with audio and images? What can you do with these media that you can’t do with words?

Comment on your work for this project in relation to the question of fair use. Where did you incorporate the work of others into your project? How would you defend your use of these materials with reference to the principles of fair use?

The Remix is worth 10% of our final grade, and you will thus be graded on a 10 pt scale that corresponds roughly to letter grades (10 = A+, 9 = A, 8 = B, 7 = C, etc.). You will be graded on the purpose (does your remix work have a clear sense of purpose? is it doing something engaging and interesting?) and execution (not in terms of technical proficiency but rather in terms of selecting relevant materials and using them effectively) of the remix and your remix reflection.

System Analysis

This assignment asks you to produce an analysis that draws on concepts we have discussed and texts we have read in our Procedural Rhetoric unit and apply them to a procedural artifact – that is, anything that can be defined as a system: a game, a social media platform, or any other computer program; a conceptual system (a philosophy, religion, political party, educational system, your major, a specific class); an organization or institution (Bonaventure, the postal service, a corporation); or a mechanical system (a car, a computer, or other technology). Your analysis should be 600-900 words, draw on at least one of our class readings, analyze a procedural artifact, be posted on your class website, and address one of the following prompts.

Ian Bogost’s discussion of procedural rhetoric helps us think about how systems represent some aspect of the world and/or make an argument about how the world works, doesn’t work, or could work. Drawing on Bogost, offer an analysis of a procedural artifact that addresses how it represents or makes an argument about some aspect of the world. How does the system work? What are the rules of the system? How do these rules work to make an argument about the world or represent it in some way? How does the system embody a particular ideology? In what ways is the system effective in terms of what it achieves or how it shapes our thinking about the world? What does the system leave out, obscure, or otherwise fail to address in some way?

James Paul Gee’s work helps us think about literacy as a set of practices rather than the acquisition of knowledge. Drawing on Gee, analyze a “semiotic domain” in terms of his main concepts. What sorts of social practices (activities, actions, and behaviors) are allowed, encouraged, or discouraged in this domain or system? What are the purposes of these practices, and what value do they have for the community that participates in this system? Who makes up this community? Are there specific people or types of people? What do they share in terms of ideas, attitudes, and values? What role does this domain or system play in the world more generally? How does it interact with other systems?

Allison Parrish helps us think about the ethics of hacking, both in terms of computer hacking and also any other way that we can modify a system. Drawing on Parrish, analyze the ethics of a specific procedural artifact using her main questions. Who gets to use this system or technology? Who is left out? How does the system facilitate or hinder access? What data and information does the system draw on? Whose labor produced this information and what biases and assumptions are built into it? And what do the data leave out? What systems of authority are enacted by the system? What kind of community does the system assume? What community does the system invite or allow for?

System Design

Our third short project asks you to design or modify a system and to consider how systems function as persuasive and expressive modes of composition. Designing a system involves attention to procedural rhetoric, to the way that processes, rules, and logics make available and constrain possibilities for actions within a system. Following Ian Bogost and James Paul Gee, our thinking on systems here is broad and inclusive. These authors focus primarily on video games, but they help us think about different types of systems: conceptual, educational, political, religious, economic, mechanical, computer, etc.

Using procedural rhetoric to design a system can be a way of making an argument about how the world works (or how it could, should, or doesn’t work). It is also a way to facilitate different types of actions, activities, social practices, and social relations. For example, when I design a course about Writing in Digital Environments, I’m making an argument of sorts about how the field works and what sort of practices are important. The assignments make available particular experiences, modes of writing, and possibilities for interacting with others. Any given system works in this way: systems encourage us to adopt certain types of values, perspectives, behaviors and actions, and relationships.

To take up this notion of procedural rhetoric and the challenge of designing systems, this project asks you to either design or modify a system. Your work should be organized on a post or page on your class site and should include at least 700 words of writing.

System DesignFor this approach to the project, you would design a new system. Following our readings, this system can represent or make an argument about how some aspect of the world works (procedural rhetoric), create a new semiotic domain with its unique set of social practices and codes, or make available a particular sort of experience. While you need not be limited by these suggestions, here are some of the main possibilities that come to mind for me:

Create a game. Describe your vision for a game in specific detail. You could also do this for any other sort of computer program: an app, a social media platform, a piece of software. Your design should consider the following sorts of questions: What is the game about? What are the rules of the game? What sort of decisions or actions do players have to take? Is there a narrative or characters? What does the game consist of materially? Cards, game pieces, game board, etc.? If it’s a video game, what does it look like? You should also explain the rationale behind the game. Why did you design it this way? What did you hope to express, communicate, or achieve?

