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 Victor Vitanza's Cyberreader as well as additional texts 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 work with different forms of electronic discourse, inside and outside the classroom; they will keep a student blog, participate in a class discussion list, and design their own website. Throughout the quarter, students will work on extended projects on digital culture; these projects will culminate in final presentations and a research-based hypertext document.

Required

Fictional Worlds, Virtual Experiences: Storytelling and Computer Games. Exhibit. Cantor Arts Center.
Vitanza, Victor. Cyberreader. 2nd ed. NY: Longman, 1999.

 

Recommended

Johnson-Eilola, Johndan. Designing Effective Websites. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2002.
Lunsford, Andrea. Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002.

PWR & University Policies and Resources

All PWR classes abide by specific University and Program policies. For a list of these policies and resources for first year PWR students, see Policies handout, distributed on the first day of class or visit http://www.stanford.edu/~steener/handouts/policies.htm for an on-line version.

Class attendance & participation

The class attendance policy is pretty straightforward: I expect you to be on time and to attend all the scheduled classes and conferences. If you do miss a class, you must make it up and you also must still turn (on time) in any work due that day. If you know in advance that you'll miss a class, let me know as soon as possible in writing (i.e. via e-mail is fine): athletes with away games should provide me with a complete schedule of their trips at the beginning of the quarter. If you are absent due to illness, family emergency, or other unexpected events, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can determine a make-up plan for the work that you miss.

 

Since we have a small class, class discussion is an important part of the learning experience, and I have no doubt that you will contribute actively to our conversations. Remember, however, to be respectful of your classmates; negative or demeaning remarks - even if you mean them in a "good-spirited" way - don't have a place in our classroom.

Wallenberg & Computing Requirements

We are fortunate to have been assigned to a state of the art computer classroom. During the quarter, we will have the opportunity to work with laptops, plasma screens, a smart panel, and two large interactive Webster computers, controlled by a stylus. However, with great technology comes great responsibility. Please take and boot up a laptop at the beginning of each class, unless otherwise directed; at the end of the class session, you should shut down the computer - not just close it up - and stow it again in the laptop cart, hooking it up to the appropriate power cable for the shelf you chose. Remember: you should be gentle with these computers, and under no circumstances are you to take them from the room.

 

In terms of computer room etiquette, you must not surf the web (unless directed to do so) or check your e-mail during class; anyone who does so may be demoted to pen and paper for the rest of the class session. In addition, when we start working with the collaborative software on the computers, you should be respectful in sharing the computer screens and should not "seize control" of a screen, unless you have been directed by me to do so.

Keep in mind that although this is a course on E-Rhetoric, it is still a PWR class, not a COMPUTER class. Accordingly, I will not be teaching "how-to" lessons on using technology, beyond the most necessary skills. You should make friends with your RCCs and familiarize yourself with the Meyer Help Desk and the Acomp website for help on technology related issues. I also will make myself available outside of class on an individual or group basis for some tech-help. Look at the Tech Resources list on the Policies & Resources page for additional tech support options. In addition, draw on each other's strengths in the class - your classmates will be some of your most effective teachers.

PanFora

I have set up a PanFora forum for our section (http://panfora.stanford.edu/Forums/erhetoric_win_04). PanFora is a Stanford-designed and hosted on-line bulletin board environment that allows students to store documents and post/reply to messages through a designated class web-space. We will be using our Panfora space as a forum for conversation and peer review, and as an archive for student work. The PanFora button, located along the left margin of webpages for this class, will connect you to our forum. You are responsible for posting all of your assignments on PanFora as you complete them.

Please note:

• Apple users should access PanFora through Netscape
• PC users should use Explorer
• Apple users should be sure to include the .doc extension on all documents posted to the class; alternately, they could save attachments as .rtf documents (rich text format) or .pdfs to allow viewing across different computer platforms.
• All students should routinely back-up their work, using CDs and/or their personal Leland space in addition to their PanFora archive

1. Student Blog (5%). As an electronic correlative to a writer's journal, students will be asked to maintain a blog throughout the quarter, in which they will make no fewer entries than one post per week (for a total of a minimum of 10 posts by the end of the quarter). Keeping the blog will enable the student to track his/her development as a writer and researcher, as well as to gain hands-on experience with one distinct and very popular form of e-rhetoric.
2. Informal Assignments & Requirements (5%). Students will complete many informal writing assignments for this class; these assignments will not be graded, but completion of them is essential for full participation in the class. These assignments include:
   • Archiving all drafts and writing assignments on the PanFora forum.
   • Participation in peer review, in-class and in PanFora on-line discussion groups.
   • Attending a series of individual conferences during the quarter, both with Christine and with our Oral Communications Tutor.
   • Completing in-class writing assignments.
   • Attending class, arriving promptly, and participating actively.
3. Researched Project on E-Rhetoric. Students will spend the majority of the quarter researching a project on digital rhetoric. This source-based project will integrate a variety of primary and secondary sources into a provocative, original argument. There will be several components of this project:
   • Project Proposal. In this 3-5 page written document, students will articulate the subject, sources, and timeline for their projects. (10%)
   • Proposal presentation. After writing their proposals, students will present them to the class in a 5 minute oral presentation. As part of this assignment, students will turn in an outline and script of their presentation as well as a reflection letter. (5%)
   • Collaboratively authored Webpage. Students will contribute materials, both individually and collaboratively, to the creation of a class website. (5%)
   • Visual Outline/Graphic Map of Argument. Students will turn in a graphic web map of their project that clearly demonstrates the structure and organization of their argument. (5%)
   • Hypertext Research Project. Instead of a traditional 10-12 page essay, students will produce a hypertext of their research project (with bibliography) that will ultimately be uploaded to our course Research Site and linked to their Collaborative Subpages. As part of this assignment, students will generate a bibliography and a 1-2 page reflection letter. (40%)
   • Project presentation. As the final step in the research process, students will present their work to the class in a 10 minute multimedia presentation. As part of this assignment, students will turn in an outline and script of their presentation (25%).