2017 Course Syllabus and Readings

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~~Fall 2017 Syllabus~~

(image credit: https://pixabay.com)

useful links: Digital Storytelling Useful Links

WA=Writing Analytically   JNL=Reading Journal   Red=writing assignment due

Assignments for Weeks:  123456789101112131415

Week 1

8/29 Welcome and Introductions

8/31 Seeing More, Seeing Better
+  Read in Writing Analytically, 7th ed: Chap 1: “Writing as a Tool of Thought” through “Writing the Self” (pp1-7), & “The Five Analytical Moves” Moves 1-2 (pp16-21) (PDF)
+ Joseph Stromberg article “Why You Should Take Notes by Hand” (online article)
+ JNL: Come prepared to share 3 facts/tips you find illuminating and any questions about the reading

+ Writer’s Questionnaire Due (prompt)

Week 2

9/5 Why Write Online?
+ “Digital Writing Uprising: Third-order Thinking in the Digital Humanities” by Sean Michael Morris (online article)
+ “Organic Writing and Digital Media: Seeds and Organs” Pete Rorabaugh (online article)
+ pp 21-32 in Writing Analytically, 7th ed (PDF) *Note: the PDF is the full chapter, but you are only responsible for a limit number of pages!
+ pp 1-27 in How to Be an Explorer of the World
+JNL: In today’s reading, record 3 passages you think are interesting, strange, or revealing. Also, identify what you think is the “So what?” question from one of articles.

9/7
+  “Why we Love Beautiful Things” by Lance Hosey (online article)
+ “Alone Together” by Sherri Turkle (PDF)
+ Join class blog (see email for details)
+JNL: 3 exercises from How to Be an Explorer (prompt coming)
+ Plus, please bring in examples of blogs you like and be prepared to answer why (No ideas? Take a poll of your friends. What blogs do they read? Why?) Journal Prompt

In-Class blog suggestions:

https://www.barstoolsports.com/
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/
https://www.reddit.com/
http://mcmansionhell.com/
https://www.theringer.com/
http://www.themeateater.com/
https://www.buzzfeed.com/
https://www.luxwt.com/
http://cuteoverload.com/
http://www.design-seeds.com
https://techcrunch.com/
http://thegrio.com/
http://fromtheheelsup.com/
http://www.paulnicklen.com/
https://delafro.com/

Plus a few from past years:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
http://fivethirtyeight.com/
https://smittenkitchen.com/
http://www.issarae.com/
http://studentstories.tumblr.com/
http://www.artofmanliness.com/

Week 3

9/12
+ Chapter 7 in Writing for Digital Media by Brian Carroll, Blogito, Ergo, Sum” (PDF)
+ excerpts from Technology: A Reader for Writers, pp1-10 (PDF) includes: “Defining Technology” by Thomas P. Hughes and “What is Technology?” by Eric Schatzberg
+ Blog post #1 due by class time (Prompt

9/14
+  WA: “Analysis and Argument” through “Lean to Notice” (pp8-16) & “Find the Analytical Potential” through “Write all the Time” (pp71-75) (these pages are located inside Chapter 1 and Chapter 2  Chapter 3)
+JNL: Write a short paragraph about analyzing a blog of your choice using the strategies presented in Writing Analytically.

Week 4     

9/19  + read through 3 or 4 of  blog post #1 posted by your classmates
+ “Consider the Audience” by Jen Rajchel (ebook chapter)
+ “Digital Literacy” by Richard Lanham (online article)
+JNL: 1) In a short paragraph, make a connection between a reading from class and a peer’s blog post; AND 2) In a short paragraph pose a question about writing online that we have not yet covered in class or in our course blog posts

9/21 +How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life” by Jon Ronson (NYT article)
+ “Tyranny of the Mob” by Joel Stein (pdf)  (full-color version)
+ Blog post #2 due by class time (Prompt)

Week 5     

9/26  **Report to Media Center** (Bosler Basement)
Session with Julie Savage-Lee, Multimedia Specialist
+ No new reading
+ come prepared with a title and url name in mind. We will set up WordPress accounts and begin deigning our blogs

9/28  + in class peer review for Paper #1 (Paper #1 Prompt)  

Week 6     

10/3+ Excerpt from Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson (PDF)
+JNL: In a short paragraph pose a question about writing online that we have not yet covered in class or in our course blog posts
+ Journals Due to me this day

10/5 + no new reading
+ Please bring How to Be an Explorer of the World with you to class

+ Paper #1 Due (Prompt) Please bring peer review worksheets and rough drafts to hand in with the final draft.