Design an institution or organization. This approach involves thinking about how institutions (educational, political, economic, religious) and organizations (student organizations, community organizations, volunteer organizations, charity organizations) function as systems. Your design should consider the following sorts of questions: What do you want to achieve through this institution or organization? How does this institution or organization embody a departure and improvement upon existing institutions and organizations? What values, priorities, and assumptions motivate the thinking behind this institution or organization? What does participation in this institution or organization entail? What practices and

activities do people engage in? What rules, logics, and processes guide these practices? Your thinking on the institution or organization should also have a visual design component. What would this institution or organization look like? Think about possible points of comparison here – existing universities, capitols and palaces, churches and temples, etc. How does the visual and material manifestation of the institution or organization complement it conceptually?

Design a major, a class, or an assignment. This approach asks you to think about how educational systems are designed, how they make available a possibility space that students get to “play” in. If you want to design a major or a class or assignment, you can take up any subject matter or goal. Explain how the major or class or assignment works, what work is involved, and what the purpose is.

System ModificationFor this approach to the project, you would propose modifications to an existing system. This modification can occur with any aspect of the system, but it should substantially change how the system works. For example, this Monopoly mod changes how the game is played in order to represent structural inequality; “Cards Against Humanity” plays with the same rules as “Apples to Apples,” but the different content on the cards makes for a more risqué and adult-themed playing experience. If we think about religious systems, Protestantism works as a modification of Catholicism.

Depending on the nature of the system you are modifying and the modifications themselves, your submission for this approach could take on a few different forms. Most likely, you will capture the modification in writing. For example, if you are changing the rules of a game, your submission should include a formal overview of the new rules. If you want to modify a video game, your write-up should describe in detail how the modification would work if we had the resources to actually change the game. If you are proposing changes to Bonaventure’s parking system, you should describe the changes in detail and explain how they will work. But there are also possibilities for going beyond simply writing up and describing the modification. You are welcome to design game pieces, to make new maps for Bonaventure parking lots, etc.

The written component of the system mod should also explain the rationale behind the modification. Why did you modify the system in this way? What do you hope to achieve through this modification? How does this change the meaning or experience of the system?

Hacker QuestionsRegardless of which approach you take to the project, keep in mind Parrish’s hacker questions. These questions help us consider the ethical aspects of our system design work.

Who gets to use what I make? Who am I leaving out? How does what I make facilitate or hinder access?

What data am I using? Whose labor  produced it and what biases or assumptions are built into it?

What systems of authority am I enacting through what I make? What systems of support do I rely on? How does what I make support other people?

What kind of community am I assuming? What community do I invite through what I make? How are my own personal values reflected in what I make?

The System Design project is worth 10% of our final grade, and you will thus be graded on a 10 pt scale that corresponds roughly to letter grades (10 = A+, 9 = A, 8 = B, 7 = C, etc.). You will be graded on the purpose (does your system design work have a clear sense of purpose? is it doing something engaging and interesting?) and execution (how thoroughly do you describe the system? do you think through the implications of the system, both practically and ethically?) of the system design work.

Blog Posts

We will have three blog post assignments during the last half of the semester as a way of continuing to practice analysis and critical writing. This writing will contribute to your Class Website grade, but it can also serve as a form of extra credit. Each blog post will be graded on a three-point scale: 3 = excellent, 2 = good, 1 = needs improvement. If you get more than 6 points for the blog posts combined, each additional point will be added as a bonus point on your final average for the class. Each blog post should be added as a new post or page on your class site.

Blog Post 3 – Monday, April 29This post takes up our recent readings from Koerner and Tolentino. Your blog post should be at least 600 words and should address some combination of the following questions. Include embedded content (links, images, videos, tweets, etc.) when relevant.

How do digital environments shape our emotions and our emotional capacity: what emotions we feel, how we express and share them, the extent to which we feel emotions deeply? Are we more or less emotional online? More or less loving? Vulnerable? How do digital environments shape our capacities for love, for loving someone, for expressing and sharing love? You should incorporate specific examples, either from your personal experience or otherwise, and help us see how your thinking adds to what we learned from Koerner.

How do digital environments shape our capacities for deception, for pretending to be someone we’re not, or to feel something we don’t? Are we more or less deceptive online? Ethically, is online deception any better or worse than offline deception? You should incorporate specific examples, either from your personal experience or otherwise, and help us see how your thinking adds to what we learned from Koerner.

