NEXT240 (Section 902, Schedule #42551)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Fall 2021
W 4pm-6:40pm :: Hibbs 403
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 333 Hibbs Hall
Fall 2021 Office Hours: Tues 2-4pm (over Zoom)
Reading Technology, Media, and Culture: Form and Meaning in Digital Media
The course provides an overview of topics in the study of new media as practiced in English departments (and other departments of literary and cultural studies). We will look briefly at a wide range of new media forms and then try to relate those forms to the contents of specific examples of new media. New media forms include objects and processes like loops, control panels, heads-up displays, social reputation scores, short videos, memes, streams, stacks, threads, and graphic alternatives to text. We will look both at actual examples of some of these forms and also at media representations of them in film, tv shows and written literature, and also read analytical discussions of both. The class will meet occasionally in person but most of the discussion and coursework will take place over asynchronous (Canvas) text-based discussion.
Modality
This class uses a hybrid modality. We may need to adjust the specifics over the course of the term, but in general it will work this way:
- Our classes will meet either in-person or over Zoom. The modality for each Wednesday will be indicated in the syllabus below
in green.
Modality for specific days may change for a number of reasons, and I will make every effort to notify you via Canvas as early as possible of any change in modality.
Materials
- There are no required materials to purchase for the course. All materials for the course will be provided in Canvas and on the open web.
Content Warnings
- In general, the materials for this class should not present content challenges for students. However, for three weeks we will discuss memes. While the instructor will present only material vetted for appropriateness, students will also be invited to locate and present material about memes, and the world of memes includes a great deal of troubling content. Every effort will be made to avoid presenting this material to the class, and to remove it should any make its way into general discussion, but students should be aware that due to the subject matter, there may be brief encounters with offensive material, including while doing your own independent research. Students will always be invited to contact the instructor to let me know if inappropriate material has surfaced in discussion and it will be promptly removed, and the class will be reminded to avoid posting such material in open discussion.
Assignments and Evaluation
- Reports: 25% each, for total of 75%. Students will write 3 brief reports during the semester, one on each of the three major course units (emoji, loops, and memes). The reports will be about 3-4 pages long, or 750 words, but may take a variety of forms including video, audio, and other kinds of multimedia. Each report will count for 25% of the course grade. Reports will be submitted on Canvas.
- Course Participation: 25%. This portion of the grade will be assigned based on the frequency and quality of each student's participation in Canvas discussion (and, where applicable, Zoom and in-person discussions). Participation grades focus primarily on how often the student contributes to discussion, and whether those contributions reflect having read the material and other students' comments. Unlike reports, participation grades are largely not focused on how smart or incisive your comments are. The point is to participate often and show that you've read the material and your classmates' comments: it is meant to be easy to get full credit or nearly full credit for the term for participation.
- Extra Credit: Students may earn extra credit for their reports by handing them in early. Details will be provided with the assignments.
Official VCU Policy Statements
Week-by-Week Syllabus
Week One.
- Weds, Aug 25. Introduction. No reading.
Class modality: in-person
Week Two. Media Studies
- Weds, Sep 1. Reading: from Paul Long and Tim Wall, "How Do Media Create Meaning?" (Chapter 1 of Paul Long and Tim Wall, Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context;
whole book in Canvas).
Class modality: in-person
Week Three. Media Studies
- Weds, Sep 8. Reading: from Paul Long and Tim Wall, "Organising Meaning in Media Texts: Genre and Narrative" (Chapter 2 of Paul Long and Tim Wall, Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context;
whole book in Canvas).
Class modality: Zoom.
Week Four. Emoji
- Weds, Sep 15. Reading: Giannoulis and Wilde, "Emoticons, Kaomoji, and Emoji: The Transformation of Communication in the Digital Age" (Chapter 1 of Giannoulis and Wilde, eds., Emoticons, Kaomoji, and Emoji: The Transformation of Communication in the Digital Age; whole book in Canvas).
Class modality: in-person.
Week Five. Study week; no class meetings
- Weds, Sep 22. No class meetings or readings
Week Six. Emoji
- Weds, Sep 29. Reading: Abel, "Not Everyone 💩s Or, the Question of Emoji as ‘Universal’ Expression" (Chapter 2 of Giannoulis and Wilde, eds., Emoticons, Kaomoji, and Emoji: The Transformation of Communication in the Digital Age; whole book in Canvas)
-
. Class modality: Canvas discussion only
.
Week Seven. Emoji
- Weds, Oct 6. Reading: emoji examples presented in Canvas.
Week Eight. Loops
Week Nine. Study week; no class meetings
- Weds, Oct 20. No class meeting or readings. Emoji report due by 11:59pm.
Week Ten. Loops
Week Eleven. Loops
- Weds, Nov 3. Viewing: Edge of Tomorrow (film)
Week Twelve. Memes
- Weds, Nov 10 Reading: TBD
Week Thirteen. Memes
- Weds, Nov 17. Loops report due by 11:59pm.
Week Fourteen. Thanksgiving week; no class meetings
- Weds, Nov 24. Thanksgiving. No class meeting or readings.
Week Fifteen. Memes
- Weds, Dec 1. Reading: TBD
Week Sixteen. Study week; no class meetings
- Weds, Dec 8. No class meeting or readings. Memes report due by Monday, Dec 13, 11:59pm.