Digital Rhetoric, Fall 2009
45245 COMM-6270-01 M 3:00-7:50
Russell Sage Laboratory 4304
James P. Zappen
4406 Russell Sage Laboratory
Office Hours: M 5:00-6:00 p.m.
Email: zappenj@rpi.edu
URL: http://www.rpi.edu/~zappenj
Course Description
Course Content and Objective: A study of theories and concepts of
digital rhetoric and digital media with emphasis upon the uses of
verbal and visual media in digital spaces such as email, discussion
lists, webs, blogs, wikis, and community technology centers. An
examination of the uses of verbal and visual communication for the
purposes of persuading, negotiating, contesting, and creating
individual and community identities and an exploration of issues in
functional and experience design, participatory design, digital
authorship, digital narrative, media convergence, and the relationship
between traditional and digital media. An examination of major works on
digital rhetoric and digital media and an introduction to some of the
rhetorical and media theories that inform these works. Experiments in
the design, analysis, and/or assessment of new digital media based upon
these theories.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, PhD students will have:
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Read key texts in digital rhetoric/digital media in preparation for
candidacy exams and/or professional presentations and publications
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Developed an understanding of theories and methods for the study of
digital media and practice applying them to the design and/or analysis
of digital-media objects
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Prepared one or more manuscripts suitable for conference presentations
and/or journal submissions
Upon successful completion of the course, MS students will have:
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Read a selection of key texts in digital rhetoric/digital media to provide
conceptual frameworks for the design and development of digital-media
objects
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Developed a conceptual framework and a prototype of an information
resource suitable for use in a commercial or not-for-profit organization
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Prepared one or more papers suitable for in-house reports or for
conference presentations and/or journal submissions
Students will receive timely written responses to each writing
assignment, with grades, via email.
Course Procedures and Requirements
Required Text (PhD Students Only): Barbara Warnick, Rhetoric Online:
Persuasion and Politics on the World Wide Web, Frontiers in Political
Communication, Vol. 12 (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2007).
Additional Class Readings (PhD and MS Students): Available on Library
Reserve in .pdf.
Institute Review Board: Institute Review Board (IRB) approval is
required for all resesarch with human subject: http://irb.rpi.edu/
Adobe Connect Meetings for MS HCIN and TCOM On-Campus and
Distance Students: http://mmsbreeze.itops.rpi.edu/dr/
Learning Management System for MS HCIN and TCOM On-Campus
and Distance Students: http://rpilms.rpi.edu
Technical Requirements for MS HCIN and TCOM On-Campus and Distance
Students: Synchronous communication via Adobe Connect for classes and
group projects; Headset with microphone for classes, group projects,
and/or consultations; LMS and World Wide Web access for classes and
class notes.
Adobe Connect Initial Configuration:
Meeting > Manage My Settings > My Connection Speed > DSL/Cable
Meeting > Manage My Settings > Audio Setup Wizard (to install Adobe
Connect Add-In)
Hold to Talk or Hands-Free (at screen lower left, to enable talk)
Schedule of Classes and Assignments
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Aug. |
31 |
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Sep. |
14 |
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PhD Students 3:00-5:50 p.m.: Rhetorical Theory 1: Chaïm Perelman/Lucie
Olbrechts-Tyteca and
Mikhail M. Bakhtin
Due: Class Readings: Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca, The New
Rhetoric, pages 13-45, 65-95; Bakhtin, "Discourse in the Novel,"
pages 275-300, 344-49, 353-54
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: de Velasco,
"Rethinking Perelman [and Olbrechts-Tyteca]'s Universal Audience"; or
Allen, Intertextuality, Chapter 1; or Morson and Emerson,
Mikhail Bakhtin, Chapter 4; Other (one page maximum)
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Design Issues 1: Language in Social/Cultural
Context
and
Functional Design versus Experience
Design
Due: Class Readings: Brinck, Gergle, and Wood, Usability for the
Web, Introduction; Bolter and Gromala, Windows and Mirrors,
Introduction and Chapters 2 and 3
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Norman,
Emotional Design, Chapters 2 and/or 3; or Other (one page
maximum)
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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21 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Media Remix and Convergence
Due: Class Readings: Manovich, The Language of New Media, Chapter
1; Jenkins, Convergence Culture, Introduction
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Booth,
"Rereading Fandom"; or Jenkins, Convergence Culture, Chapter 3;
or Lessig, Remix, Chapter 4; or Manovich, Software Takes
Command (Selections) (at Software Studies Initiative);
or Other (one page maximum)
Due: Ideas for Conference Paper 1
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Media Remix and Convergence
Due: Class Readings: Lessig, Remix, Chapter 4; Nightingale, "New
Media Worlds?"