Tolentino’s attention to incels helps us consider ways people have distorted understandings of love and relationships and how digital environments exacerbate the problem. What other examples come to mind along these lines – how else do digital environments open possibilities for distorted understandings of love and relationships? You should incorporate specific examples, either from your personal experience or otherwise, and help us see how your thinking adds to what we learned from Tolentino.

We can also develop our thinking in the other direction, attending to ways that people use digital environments to foster more respectful and mature approaches to love and relationships. What examples come to mind? You should incorporate specifics, either from your personal experience or otherwise, and help us see how your thinking adds to what we learned from Tolentino.

We took a quick glance in class at Darius Kazemi’s “Last Words” project. This prompt asks you to look at another digital project or experiment (such as We Feel Fine or PostSecret) that helps us share or examine our emotions or make ourselves vulnerable in unusual ways. Explain how your example works, what we learn from it, and how it adds to our understanding of Koerner and/or Tolentino.

Blog Post 2 – Monday, April 15This post takes up our recent readings from Szymielewicz, Jackson, Byrne, and Tufekci. Your blog post should be at least 600 words and should address one of the following sets of prompts. Include embedded content (links, images, videos, tweets, etc.) when relevant.

Map out your digital data profile following Szymielewicz’s thinking. What data and information have you shared online – through social media, browser history, online forms completed, online purchases, etc.? What aspects of your behavior can be determined based on how you use digital technologies and the internet? What do you think your data profile suggests about you? What are the range of ways it might be interpreted? Think about what sort of ads you are shown at different times on different sites; what do these suggest about your digital profile? You should incorporate specific examples and help us see how your thinking adds to our understanding of Szymielewicz.

The concept of surveillance describes how we are observed, tracked, and followed, whether by the government or a company or another person or a machine. Oftentimes this surveillance and the data generated from it are used against us or open ways for us to be used for profit or control. Think of an example of surveillance at work. Who is doing the surveillance and why? What benefits do they get out of it? Whom does this surveillance target? How are they being observed? What sort of data is being collected? What impact does the surveillance have on their lives? On society more generally? Is this surveillance justified? Why or why not? How does your analysis add to our understanding of one of our texts?

Jackson and Byrne help us see how algorithms and surveillance tactics target marginalized populations, specifically African Americans and poor folks. What other examples come to mind when you think about how algorithms (in search engines or elsewhere) work for or against a particular group of people? What other examples come to mind when you think about rights, privileges, or benefits not granted to people who are marginalized that other people get to enjoy? What other hoops, hurdles, or inconveniences do people who are marginalized have to go through that other people don’t? Why is this? What justifications do we as a society have for these different expectations and approaches? In what ways are these justifications and different types of treatment fair and appropriate? In what ways are they unfair and inappropriate? You should incorporate specific examples and help us see how your thinking adds to our understanding of Jackson and/or Byrne.

Tufekci and others push for changes in how our data is collected and in the role we play in the conversation. Szymielewicz argues we should be able to work with marketing companies to create a more accurate data profile. Tufekci focuses on the concept of community and argues that we as a community should have more control over our data and more of an ability to benefit from it, for example, through independent researchers. (Morozov makes a similar argument.) Pick an example of a digital community that effectively embodies or fails to embody the values of transparency, respect, shared access, mutual benefit, etc. How does this community work? What structures, processes, or logistics help this community to function effectively or prevent it from doing so? What do we learn from this community? How does it add to our understanding of these authors?

Blog Post 1 – Monday, April 1This post takes up our recent readings from Heer, Nussbaum, and Chief Elk-Young Bear and Kane. Your blog post should be at least 600 words and should address one of the following prompts. Include embedded content (links, images, videos, tweets, etc.) when relevant.

How do you understand the relationship between humor and violence? When does humor serve as an alternative to violence? When does humor encourage violence? When does humor become a form of violence? Do you see evidence of the type of humor Nussbaum and Heer describe online? What examples come to mind for you when you think of humor that covers over violence, that can be dismissed as irony rather than actual violence? You should incorporate specific examples and help us see how your thinking adds to our understanding of Nussbaum and Heer.

What do you see as effective approaches to or uses of humor? How can humor be used as a force for good, for critical thinking, for exposing hypocrisy or power structures, for community building, etc.? What does effective humor look like online? You should incorporate specific examples and help us see how your thinking adds to our understanding of Nussbaum and Heer.

How do you understand the relationship between harassment (online or offline) and gender? What does harassment of women (cis or trans) and non-binary folks look like, and why is it such a problem? What types of harassment do men (cis or trans) encounter? How does the internet (through social media platforms, news media, digital surveillance, etc.) contribute to or facilitate this harassment? How have institutions (companies, the government, law enforcement agencies, etc.) been helpful or unhelpful in addressing harassment? You should incorporate specific examples and help us see how your thinking adds to our understanding of Chief Elk-Young Bear and Kane.

