Required Texts

Our printed textbooks are available at the St. Norbert College bookstore, and I’ve also provided links if you prefer to buy them on Amazon. If you purchase them elsewhere, please buy the editions indicated here—we’ll be doing a lot of reading in a short time span, and it’s important that we’re all on the same page, both literally and metaphorically. Please note: Some of these texts are likely available as ebooks, and I will not mind you reading them on your Kindle, Nook, or other device.

Amy Earhart and Andrew Jewell, The American Literature Scholar in the Digital Age (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press and the University of Michigan Library), 2011. Available for free at digitalculturebooks.
T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land, facsimile edition, ed. Valerie Eliot (New York: Harvest, 1974). Buy at the bookstore or on Amazon.
Jonathan Goodwin and John Holbo, ed., Reading Graphs, Maps, Trees: Critical Responses to Franco Moretti (Anderson, SC: Parlor Press, 2011). Available on the course website.
Franco Moretti, Graphs, Maps, and Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History (Verso, 2005). Buy at the bookstore or on Amazon.
Susan Schreibman, Ray Siemens, and John Unsworth, ed., A Companion to Digital Humanities (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004). Available for free at http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companion/.
Susan Schreibman and Ray Siemens, ed. A Companion to Digital Literary Studies (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2008). Available for free at http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companionDLS/.
Neil Stephenson, The Diamond Age; or, a Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer (New York: Bantam Books, 2003). Buy at the bookstore or on Amazon.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition, ed. Jeffrey S. Cramer (New Have: Yale University Press, 2004). Buy at the bookstore or on Amazon.

General Course Expectations

Attendance

You may miss two classes without penalty. Each additional absence beyond the allotted two will lower your final grade by one-third of a letter grade (e.g. A- becomes B+). There are several situations which will be counted as absences: two egregiously late entrances, arriving in class without the day’s assigned text, or in-class naps. Please note: I make absolutely no distinction between excused and unexcused absences, so use your allotted absences wisely.

Digital Etiquette

Phones

This should go without saying, but let’s say it anyway: you should turn off your cellphone and/or other devices (iPods, etc) before you enter the classroom. If your phone rings once during class this semester, we’ll all laugh and I’ll ask you to turn it off. If your phone rings again during class this semester, I’ll ask you to leave; this will count as an absence.

Laptops: You may use a laptop to take notes during this class. Indeed, having a computer on hand will be a frequent asset in a course like this, concentrated on issues of technology. I will often ask students with laptops to look up information during class.

However, in-class laptops also present temptations that many students find irresistible. You may not use a laptop during class to follow a game, check your friends’ statuses on Facebook, play Farmville, IM, respond to email, etc. Such activities not only distract you (meaning you will be less able to participate meaningfully in the class’ conversations), they also distract anyone around or behind you. If you choose to virtually exit the class, I will ask you to physically leave as well; this will count as an absence. If you often seem distracted by what’s on your screen, I will ask you to put your laptop away, perhaps for the duration of the semester.

Humanities Labs

We will meet every Tuesday and Friday in Cofrin 108 to experiment with the technologies we’re discussing in class and to work on your projects. This is class time. During our labs, you may not:

Check your email (or Facebook (or your fantasy team)),
Work on writing from another class (even another English class),
Twiddle your thumbs
Etc., etc.

I guarantee: we will always have some project that you can be working on during our labs.

We will discuss days scheduled as “Open Labs” as each approaches. We will use some of these days to finish work from previous lab sessions. Others will be optional labs for those needing extra time with a course tool or to develop their projects. In other words: keeps these times free in your calendar: we may need them for the course, and you may need them for your own work.

Communication

The best way to get in touch with me is to visit me during office hours. I actually like chatting with students! During the Spring 2011 semester, I will be in my office (Mulva Library 302) from TBA. I’m also happy to make appointments at other times—just find a time that I’m free on Zimbra and send me an invitation. The next best way to get in touch with me is by sending me an email. When you write to me: consider your tone and your audience. An email to your professor shouldn’t read the same as your emails to friends. For help, see this guide to emailing your professors. I guarantee that I will respond to any email within 48 hours. Often I will respond more quickly, but you should not send me an urgent email, for example, the night before an assignment is due.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to abide by the Academic Honor Code as stated in the Student Handbook. Be sure to read and understand this code. St. Norbert College expects that you will hand in original work produced for the course, that you will acknowledge sources used in your work, that you will not plagiarize material, and that you will not use any dishonest means to better your grade.

Please note: Plagiarism includes cutting and pasting text from the web or hard copy texts without quotation marks and proper citation; paraphrasing from the web without crediting the source; or presenting another’s words, ideas, or research as your own. Students violating the Academic Honor Code may suffer a range of penalties, from failing the given assignment to failing the course, or even expulsion from the college. Bear in mind that academic integrity also involves coming to class prepared, acting respectfully toward others and yourself in class, and taking responsibility for your own work an actions.

Academic Accommodations

In keeping with St. Norbert College’s mission to help students develop their full potential, and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the College provides supportive services to students with disabilities. For further details, please visit the Academic Support Services located in Todd Wehr Hall, room 211, or contact Karen Goode-Bartholomew (403-1326), Coordinator of Services to Students with Disabilities. Requests without the proper certification or after the fact will not be accepted.

The Writing Center

The Writing Center (WC) is located on the third floor of Mulva Library (my office is in there, so you should be able to find it). You might not think of visiting the Writing Center for assignments in a course like this one. However, Writing Center consultants are trained to help with writing at all levels, and in a variety of genres. I recommend that you make appointments to go over drafts of your work—including your digital work—before turning it in. Visit https://snc.mywconline.com/ to make an appointment.

Technologies of Text (S12)

Course Policies