ENGL 391 (Section 001, Schedule #32076)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Spring 2015
TTh 11:00am-12:15pm :: 264 Hibbs
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 324D Hibbs Hall
Spr 2015 Office Hours: Tues 1:00-3:30pm

Digital Studies

This class provides a critical survey of issues in current digital media studies, addressing a variety of topics in the political orientation of both digital technologies themselves and, even more so, its users and promoters. In each case we'll read a couple of short articles, some scholarly, some more journalistic, as well as looking at primary digital media objects (texts, software, media, websites) to which class members will direct us in an in-class presentation. Evaluation will be determined by that presentation, by two 10-page papers, and vigorous participation.

Texts

There are no texts to purchase for this class. All texts are available either in the blackboard site for the class, or on the web, linked in the week-by-week syllabus below. A complete bibliography of readings for the class is available for ease of citation in your written work.

Assignments and Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on written exercises and course participation as follows:

• Papers (2 papers of 25% each, for 50% total). Students will write two papers of approximately 10 pages (2500 words) each on topics related to the class. These are expected to be analytical papers that make a strong argument, supported with properly-cited sources where necessary. The first is due during class period on March 19; the second during the final exam period for the class. One of the two papers may write about the digital media example students choose for their in-class presentation.
  Link to Assignment One
  Link to Assignment Two
• Presentation (10%). Each student will sign up for a presentation in which they will give a brief (maximum 5 minutes) description and display of digital media that illustrates or provides an example of the reading for that day's class. There will be approximately 2 presentations in each day's class. Students must work with the instructor in-person or via email to choose the media for their presentation.
• Discussion Questions (20%): each student will contribute discussion questions to the Blackboard discussion forum on 10 separate days during the semester. The questions are graded using a 3-point system: 0 for not participating; 1 for reasonable but general questions; 2 for specific questions showing command of the text. The questions must be posted by midnight the day before class to receive full credit. Students may write questions on more than 10 days in order to ensure the maximum 20 point total for the term.
• Course Participation (20%): the instructor will assign a letter grade to each student reflecting their engaged participation in class, both online and offline, during the term.

Course-Specific Policies

• Attendance. This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success. A significant portion of your grade (20%) depends on your class participation. "Class participation" does not necessarily mean that you have said what everyone thinks is the smartest thing in the world, but has much more to do with whether other students know your name by mid-semester because you contribute to discussion regularly. More than 4 unexcused absences will count against your final course grade. 6 unexcused absences results in automatic failure of the course. An "excused" absence is one where you have a verifiable illness, or important commitment of which you notify the instructor beforehand, and does not count against the unexcused absence policy. An "unexcused" absence is when you do not show up for class, without verifiable explanation or approval beforehand.
• No Late Work. No late work is accepted in this class. Work handed in late is automatically marked down one-third grade (e.g., a B becomes a B-) for each day it is late, and after one week becomes a failing grade for the assignment.
• Class Preparation. You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week.
• Honor System. All work in this course is subject to the University's Honor System. You may work in teams for some assignments, but all written work must be solely your own, and any reliance on published work must be properly cited.
• Evaluations. Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.

OFFICIAL VCU POLICY STATEMENTS

VCU Email Policy

Email is considered an official method for communication at VCU because it delivers information in a convenient, timely, cost-effective, and environmentally aware manner. Students are expected to check their official VCU email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to remain informed of university-related communications. The university recommends checking email daily. Students are responsible for the consequences of not reading, in a timely fashion, university-related communications sent to their official VCU student email account. This policy ensures that all students have access to this important form of communication. It ensures students can be reached through a standardized channel by faculty and other staff of the university as needed. Mail sent to the VCU email address may include notification of university-related actions, including disciplinary action. Please read the policy in its entirety.

VCU Honor System: Upholding Academic Integrity

The VCU Honor System policy describes the responsibilities of students, faculty and administration in upholding academic integrity, while at the same time respecting the rights of individuals to the due process offered by administrative hearings and appeals. According to this policy, "Members of the academic community are required to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity." In addition, "All members of the VCU community are presumed to have an understanding of the VCU Honor System and are required to: 

• Agree to be bound by the Honor System policy and its procedures;
• Report suspicion or knowledge of possible violations of the Honor System;
• Support an environment that reflects a commitment to academic integrity;
• Answer truthfully when called upon to do so regarding Honor System cases;
• Maintain confidentiality regarding specific information in Honor System cases."

More information can be found at in the VCU policy library.

Student Conduct in the Classroom

According to the Faculty Guide to Student Conduct in Instructional Settings, "The university is a community of learners. Students, as well as faculty, have a responsibility for creating and maintaining an environment that supports effective instruction. In order for faculty members (including graduate teaching assistants) to provide and students to receive effective instruction in classrooms, laboratories, studios, online courses, and other learning areas, the university expects students to conduct themselves in an orderly and cooperative manner." Among other things, cell phones and beepers should be turned off while in the classroom. The Student Code of Conduct also prohibits the possession of or carrying of any weapon. For more information see http://register.dls.virginia.gov/details.aspx?id=3436.

