Comm 594: Fall 2003
Professor:       Annette N. Markham

Meetings:       Tuesdays 6-8:30 p.m., BSB 1169

Section #:        33067

Office Hours: Monday 11-12 a.m. or by appointment

 

This is the current schedule for the semester.  Plans will evolve and and this schedule will change as necessary. 

Do not print the schedule.  Always check for the updated version.

Tips for Thriving:

  • Read Ahead
  • Read Beyond
  • Read as a Scholar, not a student

How do you do that?

  • Plan to read everything before week 8 so you have time to do excellent research.
  • If you hate the readings, find a substitute (read beyond the syllabus).
  • Take notes on everything you read (don’t just highlight).
  • Convince yourself the class meets twice a week to help yourself keep up.
  • Tell yourself you’re getting 4 credits for a class that meets only 2.5 hours.  Put the time into it.
  • Finally, read for yourself, not for the grade or because it’s required.

Schedule Overview (click here for detailed schedule)

Weeks 1-3:          Metaphor theories
Weeks 2 & 3:  Synopsis of each reading due
Weeks 2 & 3:  Metaphor analysis of article due
Week 3: Extra meeting outside class in small groups to discuss semester project

Week 4:               “Tool” or “Conduit”
Week 4:  formal proposal for semester project due

Weeks 5-6:          “Place” “virtual reality”
Week 5:     Novel due (Neuromancer)
Week 6:      Novel due (Snowcrash)
Week 6:  Annotated Bibliography due

Week 7:                “Culture” or “Community”

Week 8:                Making connections
Week 8:  Five page analysis paper due

Weeks 9-11:       “Way of Being”  “Gestalt” “real virtuality”
Week 11:  Discussion of Katherine Hayles’ book.  (DBW:  Dense Book Warning.  Start early in semester!)

Week 12:              Map the Images of Internet as a group
Week 12:  Discussion of Internet Dreams; the entire book

Weeks 13:            Communication Technology as “Artificial Intelligence” “convergence”
Week 13:    Recommended Novel for this section is Synners by Pat Cadigan

Week 14:              Brief Presentations of research
Week 14:  Final paper due

Weeks 15-16:     Communication Technology as n“Networks” and “Global Village”(?)
Week 15:  Begin two week discussion of Manual Castell’s giant book (DBW:  Dense Book Warning).

Detailed schedule by topic, readings, and “to do” items (click here for schedule overview)

Week    Topics Readings Discussed To Do, Due

1

8/26

Introduction to course

Ortony, Metaphor and Thought ch 1

Johnson, ch 1

Kovecses, ch 1

Read syllabus and understand the flow and nature of course

Next week's reading: Sign up for Ortony readings for week 2. Use this guide for writing synopses

Artifact Analysis for next week: Find a mainstream (pop culture, news, online or offline) artifact related to the Internet to analyze for next week.  Use one or both of your readings as basis of analysis. Five pages maximum.

REMINDER:  Start to read the novels assigned for this class:  Neuromancer, Snowcrash, and Synners.  These books are long, but provide good escape from grad course readings.  Don’t wait until the last minute.

2

9/02

Basic Theories of Metaphor

Semester Project Basic Discussion

Ortony chapter 1 (everyone reads this)

Ortony, two chapters of your choice (based on what you signed up for)

DUE: Ortony Synopsis: Submit and present synopses of two chapters from Ortony. Submit to Blackboard discussion board before 4 p.m. Tuesday

DUE: Artifact Analysis: Submit artifact analysis via discussion board before 4 p.m. Tuesday and be prepared to discuss in class.

Sign up for next week’s small group meeting.

Sign up for two additional Ortony chapters. See details below in week 3

Begin Artifact Analysis assignment for next week: Find another mainstream (pop culture, news, online or offline) artifact to analyze for next week.  Use one or both of your readings as basis of analysis

Movie Night Thursday, 9/4

3

9/9

Basic Theories of Metaphor

Small group meeting will be held in addition to the regularly scheduled class meeting to discuss Semester Project.  Sign up in week 2

Ortony, two additional chapters of your choice

DUE: Ortony Synopsis: Submit and present synopses of two different chapters from Ortony (sign up again, talk with week 2 synopsis writers, develop a different angle in your synopses). Submit to Blackboard discussion board before 4 p.m. Tuesday

DUE: Artifact Analysis: Submit article analysis and be prepared to discuss in class. Submit to discussion board prior to 8 p.m. Monday

Small group meetings in 1169 BSB: Bring two possible semester topics to small group meeting: Wed, 5-6 p.m. or Thurs. 5-6 p.m.

Begin Neuromancer, if you have not done so yet!

4

9/16

Tools and Conduits and Extensions

Prosthesis for body/senses

Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media

The Machine Stops, by EM Forster (1909)

Al Gore's speech wherein the Information Superhighway was apparently coined

Nicholas Negroponte, excerpts from Being Digital

As we May Think, by Vannever Bush (1945)

DUE: semester project proposal in writing (dropbox)

Begin Snowcrash, if you haven’t yet!

Movie Night 9/18 @ 7 p.m.

5

9/23

 Extensions + Place

W. Gibson,Neuromancer

John Perry Barlow, Declaration

Bruce Sterling, Hacker Crackdown

Rheingold, Homesteading (major points scan)

Jaron Lanier, various writings on Virtuality

Sign up for weeks 9-10 readings. Each student will read one book in week 9 and four chapters/articles in week 10.  Details given in class (depends on total number of students in course)

6

9/30

Cyberspace

Neal Stephenson, Snowcrash

DUE: annotated bibliography including 15 or more substantive works beyond material from class bibliography.

Movie Night 10/2 @ 7p.m.

7

10/07

Community and Culture

Intro plus four chapters from: Jones, Cybersociety

DUE: Write and submit a synopsis of your individual chapters and present in class

Movie Night 10/9 @ 7p.m.

8

10/14

Connect Metaphor theory to readings

Read an additional chapter from Ortony or read another work by your favorite metaphor theorist (e.g., Lakoff and Johnson’s book Metaphors we Live By)

DUE: Write and submit 5-page application of metaphor theory to your selected reading, hopefully connecting this to your semester project

9

10/21

“Way of Being”

Read either:

Turkle, Life on the Screen

Turkle:  Second Self

DUE: Write and submit a synopsis of your book for those who have not read this book

Movie Night 10/23 @ 7p.m.

10

10/28

Way of Being

Prosthesis of self/mind/soul

Cherney, Wired Women

Senft (women and performance journal)

Featherstone and Burrows, Cyberspace, Cyberbodies, Cyberpunk

DUE: Submit synopsis of your readings and present in class

11

11/4

PostHuman, Cyborgs, Virtual Reality, etc., etc.,

Katherine Hayles, When we became Posthuman

Movie Night 11/6 @ 7p.m.

12

11/11

Collect Thoughts and lay out theoretical grid.

Internet Dreams:  Myths, Archetypes and Metaphors (tentative still)

DUE: Consider the question in a short summary of this reading:  Is this the answer?  Is this the grid?  What’s missing, if anything?

13

11/18

In class workshop

(Annette out of town)

  

Bring drafts of papers to class for peer review

14

11/25

Present brief synopsis of papers

No readings

DUE: Conference Quality Research Paper

15

12/02

Beyond Tools…or not.

Manual Castells, The Rise of the Network Society

DUE: Submit and present synopses by sections

Finals Week

12/09

Beyond Tools…or not.

Manual Castells, The Rise of the Network Society

DUE: Submit and present synopses by sections