Course Guidelines

ENGL 343 is devoted to the critical study of texts produced and consumed in a digital environment, what generically we might call electronic literature. Hypertexts, digital poetry, interactive fiction, and database art are just a few examples of the kinds of textual media we will encounter in this class. These new media works are often innovative, evocative, and sometimes, simply puzzling. They often challenge commonly held assumptions about reading, writing, and narrative, and they raise intriguing questions about the cultural production of meaning. As we explore the relationship between new media and so-called old media — literature, film, television, art, and advertising — we will also consider the creative and political implications of digital media.

READING

WORKING

  • Participation in the day’s discussion is essential. And of course, to get the most out of the discussion, you must have read and thought about the day’s assigned texts, thoroughly and critically. Participation also includes any in-class writing we may do.
  • Over the course of the semester every student will contribute substantively to the class blog at least ten times. Sometimes I will provide questions for you to respond to, while other times the posts can be more open-ended. Regardless of the topic, you should strive to be thoughtful and nuanced, offering questions and insights rather than descriptions or summaries. Aim for responses that range between 300 and 500 words. There are several “checkpoints” during the semester, by which point you need to have written a certain number of posts (see the calendar for more details).
  • There will be three media inquiry papers this semester, each around four pages in length. These are not full-blown essays so much as they are structured engagements with very particular questions about specific pieces of electronic literature.
  • Working individually or in small groups, students will construct their own experiment in textual media. More than technical innovation, I’ll be looking for creativity, awareness of the issues at work, and a sense of serious playfulness.
  • The final project for the class will be an eight page analytical paper, which offers a critical interpretation of one or two digital works, including, possibly, the textual media experiments created in this class. This paper will require outside research, using sources from established academic journals or academic press books. And while I call it a “paper,” you might consider incorporating digital media into the project’s form.

GRADING

The final grade will be weighted and calculated in the following manner:

  • Class Blog: 20%
  • Media Inquiry Papers (15% each): 45%
  • Textual Media Experiment: 20%
  • Final Research Paper: 15%

I evaluate the blog entries on a scale of 0-4, while I give every other assignment a letter grade. In order to calculate your final grade, I convert the letter grades into a percentage. I weight the grades, and then convert the average back into a letter grade. I use the following standard grading scale:

A+ = 100% / A = 95% / A- = 92%

B+ = 89% / B = 85% / B- = 82%

C+ = 79% / C = 75% / C- = 72%

D = 65% / F = below 60%

Attendance is mandatory (excepting medical emergencies or observation of religious holidays). From the 2007-2008 University Catalog:

Students are expected to attend the class periods of the courses for which they register. In-class participation is important not only to the individual student, but to the class as a whole. Because class participation may be a factor in grading, instructors may use absence, tardiness, or early departure as de facto evidence of nonparticipation.

Late assignments will be lowered one letter grade for every day they are overdue, unless prior arrangements are made. Even if you are not in class the day an assignment is due, it is still due for you that day. Assignments more than a week late for any reason will simply not be accepted. Therefore, failure to hand in every assignment on time will make it extremely difficult to pass the course.

HONOR CODE

Students of George Mason University pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, or lie in matters related to academic work. The English Department has issued a statement further clarifying what is meant by “plagiarize”:

Plagiarism means using the exact words, opinions, or factual information from another person without giving that person credit. Writers give credit through accepted documentation styles, such as parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes; a simple listing of books and articles is not sufficient. Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery and cannot be tolerated in an academic setting.

Remember, it is perfectly acceptable to refer to and build upon others’ ideas, but you must always identify the source, even when paraphrasing. The university uses turnitin.com to detect plagiarized papers, and I may occasionally require students to submit their written work to turnitin.com’s database. If I suspect plagiarism or any other violation of the Honor Code, I will report the offender to the university Honor Committee, whose penalties range from an F for the course to expulsion from the university.

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC.

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