Students with Disabilities

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, require that VCU provide "academic adjustments" or "reasonable accommodations" to any student who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. To receive accommodations, students must request them by contacting the Disability Support Services Office on the Monroe Park Campus (828-2253) or the Division for Academic Success on the MCV campus (828-9782). Please also visit the Disability Support Services website and/or the Division for Academic Success website for additional information.

Any student who has a disability that requires an accommodation should schedule a meeting with the instructor at the student's earliest convenience. Additionally, if coursework requires the student to work in a lab environment, the student should advise the instructor or a department chairperson of any concerns that the student may have regarding safety issues related to a disability. Students should follow this procedure for all courses in the academic semester.

Statement on Military Short-Term Training or Deployment

If military students receive orders for short-term training or for deployment/mobilization, they should inform and present their orders to Military Student Services and to their professor(s). For further information on policies and procedures contact Military Services at 828-5993 or access the corresponding policies.

Excused Absences for Students Representing the University

Students who represent the university (athletes and others) do not choose their schedules. Student athletes are required to attend games and/or meets. All student athletes should provide their schedules to their instructors at the beginning of the semester. The Intercollegiate Athletic Council strongly encourages faculty to treat missed classes or exams (because of a scheduling conflict) as excused absences and urges faculty to work with the students to make up the work or exam.

Campus Emergency Information

What to Know and Do to Be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU:

• Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts. Keep your information up-to-date. Within the classroom, the professor will keep his or her phone on to receive any emergency transmissions. 
• Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms. 
• Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities. Within the classroom, follow your professor's instructions. 
• Know where to go for additional emergency information.
• Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234).
• Report suspicious activities and objects.
• Keep your permanent address and emergency contact information current in eServices. 

Important Dates

You can view important dates for the Spring 2015 semester in the university calendar.

VCU Mobile

The VCU Mobile application is a valuable tool to get the latest VCU information on the go. The application contains helpful information including the VCU directory, events, course schedules, campus maps, athletics and general VCU news, emergency information, library resources, Blackboard and more. To download the application on your smart phone or for more information, please visit http://m.vcu.edu.

Class Registration Required for Attendance

Students may attend only those classes for which they have registered. Faculty may not add students to class rosters or Blackboard. Therefore, if students are attending a class for which they have not registered, they must stop attending.

Withdrawal from Classes

Before withdrawing from classes, students should consult their instructor as well as other appropriate university offices. Withdrawing from classes may negatively impact a student’s financial aid award and his or her semester charges. To discuss financial aid and the student bill, visit the Student Services Center at 1015 Floyd Avenue (Harris Hall) and/or contact your financial aid counselor regarding the impact on your financial aid. Contact information for the University Financial Aid Office is available online.

Student Financial Responsibility

Students assume the responsibility of full payment of tuition and fees generated from their registration and all charges for housing and dining services, and other applicable miscellaneous charges. Students are ultimately responsible for any unpaid balance on their account as a result of the University Financial Aid Office or their third party sponsor canceling or reducing their award(s).

Week-by-Week Syllabus

Week One. Introduction

• Tues Jan 13. Introduction; no reading.
• Thurs Jan 15. Gilles Deleuze, "Postscript on the Societies of Control" (blackboard); Michael Hardt, "Annotated 'Postscript on the Societies of Control'" (web); LM Sacasas, "10 Points of Unsolicited Advice for Tech Writers" (web)

Week Two. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

• Tues Jan 20. No class: instructor away
• Thurs Jan 22. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace, Part I: "Love and Power" (on blackboard this week only; vimeo; rutube)

Week Three. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

• Tues Jan 27. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace, Part II, "The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts" (on blackboard this week only; vimeo [with spanish subtitles]; rutube)
• Thurs Jan 29. All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace, Part III, "The Monkey in the Machine and the Machine in the Monkey" (on blackboard this week only; vimeo [with spanish subtitles]; rutube)

Week Four. Ideology

• Tues Feb 3. Langdon Winner, "Cyberlibertarian Myths and the Prospect for Community" (blackboard); Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron, "The Californian Ideology" (blackboard)
• Thurs Feb 5. Corey Pein, "Mouthbreathing Machiavellis Dream of a Silicon Reich" (web); Erasmuslijn, "Dread Techlord: Why to Worry about the Dark Enlightenment" (web)

Week Five. Selling the Internet

• Tues Feb 10. Des Freedman, "Web 2.0 and the Death of the Blockbuster Economy" (blackboard)
• Thurs Feb 12. No class: instructor away

Week Six. Internet Centrism, Internet Exceptionalism

• Tues Feb 17. James Curran, "Reinterpreting the Internet" (blackboard)
• Thurs Feb 19. Evgeny Morozov, "The Nonsense of 'The Internet'—and How to Stop It" (blackboard); Sasha Shepperd and Deborah Charnock, "Against Internet Exceptionalism" (blackboard)

