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As
anyone who has ever used e-mail, instant messaging, or cellular picture
mail can tell you, the English language is constantly evolving. In fact,
in our modern wireless world, this is nowhere more apparent than in
the e-rhetoric - or electronic rhetoric - that we encounter on-line
everyday. Whether you're an occasional web-surfer or an expert web-designer,
you've already had first-hand experience with how digital rhetoric has
changed the way that we understand, structure, and process information.
In PWR2 - E-Rhetorics: Writing Persuasively in a Digital Age,
we meet the challenges of such new media head-on, examining the impact
of electronic discourse on ourselves and our culture and developing
effective writing strategies for producing powerful electronic arguments.
Drawing on readings from popular and academic sources, we will investigate
a variety of issues relevant to the study of digital culture -- from
file-sharing and related copyright issues; to hacking and network security;
gaming and gender discrimination; racial-profiling and race-specific
websites; blogging, IM, and self-expression; freedom of speech and on-line
pornography; and constructing virtual communities and identities.
Throughout our investigation
of these topics, we will return to one central question: what does it
mean to write persuasively in an electronic age? While this course assumes
no technical expertise on the part of the students, it does anticipate
that all class members are ready to experiment with writing expressively,
persuasively, and purposefully in an electronic medium. As part of their
own practical exploration and application of e-rhetoric, students will
experiment with different forms of electronic discourse, inside and
outside the classroom; they will make a hypertext cover page for their
online portfolio; they keep a student blog; and they will participate
in online community experiment. In addition, throughout the quarter,
student will reflect on their experiences with digital culture, both
through a series of oral multimedia presentations and a final research-based
hypertext.
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