In-class JNL assignment: complete exploration #14 or #22 for 1/2 hour

Week 7     

10/10  **Report to Media Center** (Bosler Basement)
No new reading
+JNL: Brainstorm types of posts that you could write for your blog.  Make a list of at least 5 topics or approaches you could use.  Write a sentence or two about each to help you remember your ideas.
+ Comment on my blog post with a short comment including your blog’s title, a small teaser, and a link to your blog site (post link forthcoming)

10/12+Writing Analytically: “Making the Thesis Evolve” pp 227-236

+Added Reading:  from The Driver in the Driverless Car by Vivek Wadhwa; Introduction and “Remaking Education with Avatars and A.I.

+JNLPart I: Translate into your own words the feedback you received on your essay or on your blog posts thus far. What higher order concerns do you need to work on?
Part II: Choose two of our essays from this week or last and place them in conversation with each other. Think about what each essay’s thesis statement is and how it evolves.

+ Blog post #3 due by class time (Prompt)

Week 8     

10/17  Fall Pause– No Class

10/19
+ in-class peer review: Paper #2
+ Read Chapter 1 in Writing for Digital Media, “On Writing Well” (pp3-22) (PDF)

Week 9

10/24
+ bring 3 copies of your rough draft with you to class
+ in-class peer review: Paper #2 (Prompt and Rubric)

10/26
+ prologue to The Shallows by Nicolas Carr (PDF )
+ excerpt from The Driver in the Driverless Car by Vivek Wadhwa (PDF)
+ Paper #2 Due
+JNL Part I: Translate into your own words the feedback you received on your essay or on your blog posts thus far. What higher order concerns do you need to work on?
Part II: 2 exercises from How to Be an Explorer. Specifically connect one of these exercises to your blog/blog topic in a short paragraph

More sources from Carr’s The Shallows!

Past essays that are excellent models:

Why Blog in the Classroom? A Personal Journey

Academia’s Going Digital: The Transformative Power of Web Writing

Engage In Digital Writing

Developing Digital Environments: Adapt or Get Left Behind

The Web of Everything: You Can Learn There, Too

Week 10

10/31
+ bring one example of an About Me page you find interesting. Be prepared with the link.
+ Paper #2 Due (Prompt and Rubric)

11/2
+ “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan (PDF)
+ reading on digital storytelling and storyboarding : read the University of Houston’s 5 pages on digital storytelling and then watch a couple of example (see tab at top for “example stories”)(TBA): 
+ Blog post #4 due by class time (Prompt)

Week 11

11/7  **Meet in Bosler for workshop in Media Center**
+ no new reading
+ come prepared with video or audio in mind to work with
+JNL: What multimodal project will you complete for your final project? Brainstorm ideas in a healthy paragraph.

11/9
+ excerpt from Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson (PDF) Chapter 4: “The Gold Standard”
+ Be prepared for an in-class workshop on your blog’s design
+ Blog post #5 due by class time (Prompt)

Blogs/websites discussed in class:

Week 12

11/14
+ read 3 articles from 3 blogs (chosen in class in 11/9) and be prepared to talk about what works and does not work in specific posts.
+ WA on Introductions and Conclusions and the paragraph (pages 236-242 and 251-252; PDF)
+ comments due (see Prompt)
+ JNL:
Part I: In light of the assignment, discuss (using WA) why these posts work.
Part II: Find and read an interview on one of these blogs. Describe why you think it is successful or not

11/16
+ “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell (PDF)
+ Neil Postman’s “Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change” (PDF)
+ Blog post #6 due by class time (Prompt)

Week 13

11/21
+Malcolm Gladwell “Why the Revolution Will Not Be Retweeted.” (online article)
+ “Risk, Reward, and Digital Writing” by Sean Michael Morris (online article)

11/23   Thanksgiving- no class

Week 14

11/28
+ Anne Lamott from Bird by Bird (PDF)
+ “The Science of Story Telling: What Listening to a Story Does to Our Brains” (online article)
+ JNL: draft, in your journal, a storyboard for your final project. Use a premade template, or design your own.
+ Blog post #7 due by class time (Prompt)

11/30
+ excerpt from Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic (PDF)
UPDATE + listen to the Podcast: Reply All “#5 Jennicam” (about 18 minutes)
JNL: one final exercise from How to Be an Explorer
+ Journals due to me
+comments due (see Prompt)

Week 15

12/5  In-class presentations
+ Blog post #8 due by class time (Prompt)

  1. Kacey
  2. Dylan
  3. Colin
  4. Teddy
  5. Noe
  6. Bri
  7. Shania
  8. Rob

Link to Peer Review Form

12/7 In-class presentations

  1. Seto
  2. Xavier
  3. Reid
  4. Caroline T
  5. Margaret
  6. Caroline K
  7. Tommy
  8. Ivy

Link to Peer Review Form

Final Project:
Monday 12/11 by 5:00 pm: Blog Post including your final video + reflection paper (Prompt )