ENG 333 Fall 2009
Prof. Chris Funkhouser
funkhouser@adm.njit.edu
The elementary idea is to see a text as a concrete (and not metaphorical) machine consisting of the medium, the operator, and the strings of signs.
—Markku Eskelinen, “Cybertext Theory”
Through theoretical readings and electronic research, students explore and compare information structuring in print and digital media, particularly how digital technology influences the dynamics of text. Interactivity, visual communication and developments in the realm of cybernetics are addressed in the course.
—NJIT catalog description, ENG 333
The purpose of this course is to help students formulate advanced understandings of textual concepts and design through invention, cultivation and implementation of ideas.
ENG 333 is a hybrid course that will meet on campus approximately every other week during the semester (dates of meetings are indicated below). Students must complete the assignments and a Semester project, as explained below. In addition, ENG 333 contains integral online components, which students are *required* to use—specifically the NJIT moodle conferencing system and specified chat software (details t.b.a.). moodle discussions will focus on course materials, and on works being developed by those enrolled (although other uses are possible). Students are required to respond to all course forums on the moodle bulletin board, and at times during the semester will use the conferencing system more intensively.
We will meet at 10:00 a.m. in Kupfrian 202 on the following dates: August 31, September 7, 21; October 5, 19; November 2, 23; December 7. Online discussions will occur at dates/times specified below.
My campus office hours are 2:00-5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays in Cullimore 425. (Note: office hours will not be held on Nov. 11). I am also available for one-on-one virtual office meetings by appointment.
Developing both “perspectives on ergodic literature” and your own creative thinking and expression are the emphasis of the course. Students should begin to develop ideas regarding the Semester project as early in the term as possible in order to have ample time to experiment with and cultivate her or his project, which will be reviewed and discussed by the class during the last part of the semester.
C o u r s e
F a c t s h e e t
Reading materials:
* Aarseth, Espen. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Baltimore:
Johns
Hopkins UP, 1997. Book is on reserve at NJIT Library. Chapter One is available
here: http://www.hf.uib.no/cybertext/Ergodic.html;
other excerpts will be made available via a course reader distributed via moodle.
* All links embedded into the course WWW syllabus, and any links subsequently posted in moodle.
Requirements:
I. Assignments
a. Three short essays (500 word maximum): due Weeks 2, 8, 12 [5 points each]
b. Three output renderings of text (with rationale): due Weeks 1, 3, 9 [5 points each]
c. Five formal (250 word) moodle postings: Weeks 4, 6, 7, 10, 11 [5 points each]
Here you will share your observations &/or respond to issues raised by other students.
d. Weekly participation in moodle discussion [roughly 1 point/week]
Think of this as your virtual course notebook, where you note how you "read" each of the texts.
II. Semester Project [30 points]
Each student will prepare a cybertext of her or his own design (projects may also be done collaboratively). This is an open-ended creative project to be completed over the course of the semester; it should be extensive, thoughtfully developed work. Simple proposals for the project are due during Week 5; Detailed proposals are due by the end of Week 9.
C o u r s e
W o r k
Week 1 (8/31- 9/6): Ergodic Literature
Class meets 8/31
Reading:
Chapter One, Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature; excerpt from Ch. 2 "Paradigms and Perspectives", Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature (pp. 41-51 in course reader).
texts: Raymond Queneau, Cent mille millards de poèmes; *water writes always in *plural
Assignment 1: Devise a poem using the Queneau mechanism; write a statement explaining the process(es) you used to determine the output and your perspective on the result. Post to moodle Forum.
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Week 2 (ends 9/13)
9/7: Labor Day, no class meeting
text: Emily Short, Galatea
Assignment 2: Write a short essay (500 word max.) in response to your encounter with Galatea. Post in moodle assignments.
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Week 3 (ends 9/20)
Class meets 9/14
Reading: excerpt from Ch. 3, "Textonomy: A Typology of Textual Communication", Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature (pp. 58-69, course reader); HYPERTEXT TERMS.
texts: Deena Larsen, Carving in Possibilities; Millie Niss, The Electronic Muse
Assignment 3: Devise a poem using Niss's mechanism; write a statement explaining the process(es) you used to determine the output and your perspective on the result. Post to moodle Forum.