What do you see as effective approaches to social movements, such as those addressing harassment and violence? What makes for an effective social movement in terms of goals, leadership, actions, etc.? How have social movements effectively used digital technologies to advance their causes? You should incorporate specific examples and help us see how your thinking adds to our understanding of Chief Elk-Young Bear and Kane.

Final Project

Our Final Projects will comprise our main work for the last several weeks of the semester. Part of the challenge will be managing your time and making regular progress, but we will check in on a weekly basis to help you move forward. If you do not have experience managing your time on a larger and longer project, that’s okay – we can use this as a learning opportunity. If you need to scale back or add onto your project along the way, we can adjust. You can potentially do multiple short projects if that sounds better to you. Your project can be individual or collaborative if you want to work with other people in the class, and you could potentially do some of both, some individual work and some collaborative work.

Final Project ComponentsThe Final Project will comprise 40% of our final average. This grade will be determined by a few components:

Managing your project on Trello – 5% Project Conference Draft (due the week of April 22) – 10% Final Project Submission (due May 8) – 20% Project Reflection (due May 8) – 5%

Final Project ProposalWe are having conferences to discuss our Final Project work in the middle of the semester, and you should post your proposal to your website before our conference. The proposal should be at least 500 words, and it should address the following prompts:

Describe the project. What do you want to make or do? Tell us about the medium (e.g., video, podcast, website, paper) and the content (what your project will be about). Be as specific and thorough as possible.

Describe the purpose of your project. Why do you want to do this? Why is it important or meaningful to you? Why might it be important or meaningful to a larger audience? What effect do you have want to have in the world?

Identify the resources you will need to complete the project. What sort of help will you need? What sort of tools, technologies, or materials will you need? Will you need other people to contribute to the production of your project?

Outline the timeline for your project. We have about seven weeks to complete our work; what deadlines do you expect to reach each week?

Final Project OptionsOur work on the project can go in a range of directions. The following options aim to give you a sense for what you might do, but you can potentially do something not listed below as long as it fits under the broader heading of “writing in digital environments.”

Video. Building on our A/V work from earlier in the semester, you can make a video. We have resources at the library you can draw on, including a green screen recording room and cameras you can check out. Your video work can take the form of an essay, documentary, news segment, short film, parody, mashup, or anything else along these lines.

Podcast. Similarly building on our A/V work, producing a podcast would allow you to make an argument, tell a story, analyze something, produce a documentary, etc., using audio. The library also has recording resources including a recording room with microphones.

Website. This approach allows you to design a website separate from your main class site. You could produce a site for a group or organization to which you belong; you could orient the site around a particular interest; you could design a site for another person who wants their own site.

Social Media. You can develop a social media campaign or persona using one or more social media platforms. This approach would work well if there’s a particular issue or interest you want to explore further. This could involve creating a YouTube channel, Twitter feed, Instagram account, etc.

Game or System Design. Building on our work with system design and procedural rhetoric, you can produce a game (videogame, board game, card game, etc.) or design a more complex system. Your work can be descriptive (describing the game or system in writing) or involve actual production of the thing itself. We can discuss platforms you might use for producing a game or system.

Blogging. This approach would involve writing a series of blog posts on a particular topic of relevance to you. Your focus could be personal, academic, social, political, or anything else along these lines.

Electronic Literature. We have not discussed electronic literature much in class, but it embodies an approach to creative writing that draws upon the functionality of digital environments and technologies. Look here for examples. We can discuss platforms you might use for producing electronic literature.

Paper. You can write a paper that takes up a topic related to writing in digital environments. Your writing will likely involve some combination of research, analysis, argument, creativity, and personal expression.

Final Project ReflectionWhen you submit your Final Project work, also add a reflection post (500-800 words) on your class site (or include the reflection on your Final Project post if you have one). Your reflection should address the following prompts:

What do you like most about your project? Where was your work most and least successful? What made this work particularly effective or ineffective? What were the main comments you received on your work, whether from peers, your instructor, or other outside help? What steps did you take to address these comments? How effective were the revisions?

How would you describe the efforts you made on the project? Consider both the amount of effort you put into your work and how productive and effective this effort was. How much time did you spend on different aspects of the writing and production process? Which efforts felt most productive and effective? Least so?

How would you describe the context of your writing and production process? What was your writing environment like? What technologies did you use?

How would you compare your work on this project to other work you’ve done for this class or others? How did your efforts or writing process change for this project? What did you learn from your work on this project?