Spring 2002:: ENG 1131: Writing Through Media
ScheduleSee Critical dates by Term for Further information.
| Week 1 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 8 | Introduction to this class and the NWE | Reading syllabus and all four main "What is the NWE?" pages | |
| Jan. 9 | More on the NWE and introductions from each student | Reading all five main NWE account information pages | |
| Jan. 11 | Beginning work with ASWE; Drop/add ends | Reading: How to save images; Introduction to web authoring: on this page, click the hyperlinks for and read "Introduction", "Files and URLs", "Differences?", "Citations" with it's four pages, and "Other Web editors". | |
| Week 2 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Jan. 14 | Planning your index page and familiarizing yourself with your group: Group work. | Read Chapter 2, "Writing as Technology," in Writing Space (hereafter abbreviated as WS) | |
| Jan. 15 | Watching and discussing Rope: Discussing how technical limitations often define a medium, yet Hitchcock's Rope could be set as a play - how does it utilize the constraint of a single room to its advantage? | Reading Deus Ex article. Also, look over the IGDA site. | |
| Jan. 16 | Coding as everyone should have accounts by now and possibly discussion of "Writing as Technology" | Read WS Ch. 2, "Writing as Technology" - this is a repeat because the Second Edition book is different and I wasn't prepared; so you may have already read this. | |
| Jan. 18 | Learning HTML | Read WS Ch. 9 "Writing the Self" | |
| Week 3 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Jan. 21 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day - No class | No Homework | |
| Jan. 22 | Watching and discussing Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon: this is a film and is linear in many ways, but the story is also nonlinear. | No homework | |
| Jan. 23 | Learning how to do tables, and if time, discussion of "Writing the Self" | Read WS Ch. 10 "Writing Culture" | |
| Jan. 25 | Discussion of "Writing Culture" and first project; and "Writing the Self" if not already discussed. | Read WS Ch. 5, "The Electronic Book" | |
| Week 4 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Jan. 28 | Office Hours cancelled today. Discussion of "The Electronic Book" Sign up for conferences on topic for final project or to discuss first project. |
Work on project 1 | |
| Jan. 29 | 4:05- 5:00 in class HTML work; 5:10-7:05 CIRCA lab playing/exploring/discussing System Shock 2 | Work on first project | |
| Jan. 30 | Class cancelled for conference time to discuss first projects and sources for final projects - the classroom will be available for you to work in and conferences during class time are held in the classroom. | Finish first project - go here for lab hours | |
| Feb. 1 | Peer review in class, so project must be finished before class as on the project description Source for final project NOT, I REPEAT NOT, due by today in class because I have not gone over enough yet. |
Homework is to finish the first project edits before 8pm No response papers due this week - I don't want everyone overworked - if you already did them, then they've been credited for next week. |
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| Week 5 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Feb 4 | Watching and discussing The Honeymooners and discussing its relationship to radio, vaudeville, and theater. I have a dentist appointment at 2, so I'll be leaving my office at 1pm to get to the appointment in time - please schedule an appointment with me if you need to meet. Sorry for any inconvenience. |
Reading Metaphors We Live By, think how this relates to how we use different media with the interface: desktop metaphor... | |
| Feb 5 | Watching and discussing Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream: parallels with Rashomon with multiple storylines playing at once and parallels with Rope, Rope working within limitations and Requiem using technology only recently available | No homework | |
| Feb 6 | Discussion of Metaphors We Live By | Read SCIAM article online | |
| Feb. 8 | Two quiz grades for having The Big Fat Kill: A Tale from Sin City; this is available at FBS Vol. 1 or 2 on January 30 or after. Discussion of memes and SCIAM article | Reading "Thick & Thin: 'direct manipulation' & the spatial regimes of human-computer interaction" | |
| Week 6 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Feb 11 | Discussion of System Shock 2 in context with "Thick & Thin: 'direct manipulation' & the spatial regimes of human-computer interaction" | Read WS Ch. 6, "Refashioned Dialogues" | |
| Feb 12 | Coding and web work from 4:05-4:55; CIRCA lab from 5:10-7:05 | Reading "COMPLETE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT": VIDEO GAMES AS GENDERED PLAY SPACES This is long - you don't have to read the whole thing, just enough to get a feel for it (probably about 7 pages worth). | |
| Feb 13 | Discussion of "Refashioned Dialogues" and "COMPLETE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT": VIDEO GAMES AS GENDERED PLAY SPACES | Read WS Ch. 7, "Interactive Fiction" and check out new extra credit options | |
| Feb. 15 | Discussion of "Interactive Fiction" | No homework, have a good weekend. | |
| Week 7 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Feb 18 | Class cancelled because I'm sick and need to be completely healthy by Wednesday. | Read J. Yellowlees Douglas' Ch. 7 from The End of Books? Or Books Without End: Reading Hypertext Narratives | |
