Journal 9: Final Project Outlines

This is a two step journal entry.

1) Post a FULL draft of your MLA final project outline to your blog by Friday November 28th by 5pm.

2) By 10am on Monday December, 1st you must have looked at and commented on (do this on their blog page) the outlines of your group members.

Writing in a Material World

Literacy scholar Christina Haas writes in Writing Technology: Studies on the materiality of literacy:

For over a decade, academic and practitioner journals in electronics, business, language studies, as well as popular press, have been proclaiming the arrival of the "computer revolution" and making far-reaching claims about the impact of computers on Western culture. Although the actual technology identified as revolutionary force may have changed -- from word processing in the late 1970s to electronic mail and hypertext in the 1980s to the InterNet as "information highway" in the 1990s -- in most cases it is a technology of words, a technology that changes how written language is produces, processed, transported, and used. Implicit in many arguments about the revolutionary power of computers is the assumption that communication, language, and words are intimately tied to culture -- that computers' transformation of communication means a transformation, or a revolutionizing, of culture. [....] The challenge of accounting for the relationship between writing -- as both a cognitive process and a cultural practice to material technologies that support and constrain it is great. [....] Technology and writing are not distinct phenomena; that is, writing has never been and cannot be separate from technology. Whether is is the stylus of the ancients, the pen and ink of the medieval scribe, a toddler's fat crayons, or a new Powerbook, technology makes writing possible. To go further, writing is technology, for without a crayon or the stylus or the Powerbook, writing simply is not writing."

Carl A. Rashke writes in The Digital Revolution and the Coming of the Postmodern University:
"Those corporate and academic interests that stand in the way of 'digitalizing' higher education may be without realizing it attempting to retard the entire course of Western history. Higher education is the last redoubt of Medieval privilege and aristocracy. Digital learning is the true bulwark of global democracy."

Consider the following: What do you think about Haas and Raschke? Do you agree or disagree with them? Do you think our use of computers in this class has influenced what you think, how you think, or how you write? Have they hindered or enhanced your learning?

Journal 7: Langston Hughes

Before responding to this journal read "Theme for English B" in On Writing (page 65). Read the poem a few times and write a short story that goes along with it. Your story can be about anything that relates to the poem. Then, include one or more pictures or photographs that enhance the meaning of your story. In a brief paragraph at the end tell me how the images enhance your story. You may want to compose this in word and then copy and past into the blog space.

Due: November 10 by 5pm.

Journal 6: E-Portfolios

Before responding to this prompt read pages 125-139 in the New McGraw Hill Handbook.

What you are creating for this class is an e-portfolio. This serves as collection point for your writing over the course of the semester. Thus, your homepage is an introduction/table of contents that directs your viewer to each of the papers that you have created so far. This is the reader's first impression of your hard work. In this journal discuss how your portfolio presents your work to readers. Reflect on and critique your own portfolio here. Some things you might want to consider are: How do you want to present your work to readers? How do you achieve this goal textually and visually on your websites? How is having your portfolio online different than merely having a paper folder with three papers in it at the end of the semester? What are the implications of this difference for both you and your audience?

Due: November 3rd by 5pm

Journal 5: Visual Rhetoric

Before responding to this journal read "Basic Design Principles" found in the course library on BlackBoard. Summarize the entire reading in two paragraphs. Be sure to answer the following two questions within your journal posting: What are the four basic principles of design that are highlighted in this excerpt? Explain each principle. How does color affect page design?

Now, use this reading to critique your homepage and your narrative page. What changes should you make given what has been discussed in the reading?

Due: Monday October 27th by 5pm.

Journal 4: Thinking about Audience

Before responding to this blog:
Read:

New McGraw Hill-Handbook: 29-33

On Writing: "The Role of Audiences" 172-178, "To Live and Die in Best Buy" 195-198 and "Tourist, Stay Home" 188-193

Watch:

Compare and contrast the audiences of Trask's essay and Knier's essay. While doing this you will want to identify the audience of each piece and point out some specific elements of each text that let you know who the audiences are. Are the readers of these pieces specialists or not? What tone does each author take? Are these tones appropriate?

Next, compare and contrast how these two movie trailers have different audiences. Address the way the stories are presented, the types of characters that are created, the fonts that are used in the trailers, the tone, color, dress, etc.

You must include at least one quote from EACH PIECE of your reading for this blog or you will not receive full credit!

Due: October 20

Journal 3

Below is an excerpt from Art Spiegelman's graphic novel, Maus. The novel is about a young Jewish man who wants to record the experiences of his father survived WWII. His father is very reluctant to tell the stories. Below the father (who is on the bike) is beginning to tell the son when he first heard of the atrocities occurring in Auschwitz.

<-- which characters are shaded? <--why are some shaded and some not? <-- what effect does Spiegelman's use of the comic strip form have you you, the reader? <-- why does he use the form of a graphic novel? <-- how might this influence how readers access the information? <-- what lines are spoken, thought, remembered? <-- how do you know who is talking and if it is someone talking in the present? YOU MUST answer these questions:
*imagine if there were no visuals here. What would the affect be?
* how do the images interact with the text?
* these visuals serve a distinct purpose. what is this purpose?
* how does Spiegelman set the tone?
* What are some of the layers of meaning that you see portrayed here?

*discuss how the visual and textual elements of this piece work together.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers for these questions. Try to get at least 300 words for this journal.

This is a website from Georgetown University. It might help you find a good place to start your discussion.
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/218/projects/oliver/MausbyAO.htm