Overview
schedule
assignments
study materials
discussion forum
course policies

GER 494/598; ENG 494/549; HUM 494
Spring 2003, Daniel Gilfillan


The following are required assignments and exams. Students participating in the course will be evaluated on their engaged participation in class discussion, on their written work for the course, and on their ability to engage with the course content in an exam situation. The exam is a take-home midterm covering the required readings and discussions (print or online) from the first part of the course; they are also designed to reward students who attend lectures on a regular basis. An attendance policy will be in effect.

Note: To pass the course, students must regularly attend lectures and participate actively in in-class discussion and in the discussion forum.


Discussion & Minutes
Weight: 20% of Final Grade
Due: varied dates throughout the semester

Class discussions will be built on assigned readings and in-class exploration of web-based artistic and scholarly projects.

Undergraduate students will be responsible for:

  • leading one class discussion (10%)
  • taking minutes of class discussions, individually (to be handed out in class at the next meeting and posted to our discussion forum on Blackboard) (5%)
  • participating in the Blackboard discussion forum (one substantive post based on a class reading, or a response to a question that I post) (5%)

Graduate students will be responsible for:

  • leading two class discussions (15%)
  • taking minutes of class discussions, individually (to be handed out in class at the next meeting and posted to our discussion forum on Blackboard) (5%)
  • participating in the Blackboard discussion forum

Parameters for Leading Discussion/Taking Minutes

Schedule of Discussions and Minutes Taking


Two Short Reviews
Weight: 20% of Final Grade
Due: Review 1: by February 20, 2003; Review 2: by April 3, 2003

Two short reviews (900-1000 words, typed):

  1. of 1 book related to the course. Viable titles will be discussed in class or look at bibliography of suggested titles
  2. of websites or films discussed in class
  3. you may also suggest a book or film of your own which engages the subject matter of our course (i.e. The Matrix)

Book Review Guidelines

 


Mid-term Take-Home Exam
Weight: 20% of Final Grade
Dates:

Pickup at my office: March 6
Due in class: March 11

The take-home midterm exam will consist of short answer questions and one essay (choice of question) related to the readings and discussion from the beginning of our course. You will pick up the exam on a Thursday, and it will be due back in class the following Tuesday. You may consult your notes and readings, but you may not work together on the exam.


Web Storyboard
Weight: 10% of Final Grade
Dates: Due April 17

You will create a website storyboard for a future web project based on individual research or creative interest.

The term storyboard is borrowed from filmmaking, and relates to the written organization and visual conceptualization stages done far before the cameras start rolling. In similar fashion, a web storyboard will consist of information (text, image, sound) organized by rubric (a website generally consists of multiple areas: like those in my navigation sidebar). As the date approaches, I will share with you some examples of web storyboards.

The storyboards can be done individually or together with a partner.


Seminar Project/Research Paper
Weight: 30% of Final Grade
Dates: Due May 13 in my mailbox by 5 p.m.

Undergraduate students will produce an 8 - 10 page paper with citations and graduate students will produce a 10 - 12 page paper with citations.

Topics for these papers should develop from the content of the course, and students should discuss their ideas with the instructor.

Some topic examples:

  • changing views of authorship with the advent of digital texts and experimental print texts
  • a new role for the reader; issues of identity in terms of gender, race, class within hypertext and digital art projects, or within synchronous communication (chat rooms, MOO space)
  • depictions of cyberculture in film: i.e. reading as gaming, the reader as a player of the text

Multimedia alternatives to the seminar paper will be entertained by the instructor, if there are students who have the capability and skills necessary to produce a multimedia project.

Parameters for the Seminar Project

 

 

Assignments:
Class Discussions, Participation & Minutes - 20%
Two Short Reviews - 20%
Web Storyboard - 10%
Midterm Exam - 20%
Seminar Project - 30%

Due Dates:
Short Review #1: by February 20
Short Review #2: by April 3
Midterm Exam: pickup: March 6
due: March 11
Web Storyboard: April 17
Seminar Project: May 13, 5:00 pm

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Arizona State University ASU Dept. of Languages and Literatures