Syllabus, fall 2006

Topics in the works for fall, 2006

• email: changes in interaction
• rhetoric and social software: Facebook
• podcasting and sprezzatura
• folksonomy and del.icio.us
• reading wikipedia: issues of delivery

Tues 29 Aug

• CourseDescription. Intro to the wiki.
• intro exercise for Thursday: ThreeHundredWordsInPrint
• purchase text for next week

Thurs, Aug 31

• CourseDescription - questions
• Look at and discuss intro exercise: ThreeHundredWordsInPrint
• ThreeHundredWordsInPrintPart2: due in class on Tuesday, 5 Sept.

Tues 5 Sept

• Look at and discuss ThreeHundredWordsInPrintPart2

for Thurs 7 Sept

• read Stoner and Perkins, chap 1

Thurs, 7 Sept

• questions on chap 1
• Intro to the wiki

for Tues 19 Sept

• SetUpAWikiNamePage. For reference, see GettingStarted, and StyleGuide. TextFormattingRules explains advanced formatting.
• Before you read Stoner and Perkins, do the BalconyViewExercise. Post to wiki.
• Now read Stoner and Perkins, chap 2

Tues 12 Sept

• Review BalconyViewExercise and the critical stance
• Exercise: Seeing as a Critic (was What Makes this Rhetorical)
• for Thurs, read S & P chap 3
• Seeing as a Critic

Thurs 14 Sept

• Stoner and Perkins, chap 3
• Start FirstLookAtEmail in class

For Tues 19 Sept, by 6:00 am

• finish FirstLookAtEmail

Materials

• two email messages
• for description: ListOfRhetoricalFeaturesOfEmail - to focus attention on what to look for
• for analysis: EmailAndInformality - a search model

Tues 19 Sept

• Look at work with two email messages

For Thurs

• SecondLookAtEmail

Thurs 21 Sept

Discuss SecondLookAtEmail

• Reprieve: As of 6:30 am, it looks like most didn't have time to work it through much. The HS leg of the net was down Tues 11:30 pm - Weds 8:30 am, which might have cut into access. We'll look at what we have, and extend the time for this exercise to Tuesday (we don't meet on Tuesday, but I'll review them then.)

• Start Facebook project with a tour

for Thurs 28 Sept

• read chap 4: Description

Tues 26 Sept

• no classes
• revs of SecondLookAtEmail due

Thurs 28 Sept

• Start FacebookProject, Working in groups. We'll start part 1 in class. Over the weekend, you'll each be working with one more Facebook profile to add to and revise your wiki page notes.

Tues 3 Oct

update: 2 Oct: I've added some comments to Facebook2006GroupB. It's looking good, and you should start bringing in the second profile. Facebook2006GroupC is already beginning to see some similarities between the two profiles. Still looking for Facebook2006GroupA's work. Hang in there: the first couple of passes at looking at something new do not seem to go very far, but you're laying the groundwork for stuff of substance.

Remember to keep personal info that might ID the profile (name, screenname, hometown, b-day...) out of the description. We just need to know if the profile listed that info; we don't need the personal particulars.

Working with the specifics listed under favorites should be ok.

• We'll review where everyone is with the FacebookProject. Notes should be posted to your group page, and should be developed further over the weekend. No need to bring in new profiles yet, but you can if you wish.
• I'll add a couple more profiles to the mix in class.
• Your group should begin moving towards abstracting some regularities and range of rhetorical moves.

Thurs 5 Oct

• We'll get started with DescribingFacebookContext in class. (Stoner and Perkins, pp 52 - 58).
• You'll need to continue the context description over the weekend.
• Readings for Tues: We'll look at how Barton and Haskins have described Facebook elements and rhetorical contexts and have started to characterize some of the rhetorical moves and themes. These two brief articles can help you describe context and form good questions to consider about Facebook (and other social network e-media.)

Tues 10 Oct

• look at descriptions of context
• discuss Barton and "Quick Guide" with respect to what we're seeing
• search model: Text-Context Interaction
• for next Tues: Text-ContextInteractionInFacebook

Thurs 12 Oct

• time in class to draw on notes to prepare a presentation for Tues Oct 17 on Text-ContextInteractionInFacebook

how detailed: One group asked me how detailed the presentation page should be. While it's not a polished essay, and it can be / should be more a report on your findings, make it detailed enough that an outside reader could follow it. That is, include in your presentation pages the notes you might be be using to present. This can be done as bullet point statements on which you elaborate further in class. Two reasons:

• People on this campus and elsewhere are looking in to see our results: Inquiring minds want to know.
• Your presentation needs to demonstrate the closeness and thoroughness of the observations you ground it in.

update Sat 14 Oct 10:00

I had a look at how the presentations were going, but they were coming on a little slowly, so I couldn't comment on them. Good luck on Tuesday!

Tues 17 Oct

• presentations of findings
• 15 mins to show us what you have. Each member of your group presents.

Thurs 19 Oct

• finish presentations
• summary of what they tell us and setting up the problem
• Assign for Thursday, 26 Oct: DoItYourselfFacebook
• Read Chap 9. We might begin this.

Tues 24 Oct

• Read Chap 9 applied: come ready to discus elements of classical rhetoric can be applied to Facebook and what they might bring to light.
• Know your terms. Or at least mark up the text to become familiar with the terms.

Thurs 26 Oct

• Presentation of DoItYourselfFacebook
• And DoItYourselfFacebookResponse

Thurs 2 Nov

• Debrief on DoItYourselfFacebook
• Turn in DoItYourselfFacebookResponse
• Next: analysis

for Tues 7 Nov

• Chap 5: Analysis
• Due class time: Web Site Analysis Exercise using search model from chap 9 applied to top level pages of Experience Dynamics site
• come to class ready to discuss your work with analysis and results.
• for those that didn't work with Experience Dynamics, address the same exercise - Web Site Analysis Exercise - using Alexander Tech Communication Art and Design. Due Sunday, 9:00 am. I'll send you some feedback.

Tues 14 Nov

Class canceled due to illness. We should be back in class on Thursday to look at web sites and audiences.

for Thurs 16 Nov

• Read chap 6: the process of interpretation
• We'll start a look at how web sites define roles for audiences: WebSiteInterpretationExericse
• Visitor Roles from 2006

Tues 21 Nov

• Please have your work ready by Monday evening, 20 Nov.
• Present your interp for WebSiteInterpretationExericse for discussion.

Break!

Nov 28

• Tammy: Folksonomy
  • Folksonomy

Topics in the works for fall, 2006 email: changes in interaction rhetoric and social software: Facebook podcasting and sprezzatura folksonomy and del.icio.us reading wikipedia: issues of delivery