| Prof. Joseph Conte | Fall 1998 |
| 431 Clemens Hall | MWF 10:00-10:50 |
| Office Hours: MWF 11:00-12:00 | 6 Clemens Hall |
| Voice Mail: 645-2575 x1009 | |
| E-Mail: Click here to send me E-Mail |
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| Aug 31 | Introduction to Multimedia Literature | Joseph Conte | |
| Sep 2 | Constructing Identity in the Computer Age |
Sherry Turkle, "Identity in the Age of the Internet" (Holeton 5-11) Iain A. Boal, "Body, Brain, and Communication: An Interview with George Lakoff" (Holeton 21-31) |
Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Sep 4 | Constructed Identity in Cyberspace | William Gibson, "Johnny Mnemonic" (Holeton 48-61) | |
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| Sep 9 | Cyberspace as Science / Fiction | William Gibson, Neuromancer | |
| Sep 11 | Digital Collaboration | William Gibson, Neuromancer | Straylight |
| Sep 14 | Language and Literacy in the Information Age |
Sven Birkerts, "Into the Electronic Millennium" (Holeton 311-2) Shyamala Reddy, "The Once and Future Book" (Holeton 323-27) |
Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Sep 16 | The Virtual Library: Online Resources in the Humanities |
Borges, "The Library of Babel" (Holeton 293-99)
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| Sep 18 | Science Fiction and Literary Theory | Samuel R. Delany, Neveryóna | Neveryóna |
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| Sep 23 | Science Fiction and Literary Theory | Samuel R. Delany, Neveryóna | Samuel R. Delany |
| Sep 25 | Science Fiction and Literary Theory | Samuel R. Delany, Neveryóna | Samuel R. Delany |
| Sep 28 | Information Overload and the New Media |
Dave Barry, "Selected Web Sites" (Holeton 300-310) Thomas Pynchon, "Is It O.K. to Be a Luddite?" |
Search Engines |
| Sep 30 |
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| Oct 2 | The Cyberspace and Critical Theory Overview | Hypertext at Brown University | |
| Oct 5 | The Superabundance of Information | Don DeLillo, White Noise | Don DeLillo's America |
| Oct 7 | The Superabundance of Information | Don DeLillo, White Noise | |
| Oct 9 | The Superabundance of Information | Don DeLillo, White Noise | |
| Oct 12 | Modular Narrative as Proto-Hypertext | Robert Coover, "The Babysitter" | Coover, "The End of Books" and "Hypertext Is Only the Beginning" |
| Oct 14 | Hypertext Fiction | Michael Joyce, Afternoon: A Story | Michael Joyce |
| Oct 16 | Hypertext Fiction | Michael Joyce, Afternoon: A Story | Coover, review of Afternoon |
| Oct 19 | Hypertext Fiction | Michael Joyce, Afternoon: A Story | |
| Oct 21 | Of Two Minds: Hypertext Pedagogy and Poetics | Michael Joyce, "Hypertext and Hypermedia" | |
| Oct 23 | Metafiction and Postmodern Parody | John Barth, "Click" | John Barth Info Page |
| Oct 26 | The Garden of Forking Paths | Stuart Moulthrop, Victory Garden | Stuart Moulthrop |
| Oct 28 | The Garden of Forking Paths | Stuart Moulthrop, Victory Garden | Coover, "Hyperfiction" |
| Oct 30 | The Garden of Forking Paths | Stuart Moulthrop, Victory Garden | |
| Nov 2 | Poetry on the Web: The Word as Icon | The Electronic Poetry Center on UB Wings | |
| Nov 4 | Visual Poetry | Ubuweb: Visual, Concrete, and Sound Poetry | |
| Nov 6: | The Marked-Up Text | The Electronic Text Center (University of Virginia) | Electronic Text Center |
| Nov 9 | Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) |
Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2 |
Galatea 2.2 |
| Nov 11 | Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2 | |
| Nov 13 | Cybernetics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Richard Powers, Galatea 2.2 | |
| Nov 16 | Gender Online |
Dale Spender, "Gender-Bending" (Holeton 69-75) Laura Miller, "Women and Children First," (Holeton 99-106) |
Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Nov 18 | Women and Hypertext | Jane Yellowlees Douglas, I Have Said Nothing | |
| Nov 20 | Women and Hypertext | Jane Yellowlees Douglas, I Have Said Nothing | |
| Nov 23 | Cyborgs and Identity | Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century" | A Cyborg Manifesto |