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Jenkins,
Convergence Culture, Chapter 1; or Lessig, Remix, Chapter
1-3; or Other (one page maximum)
Due: Ideas for Design Proposal
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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28 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Digital Rhetoric/Digital Media 1: Author, Audience, Text
Due: Class Readings: Warnick, Rhetoric Online, Chapters 1, 2,
and 5
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Allen,
Intertextuality, Chapter 2; or Barthes, "The Death of the
Author" and/or "From Work to Text"; or Bruns, Blogs, Wikipedia,
Second Life, and Beyond, Chapter 2; or Other (one page maximum)
Due: Preview of Conference Paper 1
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Design Issues 2: The Participatory Web: User-Generated
Content or User-Generated Garbage?
Due: Class Readings: Tapscott and Williams, Wikinomics, Chapters
1 and 2
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Bruns, Blogs,
Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond, Chapter 2; or Garrett, "Ajax"
(in Adaptive Path);
or O'Reilly, "What Is Web 2.0" (in O'Reilly
Media); or Other (one page maximum)
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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Oct. |
5 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Digital Rhetoric Conference
1
Due: Presentation of Conference Paper 1
Due Thursday, October 8, 5:00 p.m.: Conference Paper 1 (7-8 pages)
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Design Project
Presentations
Due: Class Presentation on Design Proposal
Due Thursday, October 8, 5:00 p.m.: Design Proposal (6-12 pages)
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13 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Rhetorical Theory 2: Stephen Toulmin and Kenneth Burke
Due: Class Readings: Toulmin, The Uses of Argument, pages
94-113; Burke, A Grammar of Motives, pages xv-xxiii, 3-20,
127-129; Burke, A Rhetoric of Motives, pages 19-23, 37-39,
43-46, 55-59, 65-78
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Wolin,
The Rhetorical Imaginiation, Chapter 6 ( Grammar) or 7
( Rhetoric); or Other (one page maximum)
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Design Issues 3: Participatory Design: Participation
or Tyranny?
Due: Class Readings: Bødker, Grønbæk, and King,
"Cooperative Design"; Robertson, Mansfield, and Loke, "Designing an
Immersive Environment for Public Use"
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Cleaver,
"Institutions, Agency and the Limitations of Participatory Approaches to
Development"; Holtzblatt and Jones, "Contextual Inquiry"; or Lievrouw,
"Oppositional and Activist New Media"; or Other (one page maximum)
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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19 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Foundations of Narrative
Theory
Distinguished Guest: Shira Chess, "Digital Storytelling in Games"
Due: Class Readings: Ricoeur, Time and Narrative, Vol. 3, Chapter
7; Fisher, Human Communication as Narration, Chapter 3
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: McClure,
"Resurrecting the Narrative Paradigm"; or Other (one page maximum)
Due: Ideas for Conference Paper 2
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Issues in Digital Storytelling
Due: Class Readings: Miller, Digital Storytelling, Chapters 4
and 7
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Bolter and
Gromala, Windows and Mirrors, Chapter 7; or Other (one page
maximum)
Due: Ideas for Design Prototype Development
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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26 |
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PhD Students 2:30-5:30 p.m.: Digital Authorship 1a: Authorship, Authority, and
Interactivity
Due: Class Readings: Warnick, Rhetoric Online, Chapters 3, 4,
and 6
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Bruns, Blogs,
Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond, Chapter 9; Kaare and Lundby,
"Mediatized Lives"; Miller, "Writing in a Culture of Simulation"; or
Other (one page maximum)
Due: Preview of Conference Paper 2
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Digital Authorship 1b: Authorship, Collaboration, and Creativity
Due: Ideas for Design Prototype Development
Due: Class Readings: Bruns, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and
Beyond, Chapter 9
Due: Presentation on Individual Reading or "Distributed Creativity"
Application (one page maximum)
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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Nov. |
2 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Digital Rhetoric Conference
2
Due: Presentation of Conference Paper 2
Due Thursday, November 5, 5:00 p.m.: Conference Paper 2 (7-8 pages)
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Design Prototype
Presentations
Due: Class Presentation on Prototype Report
Due Thursday, November 5, 5:00 p.m.: Prototype Report (8-15 pages)
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9 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Digital Rhetoric/Digital Media 2: Definitions and
Redefinitions
Due: Class Readings: Gurak, Privacy and Persuasion, Chapters 2,
3, 6, and 8 (Lotus Marketplace Selections)
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Gurak,
Cyberliteracy, Chapter 2; or Other (one page maximum)
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Design Prototype Presentations
and
Design Issues 4: Design and Control Issues
Due: Class Readings: Norman, Design of Future Things, Chapter 1;
Spinuzzi, Tracing Genres through Organizations, Chapter 1
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Norman,
Design of Future Things, Chapter 3; or Norman, Emotional
Design, Chapter 6 and/or7; or Spinuzzi, Tracing Genres through
Organizations, Chapter 6; or Other (one page maximum)
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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16 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Digital Authorship 2: Digital Authors and Rhetorical
Agents
Due: Class Readings: Friedlander, "Narrative Strategies in a Digital Age";
Miller, "What Can Automation Tell Us?"
