Department of Humanities
Michigan Technological University
Fall, 1996

HU 330 Publications Management (10-11 in WAHC 116 or 113)
Instructor: Dickie Selfe
E-mail: rselfe@mtu.edu
Office: 138 WAHC
Phone: 487-3225,
Office Hours: 11-12 T, TH or by appointment

Texts & Other Requirements


This document will stand as your primary source of information about assignments in this course. I will, however, elaborate on assignment procedures during class discussions. You are responsible for both. If you are going to miss class, I should know about it before the class meets, unless it's an emergency. When you return, get the recorder's class notes, look them over and talk to several class members about what happened that day. Then come by and get my version of what was important.

Course Definition & Expectations--Hu 330, Publications Management, is a course designed to teach the process of planning, writing, and designing small publications such as booklets and newsletters. I direct the course towards these types of publications because your senior projects and earlier assignments in the world of work will most likely revolve around small jobs. These assignments also involve issues of purpose and audience which are central to all technical writing, but not necessarily to mass circulation publications such as magazines or newspapers. You'll notice that the reading assignments ignore chapters devoted exclusively to these other types publications. That doesn't mean you couldn't learn a great deal from the unassigned chapters.

In this class, you will learn how the content, appearance, design, and physical shape of a publication can affect the way information can be communicated and the nature of the impact of the publication on audiences. We'll be primarily concerned with the technology of printing and with different methods of preparing printed material.. But as you may already realize, the importance of electronic information distribution is becoming critically important for those interested in technical communication. We'll be considering the importance of electronic technologies as well. Finally, but probably most importantly, you will get some practical experience by developing a set of publications and taking the most important of these publications nearly to completion: you'll complete all the written copy within a dummy of the final document. This is the stage just before the camera-ready copy ("mechanicals") requested by most printers.

What do I expect of students in only 10 weeks? Quite a bit.



HU 330, "Publications Management," is part of a three term publications sequence. HU 245, "Graphic Design," focuses on design issues and is quite useful. HU 337, "Print Lab" (offered only in the spring) starts with camera-ready copy and focuses on the process of printing or electronically distributing that copy. In that class we may also have the opportunity to plan, lay out and distribute a booklet called, The Blue Ice Anthology.

WARNING--This course is computer-intensive in every sense of the word. We'll use all the desktop publishing software in the CCLI, the real-time conferencing software, Daedalus, plus the CCLI e-mail system. Don't let this intimidate you. If you are already familiar with our desktop publishing system and software, the rest will be easy to pick up. HOWEVER, if you have not completed Hu 244 or its equivalent, I doubt if you will be prepared for the technological pace of this class. See me immediately!!

Hu 470 & 333 Students--You may not double count any projects in Hu 330 and Hu 470 classes. Also, any activities that you are required to do in 470 or 333 may not be counted as extra credit in this class.

Course Requirements