english 651: writing hypertext
syllabus
schedule
resources
Syllabus
Course Description
Writing Hypertext will provide/require immersion in reading, writing, and critiquing hypertext documents, including the exploratory/academic, the informational/transactional, and the literary. Focus will be on the rhetoric and design of hypertext in non-sequential electronic spaces, where nodes and links and the screen necessarily alter the writer's strategies for providing orientation and navigation for readers.
Students will compile annotated resources pages, review both print and hypertext documents and applications and write reader responses, compose two substantial hypertext projects, each serving a different audience and purpose, and critique the projects of other members of the class. Students will work closely with the instructors to design projects of significant scope and depth to meet the objectives of the course.
Additional Course Information:
Be prepared to spend more time at this course than you would spend on courses taught in traditional ways, using traditional media. Much of what you will read, see, think, and write about in this course will run counter to your previous experiences. Also, many of the readings for the course are available only online, so if you do not have Internet access from home or office, you will have to do your reading on campus.
Class time will be used for demonstrations, discussions of reading assignments, learning new hypertext skills, class discussion, and exploration of specific hypertexts. For the first four weeks of the semester, the instructors will try to arrange small group meetings for those students who want additional technical assistance.
Projects:
- One major web-based, native hypertext project in your chosen area of interest to be published with an accompanying meta-text network that addresses the issues of composing, designing, constructing, critiquing, contextualizing, and/or theorizing your major project. (Can be kept private in early stages of writing processes.)
- A homepage and website that links all your work for this course. (Public)
- An annotated reading list, to which you add at least one course-related hypertext per week (15 total). The hypertexts you choose must be accessible to others in the class. Follow the course Style Sheet. (Public)
- A weekly class demonstration in which you engage the class in some aspect/issue of your writing, reading, experimenting, thinking about your project. Your purpose here is to inform the class about a process or problem or issue in such a way that their thinking and learning are stimulated and enhanced. Early in the semester, presentations will be quite brief; after about week four, your presentation including question-and-answer time will be limited to 7 minutes. (Public where applicable)
- Assigned readings for whole class discussion. You should keep an electronic reader response journal to the assigned readings. Record the dates and descriptions of new hypertext experiences along with other kinds of reader responses. (Public)
- Written critiques of two class members' major projects. (Public) Writer's public response to critique is optional.
Late Project Policy:
Due dates for assignments are listed on the syllabus. Late assignments will result in lower grades. Since assigned projects will be read and critiqued by classmates and teachers, any requested change will affect everyone's schedule and therefore must be arranged before the assigned due date and be accompanied by a written explanation for your need to make an adjustment to the schedule of due dates.
Attendance:
You are expected to attend all classes on time and are expected to make arrangements with the teachers for planned absences. Unscheduled absences must be discussed with the instructors. More than two absences, whether planned or unplanned, will result in a lower final grade.
Assignments and Grading:
All assignments must be completed to pass the class. The number and nature of assignments and the schedule of activities may be changed to accommodate the needs of the class.
Major project and meta-text 50%
Annotated Reading List
10%
Demonstrations
20%
Readings and Journals
10%
Final Critiques
10%
Assigned Readings
Michael Joyce, afternoon,
a story
Donna Haraway, "A Cyborg
Manifesto"
Ed Falco, Sea Island
Mark Bernstein, "Patterns of
Hypertext," "Hypertext
Gardens," and
"Chasing Our
Tales"
Caroline Guyer, "Along the
Estuary"
Wendy Morgan, "Re-Placing
Authority by Desire: Novices Reading and Writing Literary Hypertext"
selections from Janet Murray, Hamlet
on the Holodeck
selections from Espen Aarseth, Cybertext
selections from Michael Joyce, Of Two Minds
"Introduction,"
"Hypertext
Narrative," "Siren Shapes"
selections from William Horton, Designing
and Writing Online Documentation
selections from Hackos and Stevens, Standards
for Online
Communication
MOO hypertext TBA
Instructional Materials:
3 1/2 inch high density floppies
ream of inexpensive printer paper
Required:
A computer account at VCU; proficiency working in a Windows
environment; ready access to a computer running Netscape Gold or Netscape
Communicator/Composer or Microsoft Internet Explorer outside of the scheduled class hours;
an adventurous spirit.
Academic Dishonesty Policy
The submission of work which includes the work or ideas of another
without citing or attributing them to their author possibly constitutes plagiarism.
Assignments which are plagiarized will be given a failing grade and their authors treated
in accordance with VCU Honor
Code on academic dishonesty as stated in the VCU Resources Guide.
Affirmative Action Statement
The English Department and the University are committed to providing appropriate support for students with documented disabilities, including learning disabilities. Any student who has a documented disability may identify him/herself to the teacher at the beginning of the semester so that reasonable accommodations or arrangements can be made.