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Bruns, Blogs,
Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond, Chapter 2; Geisler, "How Ought
We to Understand the Concept of Rhetorical Agency?"; Lévy,
Collective Intelligence, Introduction and Chapter 3; Lundberg
and Gunn, "'Ouija Board, Are There Any Communications?'"; or Other
(one page maximum)
Due: Ideas for Draft Journal Submission
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Digital Authorship 2: Individual Authorship, Creative
Collaboration, and Public Culture
Due: Class Readings: Bruns, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and
Beyond, Chapter 10
Due: Presentation on Individual Readings: Suggestions: Bruns, Blogs,
Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond, Chapter 2; "Cloud Computing" ( http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story
_id=14637206); Lessig, Code: Version 2.0, Chapter 10;
Lévy, Collective Intelligence, Introduction and Chapter 6;
or Other (one page maximum)
Due: Preliminary Findings from Design Experiment
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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23 |
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30 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Consultations on Draft Journal Article
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Consultations on Design Report
MS Students 6:50-7:50 p.m. (or as scheduled): Group Work
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Dec. |
7 |
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PhD Students 2:30-4:30 p.m.: Presentation of Draft Journal
Article
Due: Draft Journal Article (15-18 pages)
MS Students 5:00-6:50 p.m.: Presentation of Design
Report
Due: Design Report (12-18 pages)
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Policies
Assignments and Class Activities: For PhD students, assignments include
readings in contemporary rhetoric, digital rhetoric, and digital media;
short versions of two conference papers; a draft journal submission;
and a written examination on the state-of-the-art in rhetoric and digital
media studies. These assignments provide preparation for the qualifying
examination, dissertation research, and the development of conference
papers and journal publications. For MS students, assignments include
readings in design theory and practice and issues related to new and
emerging digital media; design proposals and reports; and a written
examination on the state-of-the-art in contemporary design and digital
media theory and practice. These assignments offer opportunities to
experiment with the design of digital media and the challenge of grounding
these experiments in the best recent scholarship and research. For PhD and
MS students, class activities include discussions of class readings, short
presentations on individual readings, informal presentations of papers
and reports in progress, and formal presentations of finished products.
Individual and Group Work: MS students are required to work both
individually and in groups. Individuals are responsible for their own
written work. Group members are expected to contribute equitably to the
work of their group and if they fail to do so may be dropped from their
group upon agreement by the other group members or at the discretion of
the instructor. Any student who is dropped from a group will be obligated
to find another group that is willing to accept him or her or to complete
assignments independently.
Submission of Class Assignments: Each assignment must be submitted no
later than the beginning of the class hour on the due date listed in
the Schedule of Classes and Assignments. Assignments must be submitted
in hard copy, typed, via email, or via the Learning Management System,
in standard format such as APA,
MLA, or University
of Chicago style or, for online sources, Columbia University style.
Late Penalties: The late penalty for each assignment submitted after the
due date and time for the assignment will be 1/10 of the value of the
assignment plus an additional 1/10 of the value of the assignment for
each successive class period (or equivalent time period) after the due
date and time (that is, 1/2 point for a 5-point assignment, 1 point for
a 10-point assignment, 2 points for a 20-point assignment, etc.). The
late penalty for the final assignment (draft journal submission) will
be 2 1/2 points for each day or part of a day late. Late penalties will
be assessed in points (of 100 total for the course).
Class Attendance: Class attendance and participation in class activities
are required. Students who miss class for extended periods of time without
permission or explanation will be reported to the Dean of Students Office
or the Department of Public Safety for support and assistance, as needed.
Requests for accommodations, exceptions, extensions, or incomplete
grades due to illnesses or personal emergencies must be supported by
written documentation from the Dean of Students or the Dean of the
Graduate School.
Electronic Citizenship and Intellectual Property: Rensselaer's policies
on electronic citizenship and intellectual property are explained
in Rensselaer's Guidelines for Computer
use. Violations of these policies will be reported to the Dean of
Students and the Dean of the student's college or school.
Students' Rights and Responsibilities: Students'
rights and responsibilities are explained in The Rensselaer Handbook of Student
Rights and Responsibilities: 2008-2010 and govern the conduct of both
faculty and students. Academic dishonesty is explained on pp. 14-17 and is
strictly prohibited. Incidents of academic dishonesty on any assignment
will be graded 0 points for the assignment and will be reported to the
Dean of Students and the Dean of the student's college or school, with a
request that the incident be entered into the student's permanent record
at Rensselaer.
Student-teacher relationships are built on trust. For example, students
must trust that teachers have made appropriate decisions about the
structure and content of the courses they teach, and teachers must
trust that the assignments which students turn in are their own. Acts
that violate this trust undermine the educational process.
The Rensselaer Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities
defines various forms of Academic Dishonesty and procedures for
responding to them. All forms are violations of the trust between
students and teachers.
Office of the Provost
Appeals Process: Decisions by the instructor may be appealed through the
LL&C Department Chair and the HASS Dean and/or through the Dean of
Students Office.
Latest Update: 2009-11-22
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