This course will consider how writing is both a visual art used for aesthetic effect and a system of signs used for the narrow purpose of communication, and how lettering works with visual imagery to produce an overall aesthetic and semiotic impression. The course will consider texts from medieval times, the early twentieth century, and the present. You will analyze the various texts under examination, will write about the interplay of word and image, and will produce a website that compares recent and past texts comprised of both imagery and wording. There will be two exams (a midterm and final), essay in format, a brief paper, and a longer research paper. The entire course will transpire in a “distance” format using Web CT as its venue; the midterm exam, however, will be timed and proctored (for the date, consult your course Calendar, which you can find either listed on your navigation bar to the left of your screen or by clicking on its icon on the course homepage).
Below I’d like to sketch out in more detail how this course is going to work, what is expected of you, and what you can expect from me. Let me begin by saying that you can easily do well in this course; but in order to do well you will have to follow the course guidelines and especially the course calendar. Because this is a distance course, the course structure becomes especially important. Success usually comes to people who are proactive, that is, who look ahead at what is coming and prepare for it. This strategy is especially key to succeeding in a course that operates on-line, in a distance format, and particularly in what is known as an asynchronous format (that is, you have the freedom of “attending class” at your convenience, not at a specified time, but that freedom can turn out to be a burden if you are not going to be responsible, if you are not going to be disciplined).
There are a number of texts assigned for this course (listed on the course syllabus—look for the icon with “Syllabus” written below it on the Web CT course homepage). I hope these texts will provide you with a fertile reading and thinking experience. Besides reading, we will also be doing a lot of writing. If you wish to succeed in this course you will need, as I have already suggested, to adhere strictly to the course schedule by getting your reading and writing assignments done on time; indeed, you would be smart to start reading ahead of the scheduled class activities—moreover, as soon as possible, you should begin to think about your end-of-term research project.
The aim of this course is primarily for you to gain an understanding of the breadth and nature of texts in and of themselves, how they are to be read and viewed. To this end, I have tried to anticipate your needs as well as the needs of this course by setting up a number of venues for us to communicate among ourselves, as you can see, for example, by the topic headings in the Discussions section (again, look on the navigation bar on the left or the Discussions icon to the right of the bar). Please place comments in the appropriate topic sectors (such as you find them indicated in this section). Check for new postings in this Discussions section and elsewhere at least once daily, and respond to them as required or otherwise as you wish, with your comments or questions. Overall, you will need to familiarize yourself with all the various functions—which allow us as a class many ways to communicate—the Web CT class conferencing system provides. There is also a “Chat” venue that you can use with others in the class or with me during my virtual office hours (consult the calendar—of course, you can always e-mail me and if that is not good enough then we can speak on the phone or in person; my contact information can be found at the Course Website—see the appropriate icon for it on the course homepage). We will use a number of venues for presentations and discussions. You should especially learn how to upload HTML files as part of the process of making a presentation (you’ll need to do this later in the course via the icon titled “Virtual Museums”); please go to the main Web CT website (http://webct.njit.edu) and click on “Using the Student Presentation Tool (students' guide)” to see how to do this.
It is STRONGLY recommended that you learn the WebCT system thoroughly right away; you may wish to begin your learning process by following the links listed under “Need Help?” at the main Web CT website. There is also Web CT's "e-Learning Hub" (on the navigation bar); you should definitely take at least a bit of time to browse there.
The basic plan for this course is as follows.
Each week you will have some reading to do. You will do the reading, and then you will work within a group of your classmates to summarize the reading and to point out its main motifs and salient features. Your group will also have to pose a study question based on what you have read (along with your posting of the summary, motifs and salient features). Your group will subsequently have to answer the study questions posed by the other groups in the class.
Aside from weekly questions, answers and discussions, you will have to write some papers. Please see “Paper Guidelines” on the course website. Don’t hesitate to e-mail me at my WebCT eddress with your ideas or queries about an end-of-term research paper project as soon as possible. The project topic has to be approved by me ahead of time. The topic for it is open insofar as it falls within the purview of “Word and Image.”
There will also be two exams, as I have said already, the first to be proctored, the second to be a “take home”; if you can’t take the exam at the scheduled time on campus (see the course calendar), then you must arrange for a suitable proctor with the Distance Learning office, and this proctor must be approved by me ahead of time. The exams will be open-book (but don’t kid yourself that you won’t have to study for them) and in essay format. Please also note that all your writing, aside from your exams, must be spell-checked and to the best of your ability grammar-checked. If it is not, then you will not receive credit for it.
