Writing Projects
Almost every aspect of our culture is apparently being changed and challenged by the "digital revolution." A short list of some "sites for exploration" might include:
The object of this course is to begin, as a community of scholars, to make sense of the impact that print technology has had on our culture and, subsequently, speculate about what impact the digital revolution (it's scope, characteristics, importance, dynamics, . . . .) might be having on a particular component of our culture.
Choose an area of interest to which you are attracted (a cultural site) and with which you are planning to work in the near future. Collect some form of "data" (a term we will define quite loosely for the purposes of this course) and apply appropriate theory and concepts from our readings, from your past studies, and from our discussions to your cultural data. (Of course we'll elaborate on this approach in class.)
We are hoping that your work on this project can be useful in two ways: it should help in the development of your graduate theses, course-work papers, projects, comprehensives or dissertations. We're convinced that these projects, and the speculations on which they are based, are imminently publishable. Last year, following a similar undergraduate course last spring, Dickie was able to co-author a book chapter with those students. We are certain that individuals or groups working as a collective in this class can eventually find a publishing venue (online or print) for the work they do in HU 520. Of course this is NOT a requirement of the class.