| Feb 19 | Class is cancelled - too much going on with the Comics Conference. Rolfs 314 will be open from 4:05-7:05, but I won't be there and you are not required to come. Have a nice day off. | Reading Trip | |
| Feb 20 | Class cancelled for the Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels: 2002; The Will Eisner Symposium | Reading Trip | |
| Feb. 22 | Discussion of J. Yellowlees Douglas' Ch. 7 from The End of Books? Or Books Without End: Reading Hypertext Narratives and Trip and the Highway metaphor versus the Ocean metaphor for navigation | Reading Patchwork Girl | |
| Week 8 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| Feb 25 | Discussion of Patchwork Girl | Reading Patchwork Girl | |
| Feb 26 | Watching and discussing Blade Runner in relation to Jackson's Patchwork Girl in terms of ideas of created beings - monsters and cyborgs | Reading Patchwork Girl and look over Fibonacci's Daughter | |
| Feb 27 | Discussion of Patchwork Girl | Finish Second Project | |
| March 1 | Peer review, so project must be finished before class as on the project description | Homework is to finish the second project edits before 8pm No response papers due this week. |
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| Week 9 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| March 4 - 8 | Spring Break | Spring Break | |
| Week 10 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| March 11 | Discussion of Fibonacci's Daughter | Read WS Ch. 4, "The Breakout of the Visual" | |
| March 12 | Watching and discussing Army of Darkness | Reading on film noir | |
| March 13 | Group work filling in/creating dialogue for comic pages | Reading Sin City | |
| March 15 | Introduction to and discussion of Will Eisner's ideas on sequential art, particularly frames and framing | Reading Sin City | |
| Week 11 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| March 18 | Discussion of Sin City and film noir. Office hours will be held on the fifth floor of Rolfs. | Reading Sin City and looking over Scott McCloud's website | |
| March 19 | Watching and discussing Snatch in relation to Sin City and over-the-top violence | Reading on the NWE's graphics programs | |
| March 20 | Discussion of Scott McCloud's website and ideas | Reading Sin City | |
| March 22 | Introduction to the NWE's graphics programs | Reading on how to use the NWE's XV image viewer | |
| Week 12 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| March 25 | Working with the NWE graphics programs - how could you make a comic or a piece of sequential art with your images? | My office hours will be on the fifth floor of Rolfs. Reading on how to use the NWE's ImageMagick | |
| March 26 | Watching Baraka | Reading on how to use the Gimp | |
| March 27 | Working with the NWE's image programs. | Working with image programs and deciding on your final project topic or what direction you would like to take with your final project so the class can discuss and help you with your options. | |
| March 29 | Good Friday - No class | Good Friday - No class | |
| Week 13 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| April 1 | Introductory informal presentation on what you've been working on for your final project to the class. | Reading Gloomcookie | |
| April 2 | Introductory informal presentation on what you've been working on for your final project to the class: these are to make sure that everyone is working on the final project and has some direction; they are also so like projects can collaborate on ideas.. | Reading the introductory pages to the MOO. | |
| April 3 | In class work on projects and FTPing. | Finish third project | |
| April 5 | In class work on projects | Homework is to finish the third project. No response papers due this week. |
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| Week 14 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| April 8 | Introductory working in the MOO | Online reading on Manga and Anime | |
| April 9 | Project 3 is due. Watching an Anime, to be decided which Anime |
Reading about building in the MOO | |
| April 10 | Teacher Evaluation time -- please be in class!! | Reading about building in the MOO | |
| April 12 | Digging in the MOO | Online essay 1 on Webcomics and essay 2 - do read both. | |
| Week 15 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| April 15 | In class MOO building. | Read at least 2 of each of these webcomics: 8bit Theater; Penny Arcade; and MegaTokyo |
|
| April 16 | NO CLASS- Conference time | Conference time | |
| April 17 | CLASS IN THE MOO, I'LL BE IN OUR CLASSROOM, BUT YOU CAN LOGIN REMOTELY- Discussion of how webcomics that you were assigned to read. | Working on final projects | |
| April 19 | NO CLASS -Conference time | Conference time | |
| Week 16 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| April 22 | Last day of class: Peer Review of fourth project, so project must be finished before class as on the project description; and FTPing work | Finish final project | |
| April 23 | NO CLASS - Finish all work. | Finish all work, including final project | |
| April 24 | No class. | Finish all work, including final project | |
| Week 17 | |||
| Dates | In class | Homework | |
| April 29 | Final projects/essays due by 12 noon | Have a great summer! | |