Cultural Studies:  
Imagining Technoculture

Description of Course Requirements  

First Essay (1500 words) 25%

Literature courses are always in part focused on written responses to the reading.  The grade will depend on the structure, clarity, and accuracy of your writing.  You will be expected to present a coherent argument about one of the assigned topics that is clearly based on a close analysis of the text.  A well-focused thesis statement supported by detailed observation will be important.  Topics for this 5-7 page paper will be assigned in the first weeks of class. 

DUE OCT 4.

Second Assignment 30%

a) essay:

Again, this 10-page paper must meet the criteria of a coherent, well-argued critical essay.  Although close reading should be central to your method of analysis, you are also encouraged to incorporate research in this paper.  Length: 2500 words.

b) web site:

Involves mounting a critical interpretation of one of the novels on the web (in other words, creating a web site), whereby you reflect on the conceptual links between some aspect of the concept of “cyber” or “technoculture” and the text.  For this assignment, the same standards of academic writing apply as outlined above for the essay: coherence, clarity, accuracy.  However, in addition, the web assignment will necessitate rethinking ideas in a visual format and for a different medium.  To that end, the web site must incorporate on-line resources for informational, illustrative and critical purposes.  When you are incorporating web resources for informational purposes you should  

identify source – who made the site; how old is it?     assess reliability and authority of the information – quality, accuracy, trustworthiness, focus     identify audience for the site     comment on ease of use (where appropriate) – navigability, design, layout, links (what’s missing?), use of visuals       applicability – comment on the quality of the content and how we might apply or use (or not use) the information

When using web resources for illustrative purposes consider and analyze effects:  

how do you intend the visual resource to exemplify or illustrate an idea? (make sure the visual analogy is clear)   what connections does the example help us make? how do those connections further our understanding of the topic?