ENGL 494: Rhetoric of the Selfie
Prof. Aimée Morrison Email: ahm@uwaterloo.ca
Hagey Hall 269 Twitter: http://twitter.com/digiwonk
Office hours: Wednesday 1-4
Course description:
This course considers the “rhetoric of the selfie” using interdisciplinary research and an
intersectional lens. How does the selfie operate as a means of self-expression, a mode of
communication, an artistic object, or an activist practice? Who creates selfies, and for what
kinds of audiences and purposes, and in which contexts? Does selfie culture empower or
oppress? What is “selfie culture” and is it just one thing? This course has a meta-critical
orientation as well: how can we use literary tools on everyday texts? Is the selfie an
appropriate object of scholarly scrutiny? How can we ensure ethical uses of primary
materials, neither appropriating nor suppressing the expressions of those we would study?
Content note:
Digital photography in social media often pushes the boundaries of norms of acceptable
representational practice as devised in the age of print media. This is a large part of what
sets it apart and makes it interesting to researchers. We are looking largely at marginalized
communities online, for whom questions of representation are crucial and contested. We
will talk about race and culture, about disability, about disenfranchisement and
oppressions of various sorts.
Take care of yourself: the material can be challenging emotionally as well as intellectually,
and it’s okay to be upset and it’s okay to take a break or ask for help. Take care of each
other: one person’s thought experiment is another person’s lived reality—what is
hypothetical to you may be very real to someone else in the room. Take care when you
speak. As well, something that is a lived reality to you may be completely new to someone
else in the room—be kind in addressing what others might not know, and remember that
ignorance is simply the condition of not-knowing, which can be corrected, which is the
proper aim of scholarship. Be gentle to one another and to yourself.
Course learning outcomes:
The design of the content and schedule of the course is determined by the specific research
problem posed in the course description: What is the “rhetoric of the selfie”? How do we
study selfies? What do they mean and how do they produce meaning? However, the course
has a more general set of learning objectives related to your development as researchers,
writers, and senior undergraduates in English.
Foundational Knowledge—by the end of the course you should be able to:
Identify salient characteristics of photographs across a variety of media platforms
Relate digital photography to the history of photography and social media
Theorize the links between digital photography, social media, and broader culture
* Create new media (imaginary or otherwise) in response to new media
Application—over the course of the term you will:
Describe instances of digital photography, aesthetically, technically, rhetorically
Engage social media texts ethically, with care and curiosity
Frame persuasive critical positions orally and in writing
* Produce critical media objects that perform argumentation through design
Integration—this course encourages you to:
Develop a clear, concise, and scholarly ‘voice’
Enact “débrouillage,” finding research questions, identifying problems, and solving them
Collaborate with others to generate and disseminate research products
This course is reading intensive, writing intensive, and participation intensive: it is
also selfies intensive and you will be required to participate in selfie culture. In new media
studies and, particularly, within Digital Humanities, collaboration, bootstrapping, and
public research are normative: expect the course and your role in it to be “front stage”
from the first week forward.
Email policy
Email is fast but it is not instant. I am available to you but not constantly or immediately. I
will read your email within one business day, and respond within two. Friday is the failsafe
email clearout/catch-up day for me. Please use the email tool on Learn or your
email will drift off my screen and I will never find it again, and it will remain unanswered,
alas. I use email primarily to set up appointments, not to answer questions of substance.
This class is an inclusive space
The university mandates that I say this: “Note for Students with Disabilities: The
AccessAbility Services office (AS), located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all
academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with
disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require
academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with the
AS office at the beginning of each academic term.”
But what is really important is this: I strive to make my classes accessible to whatever
student happens to cross the digital threshold. Everyone has a right to the full experience of
the university education they have earned by admission and/or tuition payment. Night
owls, English learners, introverts, rebels, loud-talkers, assault survivors, grieving students,
anime fans but only like the subs and not the dubs, injured students, disabled students,
people with dial up internet, people who wear sunglasses indoors because it’s, like, too
much. If there’s something you need to help you succeed, lemme know. If something in this
document is freaking you out, let’s talk. If you’re registered with AccessAbility Services
(man, that’s a LOT of paperwork to fill out!!!!) you can for sure have them send me
whatever. Or talk with me. Me, I’m autistic with a VERY LARGE SIDE ORDER of ADHD, so,
yeah. Let me help you out here.
Required and Recommended texts
You will need access to a computer, and to an internet connection to access course
materials. Make sure you’re using Learn as your main hub for the course. Longer, required
critical readings (ie, scholarly articles and book chapters) are all available through the
LEARN site. The case studies, collaborative notes, and other course materials are on
Learn as well. You will need access to assigned materials during class meetings. This might
mean printing things out to have in front of you, or downloading things onto your
computer, or otherwise keeping all the needed stuff accessible and usable on any device
(computer, tablet, phone, e-reader) while you are in a video conference at the same time.
Assignments and Mark Distribution
The following are the graded components of the course:
Group Work 35% (wks 3-11)
Selfie / Analysis 20% (wk 6)
Case Study: Context Resources 15% (wk 9)
Case Study: Analysis 15% (wk 11)
Participation Portfolio 15% (wk 12)
Detailed handouts describe what is expected of you from each assignment; please read
these carefully, do not throw them out, and do refer to them as you complete the
assignments. Due dates are marked on the course calendar on Learn.
If you find yourself facing obstacles, please contact me as soon as you know this will be a
problem, and we can work something out.
Rights and Responsibilities
Every member of this class—instructor as well as students—has rights and responsibilities
to ensure a pleasant and productive experience for all. We are all answerable to University
policies governing ethical behaviour (Policy 33) and academic integrity (Policy 71), as
well as to those outlining grievance or dispute procedures (Policy 70). Please consult
these documents, available from the website of the university secretariat.
Here are some more specific expectations for this course:
You will:
• know the university policies that govern your behaviour
• participate actively in your own learning by accessing the course website at least
weekly, and keeping up with the readings and activities
• respect the rights of others to learn as well: this means active listening as well as
active speaking in class meetings and in communications with group members; in
group work it means as well to remain accountable and accessible to your group
members.
• give thoughtful consideration to instructor feedback on written and oral work
I will:
• adhere to the university policies that govern my behaviour
• attend all scheduled classes
• make myself available for consultation in person and over email
• return assignments within 2 weeks
• provide helpful and respectful feedback on your work
On academic dishonesty: it is a serious offense to appropriate the intellectual labour of
another to yourself. Plagiarism consists of using the words or ideas of another without
proper attribution. I expect that the work you submit in this course will be the product of
your own labour, and that your research sources will be scrupulously documented.
On academic dishonesty and intellectual property: be aware that this course contains the
intellectual property of the instructor—me. Intellectual property includes items such as:
• Lecture content, spoken and written (and any audio/video recording thereof);
• Lecture handouts, presentations, and other materials prepared for the course (e.g.,
PowerPoint slides);
• Work protected by copyright (e.g., any work authored by the instructor or TA or
used by the instructor or TA with permission of the copyright owner).
Course materials are used to enhance your educational experience. However, sharing this
intellectual property without permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. Don’t
do this.