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| Nov 30 | Cyborgs and Feminist Theory | Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg Manifesto" | |
| Dec 2 | Simulacra and the Real | Jean Baudrillard, "The Precession of Simulacra" | Baudrillard on the Web |
| Dec 4 | Virtual Community |
John Perry Barlow, "Is There a There in Cyberspace?" (Holeton 164-70) Grossman, "The Shape of the Electronic Republic" (Holeton 203-13) Langdon Winner, "Mythinformation," (Holeton 226-39) |
Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Dec 7 | The Global Village |
Richard Rodriguez, "A Future of Faith and Cyberspace" (Holeton 259-61) John Hockenberry, "The End of Nationalism?" (Holeton 262-65) |
Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Dec 9 | Ownership and Sharing of Knowledge |
Ann Okerson, "Who Owns Digital Works" (Holeton 343-49) Herb Brody, "Wired Science" (Holeton 354-63) |
Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Dec 11 | Information Control and Copyright | William Gibson, "Burning Chrome" (Holeton 369-83) | Holeton, Composing Cyberspace |
| Dec 14 | Conclusions | Research project or final essay due in class, 10-15 pages |
Required Texts and Hypertexts:
Delany, Samuel R. Neveryóna, or: The Tale of Signs and Cities. Hanover and London: Wesleyan University Press, 1993.
DeLillo, Don. White Noise. New York: Penguin, 1986.
Douglas, J. Yellowlees. I Have Said Nothing. Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1993.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace, 1984.
Holeton, Richard. Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age. New York: McGraw Hill, 1998.
Joyce, Michael. Afternoon, a story. Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1990.
Moulthrop, Stuart. Victory Garden. Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1991.
Powers, Richard. Galatea 2.2. New York: Harper Perennial, 1996.
All texts and hypertexts are available at Talking Leaves Bookstore, 3158 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214, located across from the South Campus. (716) 837-8554. Orders for hypertexts by Douglas, Joyce and Moulthrop must be placed at Talking Leaves by Friday, September 25, 1998; specify Windows or Macintosh format; orders must be prepaid and will be shipped to Talking Leaves within three days.
Course Requirements:
Two 5-7 page papers; a research project that may include web-site construction or hypertext materials, or a final essay of 10-15 pages; participation in the on-line discussion list for ENG 370; regular attendance.
Papers: Print copies must be presented in class on the day indicated on the syllabus. These copies should adhere to the following format: a cover page with a title for your essay, your name, the course number and title, the date; typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins; all pages numbered; stapled. The paper should be proofread for grammatical and typographical errors.
In addition, you must prepare an electronic copy (Windows format, in either MS Word or WordPerfect; or in ASCII plain text) that will be made available for posting (in whole or in part) to the class website. Students will be invited to critique and respond to posted essays.
Late policy: Late assignments will be accepted only by prior arrangement with me. Failure to seek approval before the due date will result in a penalty of one grade increment per class meeting.
Plagiarism: All secondary materials, either from print or digital sources, must be properly attributed. Plagiarism will result in the immediate failure of the assignment and possible failure for the course, at the instructor's discretion.
Attendance: Noted on a daily basis. Absence from more than six classes during the course of the semester will result in a final grade deduction, up to and including failure for the course, at the instructor's discretion.
Grading: 50% for the two short papers; 40% for the research project or final paper; 10% for participation in on-line discussion and critique.
Return to Multimedia Literature Home Page
Last Revised Thursday, December 3, 1998