The Posthuman
ENGL 165EC - Spring 2003, Rita Raley
The Eastgate disk, Patchwork Girl, may be purchased from the UCen bookstore or directly from Eastgate: http://www.eastgate.com.
Some of the reading will be available online. Online readings are all reachable from our class webpage. Much of the online reading will require a computer that has programs and plug-ins such as Flash and Real Audio (all free and easy to install; you will generally be prompted if you need to download). Most of the texts are best viewed with a browser such as Internet Explorer, but the latest versions of Netscape should work fine. If you are working on an older computer and a modem line at home, I recommend you visit our Transcriptions studio in the English department, or one of the computer labs such as Phelps, for this part of the reading.
Note that the "recommended readings" sections will develop throughout the quarter. At times they will be quite extensive: these mini-bibliographies will provide context for some of the primary readings, lectures, and class discussion. The general equivalent in print culture would be the headnote in an anthology. Some of the links will be used as illustrations in lecture and will appear in our "class notes" sub-pages. The "study materials" section will also direct you to further reading related to the posthuman.
As you work on the assignments for this course, you should be particularly mindful of plagiarism and copyright violation. Every external source that you use must be appropriately cited in your work. For your web projects, a link to the original site is the bare minimum for citation. If you are in doubt about whether or not you need citations, you might consult a CLAS tutor or this online guide. Note that UCSB has explicit policies about academic integrity.
All assignments for this course must be completed in order to receive a passing grade. There will be no incompletes.
Participation
Weight:
20% of final grade
Since this course is mid-sized, it will balance lecture and student participation. You should come to class prepared to answer general and detailed questions about the texts on the syllabus. You will also have a chance to participate in class discussions over our listerv. I will post questions and comments to the list, but this forum should allow you to engage with the other members of the class and pursue discussion topics that spring from our regular class sessions.
Regular attendance is expected and more than two absences will significantly and adversely affect both your participation grade and your final grade.
Midterm Paper
Weight:
25% of final grade Due:
Friday, May 2
The midterm paper should be 5 pages long. Questions and topics will be assigned.
Collaborative Web Project
Weight:
30% of final grade Due:
June 5, 2003
The web projects for this course - a customary feature of all LCI courses - will be collaborative rather than individual. Students will be organized into 3-person research and production "teams" for this assignment. Each team will develop a topic in consultation with me. The web projects should have these features:
introduction and overview page
menu, index, or table of contents
short analytical essays on the topic contributed by each team member (individually signed)
links page
annotated bibliography (annotations summarize the primary themes and arguments of each reference; they are descriptive and evaluative)
short statement on the collaborative component of the project by each team member
Important note: Each student will be responsible for individually publishing part of the web project, either on the umail server or on an independent server.
There should also be some attention to, and experimentation with, the design and layout of the projects, particularly if more than one member of the team has web authoring experience.
The Transcriptions TAs for spring quarter are Tassie Gniady and Anna Viele. Tassie will hold regular lab hours TR 12:00-3:30 Anna will hold regular lab hours MW 9-12. They will also offer some workshops in web authoring and publishing.
Instructional Computing also offers free workshops in Flash, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop; see the "Technology Overview" for further information.
Final Exam
Weight:
25% of final grade Due:
June 10, 2003 (5:00 p.m.)
The final exam will consist of two (2) essays, 2-3 pp. each. Questions will be distributed on the last day of class. Essay responses must be typed and submitted on time (no late or emailed papers will be accepted).
transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu
directed by: Alan Liu
site
developed by the transcriptions team
code by: Eric Weitzel
pictures by: Bo Kinloch
