Spreading and mutating like a virus, computer mediated communication has entered our lives. From the everyday to the expert, our means of communication continue adapting to a broad spectrum of ramifiying agencies thriving in digital media.
But, grandiose pronouncements won't take us very far toward understanding our situation(s). We must approach it through researching concrete historical manifestations of development, and—as we are designers—through making, developing critical practice(s). We will survey the field, develop our familiarity with its current forms and use our understanding to extrapolate into the future.
We will expand our understanding of these influences by reading (online and print) and discussion (online and face-to-face), by your research and my demos, by developing your digital know-how, and, of course, by writing online.
Discourse Communities : Archive
Research a community defined by shared discourse.
How are subjects constituted by their means of communication? How has your group been constituted historically, and how are they now?
Extrapolate beyond your research to design possible tools for this community. Do not be limited to what you can actually produce right now.
In the 6th and 7th weeks you will present your findings and design.
Your work will become part of a digital archive of probes.
Self-Improvement
Based on where you are now, make progress!
Develop your involvement in digital communication. You could create your first webpage; do your first scripting; start a wiki on a topic of interest; create and populate a de.licio.us account; and ... but, make it useful.
In the 4th and 5th weeks you will do presentations to share what you know and what you are learning with everyone else in the class.
Findings
You will be expected to post weekly findings to our Discussion Group (you must be logged in to our group to see this page), and comment on the findings of others. (Note: it may take awhile for your message to appear after posting. Also, I recommend that you compose your message on your computer before posting it, so you have a copy just in case the posting fails.)
Readings
Readings may be assigned weekly. You will post responses to the readings in our Discussion Group; and, then post responses to the responses of others.
Expectations
If you have any questions or difficulties it is your responsibility to ASK QUESTIONS.
Active participation in all class and online discussions. This includes critical engagement with each other's work.
Expand your online presence.
Your final project must be documented on our program website.
You should know the grading policy by now, but, as this class meets only seven times, two absences (or the equivalent in tardiness) will constitute a failing grade.
Parsing Digital Text
Digital text goes beyond human communication. Text has become a functional tool, a means of persuading machines to do our bidding, one readily available to the general user. We can write texts that control other texts—text controls text controls text controls machines. Lectures and demos will address various forms and functions of digital text, from front to middle and back-ends.