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Week 4 (ends 9/27)
Chat scheduled, 10 a.m., September 21 (details t.b.a.)
text: Jim Andrews, Stir Fry Texts
Assignment 4: Formal response (250 words) to Stir Fry Texts posted on moodle Forum (further details t.b.a.)
Week 5 (ends 10/4)
Class meets 9/28
Reading: excerpt from Ch. 4, "No Sense of an Ending: Hypertext Aesthetics", Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature (pp. 76-85, course reader).
text: Jim Rosenberg, Diagrams Series 6: 6.4 and 6.10
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Cybertext Project Simple Proposal due; send via email to funkhouser@adm.njit.edu
Week 6 (ends 10/11)
Chat scheduled, 10 a.m., October 5 (details t.b.a.)
text: Michael Joyce, 12 Blue
Assignment 5: Formal response (250 words) to 12 Blue posted on moodle Forum (further details t.b.a.)
Week 7 (ends 10/16)
Class meets, 10/12
Reading: excerpt from Ch. 5, "Intrigue and Discourse in the Adventure Game", Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature (pp. 97-103, course reader).
text: Michael Mateas and Andrew Stern, Façade
Assignment 6: Formal response (250 words) to Façade posted on moodle Forum (further details t.b.a.)
Week 8 (ends 10/25)
Chat scheduled, 10 a.m., October 19 (details t.b.a.)
text: Mary Flanagan, [theHouse]
Assignment 7: Write a short essay (500 word max.) in response to your encounter with [theHouse]. Post in moodle assignments.
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Week 9 (ends 11/1)
Class meets 10/26
Reading: excerpts from Ch. 6, "The Cyborg Author: Problems of Automated Poetics" and Conclusion, Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature (pp. 129-137, 140-41, course reader).
text: Jason Nelson, The Poem Cube
Assignment 8: Devise a poem using Nelson's mechanism, and save it at The Poem Cube website; write a statement explaining the process(es) you used to determine the output and your perspective on the result. Post poem text and statement to moodle Forum.
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Week 10 (ends 11/8)
No Chat for November 2 (Comm-Media majors meet with Prof. Funkhouser)
text: Marko Niemi, Stud Poetry
Semester Project detailed proposals due 11/2.
Assignment 9: Formal response (250 words) to Stud Poetry posted on moodle Forum (further details t.b.a.)
Work on Semester project
Week 11 (ends 11/15)
NO CLASS MEETING ON NOV. 9
Reading: John Cayley, "HYPERTEXT/CYBERTEXT/POETEXT"
text: geniwaite, Generative Poetry
Assignment 10: Formal response (250 words) to "HYPERTEXT/CYBERTEXT/POETEXT" posted on moodle Forum (further details t.b.a.)
Work on Semester project
Week 12 (ends 11/22)
Class meets 11/16
text: Jim Andrews, Arteroids
Assignment 11: Write a short essay (500 word max.) in response to your encounter with Generative Poetry. Post in moodle assignments.
Work on Semester Project
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums, including link to prototype/draft of project.
Week 13 (ends 11/29)
Chat scheduled, 10 a.m., November 23 (details t.b.a.)
Work on Semester project
Post contribution(s) to moodle Forums.
Please complete and return the "Final Project self-assessment" form (moodle attachment) as soon as possible. Due December 5.
Week 14 (ends 12/9)
Class meets 11/30
Class meets 12/7
Students will present Semester projects 12/7
Semester project due date: 12/10 at noon.
Also worth reading:
Bolter, Jay David. “Degrees
of Freedom” (2001)
Eskelinen, Markku.
“Cybertext
Theory” (2001)
Rosenberg, Jim. “Navigating
Nowhere / Hypertext Infrawhere” (2005)
Note: the NJIT Honor Code will be upheld in this course, and any violations will be brought to the immediate attention of the Dean of Students.