STS 331 / RHE 330 C

Studies in Computers and Language:
Rhetorics of Cyberculture
Dr. Diane Davis

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Brief description: In this course we will listen carefully to the rhetorics on and in cyberspace, and we will attempt to assess some of the social, ethical, and political implications of this technocultural construct. Specifically, we will look at the ways cyburbia is currently being represented, critiqued, and employed by exploring several genres of cyberdiscourse, including a cyberpunk novel, a work of hypertext fiction, and a cyber-futures film. Because it'll be important to check things out for ourselves, we will meet in a computer classroom and devote part of our class time to hands-on activities. Three interrelated issues/topics will guide our inquiry and our productions:

Course Policy:

Attendance: Be here. This is a performance course that requires student attendance. Should a student miss the equivalent of 5 class sessions this semester, excused or not, s/he will not pass the course. Each three tardies will count as one absence. Beyond that, this: Because the success of this course depends upon the success of our interaction as a class, attendance is absolutely necessary. Expect your grade to suffer if you are repeatedly late to class and/or fail to fully participate on the listserv and in class discussions. If you must miss a class, check with one of your classmates about what you missed before the next class. Please keep at least 3 numbers/eddresses handy.

Deadlines: Don't miss 'em. Even if you must miss class, your work will need to find its way there (via a friend or an email, perhaps) on time if it doesn't want its grade to suffer--one letter grade for each day it's late. **I will allow rewrites on certain projects; however, to qualify, you must have handed in a full and complete version of your assignment at the time it was due. I will not allow rewrites on any paper/project that is turned in late and/or turned in on time but incomplete.**

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the undocumented use of someone else's ideas or words. To present another's work as one's own, even if one is paraphrasing, is plagiarism. This is a serious offense and will result in failure for that assignment and, very likely, for the course. In certain cases, it can also result in expulsion from the university. If you have questions about the use of source materials, see me before turning in the assignment. Do not use editing services other than those provided by the Undergraduate Writing Center or the Learning Skills Center.

Computation of Grades: Grades will be computed on a 4-point scale: A=4.0, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0.

Assignments and Grades: This course has a "substantial writing component." Assignments will include semi-weekly participation in an online discussion forum or listserv, an individual presentation on a cybercultural news item, 3 one-page reading response papers shared orally with peers, and two substantial writing projects, both of which will go through multiple drafts and peer review. You will be required to have a computer account with email and web posting privileges. Though you should have basic computing skills (keyboarding, word processing, saving and copying documents, surfing the web, sending and receiving email, etc.), no prior experience creating hypertexts or other web documents is required.

Grade Breakdown:

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