What you can expect from me is that I will be fair and helpful. But please keep in mind that on-line courses operate according to a different paradigm than the warm-body variety. In the real-time on-site physical classroom the course instructor is more the “sage on the stage” than, in our case, the “guide on the side.” This course is YOURS, not mine. Take control of it. Use it and it will pay off for you. When you are asking questions or volunteering your opinions, you are allowing the process of understanding and appreciation to go forward. The end result of this process, if you allow it to happen, is well thought-out exam essays and papers that earn high grades. If you are silent in this course, then the great likelihood is that you will do poorly in it and may even fail it (needless to say, perhaps, class participation in weekly groups etc. contributes toward the course grade).
What have I left out? How about plagiarism? Okay, then, here’s the deal: plagiarizing something or cheating on an exam can mean failing the course. If on occasion you are to make use of the details, ideas or words of someone else in your writing, then the source(s) of those details, ideas and/or words must be cited; that is, when appropriate, papers must be fully documented (you must cite sources—using footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical documentation, which include when possible specific page numbers keyed to particular passages in one's text, and complete bibliographical information). If you are not sure about documentation principles and/or procedures, you should consult a freshman English textbook such as The Scott Foresman Handbook or better yet The MLA Handbook. Both writing and documentation help can also be found at the course website, or at my website (http://eies.njit.edu/~kimmelma/) by clicking on "Writing Guide" (http://eies.njit.edu/~kimmelma/writing.html ) and "Documentation Guide" (http://eies.njit.edu/~kimmelma/documentation.html ).
I cannot emphasize strongly enough the fact that this course will have a lot going on it; trying to take it all in will be easier if you participate often and in a forthcoming manner—a word to the wise. To be sure, you might wish to pause, now, and to ask yourself if you are really ready and willing to do what it takes to succeed in this course. A lot of people think distance learning is easy relative to sitting in a classroom. Well, let me tell you: distance learning may not be any easier and may be for you a lot more difficult. Therefore please be careful; don't let yourself get in over your head in this course. I know I’m repeating myself but this is important: Don't go on with the course until it is too late to pull out of it unscathed. I have taught DL courses before, and I have seen time and again too many students who operate on an out-of-sight-out-of-mind basis. They don’t keep up and so they can’t catch up. Also, they are not willing to post messages, even when a sizable portion of their grade (how much assignments are weighed in the course grade can be found on the course syllabus) depends on doing just that! One more time: if you wish to pass this course (or do well in it), you will have to be disciplined.
Are you ready for this? Well, if you really, soberly, think that you are, then the very next thing I hope you'll do, now, once you have closed out this message from me, and then have familiarized yourself with Web CT, is to introduce yourself to the class, in the “Discussions” topic sector called "Introducing Ourselves." Tell us about your likes and dislikes, about why you have signed up for this course, about what you expect from this course and about what you hope to do in the future. What year of school are you in? What is your favorite book, movie, song? Do you have a hobby, a job?
Personal or private questions? E-mail me from within the Web CT system. DO NOT E-MAIL ME AT MY CAMPUS EDDRESS unless it is a real emergency.
Class-public questions? Post them in our respective "Housekeeping" sections.
One final caution: Please MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE THAT ALL COMMUNICATIONS YOU INITIATE ARE VIRUS-FREE. You should have received an anti-virus program on the Distance Learning CD ROM. Use it if you have to.
I look forward to getting to know you, to our exchanges, and otherwise to our sharing of our reading experiences that I think you will find enriching and enlightening.
Oh, one final, final thing: We all must be aware of how we conduct our
virtual selves on-line. Perhaps you have heard the term “flaming”; it means
the verbal abuse of someone who is receiving your on-line message. People,
if they don’t watch themselves, can end up flaming someone even without
fully realizing what they are doing. Working on line has its frustrations,
but that does not mean they should be taken out on someone. Below are some
“Netiquette” concepts I ask you to adhere to when participating in this
course.
- Respect: Treat all participants with respect and in a professional
and courteous manner in e-mail, chat, and in discussions.
- Kindness: Refrain from using profanities, insults, or other disparaging
remarks.
- Truth: Endeavor to cite only the truth and not knowingly misrepresent,
mischaracterize, or misquote information.
- Responsibility: Take responsibility for your own actions instead
of blaming others.
- Cooperation: Work together with other students and the instructor
in cooperation toward our common goals of seeking and
providing a quality education.
- Nondiscrimination: Respect the differences in people and their ideas
and opinions.
- Civility: Always treat your fellow classmates and instructor civilly.
Okay?
Oh, Oh, one final, final, final thing: Please e-mail me (using the Web
CT “Mail” function) to let me know that you have read all of the above
and that you understand it completely. Thanks so much.
Sincerely,
Burt Kimmelman