Week Seven. Identity and Social Media

• Tues Feb 24. Elias Aboujouade, "E-Personality" and "Delusions of Grandeur" (blackboard)
• Thurs Feb 26. Rob Horning, "Social Media Is Not Self-Expression," "The Silence of the Masses Could Be Social Media," "Liquid Modernity and Social Media," "Google Alert for the Soul" (web)

Week Eight. Identity, Sociality, Embodiment

• Tues Mar 3. Charlene deGuzman and Miles Crawford, "I Forgot My Phone" (web); Elise Hu, "Our Cultural Addiction to Phones, in One Disconcerting Video" (web); Brad Hunter, "The Subtle Benefits of Face-to-Face Communication" (web); Human Kinetics, "Technology Can Have Positive and Negative Impact on Social Interactions" (web)
• Thurs Mar 5. Natalie Boero and C. J. Pascoe, "Pro-anorexia Communities and Online Interaction: Bringing the Pro-ana Body Online" (blackboard)

Spring Break

• No classes

Week Nine. Gender, Sexuality, LGBTQ

• Tues Mar 17. Sue Rosser, "Through the Lenses of Feminist Theory: Focus on Women and Information Technology" (blackboard); Jessie Daniels, "Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment" (blackboard)
• Thurs Mar 19. Robert Payne, "Frictionless Sharing and Digital Promiscuity" (blackboard); Olu Jenzen and Irmi Karl, "Make, Share, Care: Social Media and LGBTQ Youth Engagement" (web). First paper/project due.

Week Ten. Race, Postcolonialism

• Tues Mar 24. Alex Galloway, "Can the Whatever Speak?" (blackboard); Simone Browne, "Race and Surveillance" (blackboard); Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, "Race and/as Technology" (blackboard)
• Thurs Mar 26. Rayvon Fouché, "From Black Inventors to One Laptop Per Child: Exporting a Racial Politics of Technology" (blackboard); Kavita Philip, Lily Irani and Paul Dourish, "Postcolonial Computing: A Tactical Survey" (blackboard).

Week Eleven. Labor, Class

• Tues Mar 31. Tiziana Terranova, "Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy" (blackboard); Mark Coté and Jennifer Pybus, "Learning to Immaterial Labor 2.0" (blackboard);
• Thurs Apr 2. Jaron Lanier, "The Internet Destroyed the Middle Class" (web); Mark Andrejevic, "Social Network Exploitation" (blackboard); Christian Fuchs, "Class and Exploitation on the Internet" (blackboard)

Week Twelve. Automation, Surveillance

• Tues Apr 7. Nicholas Carr, "On Autopilot" (blackboard); Stefano De Paoli, "Automatic-Play and Player Deskilling in MMORPGs" (web); Rob Horning, "Information Inundation and Social Deskilling" (web)
• Thurs Apr 9. Mark Andrejevic, "Surveillance in the Big Data Era" (blackboard), "The Work of Watching One Another: Lateral Surveillance, Risk, and Governance" (blackboard)

Week Thirteen. Data Brokering, Civil Rights

• Tues Apr 14. Lois Beckett, "Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You" (web); Julia Angwin, "It's Complicated: Facebook's History of Tracking You" (web); Frank Pasquale, "The Dark Market for Personal Data" (web); Christian Sandvig, "Corrupt Personalization" (web)
• Thurs Apr 16. Danielle Citron, "Civil Rights in Our Information Age" (blackboard); Danielle Citron and Frank Pasquale, "The Scored Society: Due Process for Automated Predictions" (web)

Week Fourteen. "Internet Freedom," the Internet as Public Sphere

• Tues Apr 21. Evgeny Morozov, "Open Networks, Narrow Minds: Cultural Contradictions of Internet Freedom," and "Internet Freedoms and their Consequences" (blackboard); "Who's the True Enemy of Internet Freedom—China, Russia, or the US?" (web)
• Thurs Apr 23. Jodi Dean, "Why the Net Is Not a Public Sphere" (blackboard); Siva Vaidhyanathan, "The Googlization of the World: Prospects for a Global Public Sphere" (blackboard)

Week Fifteen. Rhetoric

• Tues Apr 28. "Disruptive Innovation": Audrey Watters, "The Myth and Millenialism of 'Disruptive Innovation'" (web); Jill LePore, "The Disruption Machine: What the Gospel of Innovation Gets Wrong" (web); Drake Bennett, "Clayton Christensen Responds to New Yorker Takedown of 'Disruptive Innovation'" (web)
• Thurs Apr 30. "Open": Nathaniel Tkacz, "From Open Source to Open Government: A Critique of Open Politics" (blackboard); Evgeny Morozov, "Open and Closed" (web); Audrey Watters, "From 'Open' to Justice" (web)

Final paper/project is due by the end of the final exam period, 10:50am, Tuesday, May 5, 2015, per the registrar's exam schedule. The paper or project should be emailed to me at dgolumbia-at-vcu.edu. No late papers can be accepted for the final paper assignment. There is no other final exam for the course.

Last updated April 21, 2015.