108D W21 Ehrentraut | English Language and Literature

ENGL108D: Digital Lives

Department of English Language and Literature - University of Waterloo

Instructor: Dr. Judy Ehrentraut

Email: jehrentr@uwaterloo.ca

Overview

This course will give you the opportunity to develop a broader understanding of how old and new media affect our lives. We will examine how digital communication technologies create and promote online identities and social spaces, while exploring the technical and cultural forces that inform what it means to have “digital lives.” In this course you will also:

Learn the importance of digital literacy and its history
Develop your close reading skills so you can critically analyze what you read
Identify the terms used to theorize media and form your own academic voice
Learn how to organize an argumentative essay and create a proper thesis statement
Learn how to thoughtfully respond to the opinions of your peers

Course Meeting Times

Though this is an online course, you are expected to log into LEARN at least twice per week to access the slideshows and do the readings on/before Mondays and Wednesdays. Participating in the Group Discussion component is the equivalent of attendance, and this is mandatory. A detailed explanation can be found in Content Group Discussion Assignment on LEARN.

Grading Scheme and Due Dates

Assignments	Weight	Due Dates
Group Discussions: 40%
2 per week = 4% x 10	2%	Mon/Tues & Wed/Thurs each week
Reflections: 30 %
Reflection 1 Reflection 2 Reflection 3	10% 10% 10%	February 5th February 26th March 19th
Common Errors Assignment: 10%
Upload Reflection to Dropbox Reflection (Peer Review) Reflection (Personal Review)	2% 4% 4%	April 5th April 7th April 12th
Final Reflection: 20%
Thesis Statement Final Reflection	5% 15%	April 16th April 21st

Required Texts

Flew, Terry and Richard Smith. New Media: An Introduction. 3rd Canadian Edition, Oxford UP, 2018

All other texts are available via links in Content Weekly Schedule or in Content Readings.

Weekly Schedule

Everyone in Sections A and B is responsible for all the readings, so please make sure you’re reading everything outlined in each block.

If your Section is answering the Discussion Questions, posts are due at 11:59pm on Monday/Wednesday of that week. If your Section is responding to the other Section, posts are due at 11:59pm on Tuesday/Thursday.

Week	Readings	Assignments	Start Time	End Time
1: Introductions	Mon	No Course Readings	Read the syllabus and all assignments	Jan 11	Jan 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	Write your short introduction (Everyone)	Jan 13
2: What is New Media?	Mon-Tues	NM Chapter 1: pg. 1-16	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Jan 18	Jan 18 11:59pm Jan 19 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	NM Chapter 1: pg. 17-30	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Jan 20	Jan 20 11:59pm Jan 21 11:59pm
3: History of Communication Technologies	Mon-Tues	NM Chapter 2: pg. 34-38 NM Chapter 2: pg. 46-49 (read until the end of “Essential Need”) NM Chapter 2: pg. 52-58 (begin at “Speaking Without Wires” and skip Case Study)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Jan 25	Jan 25 11:59pm Jan 26 11:59

Wed-Thurs	NM Chapter 3: pg. 67-71 NM Chapter 3: pg. 74-76 (begin at “Approaches to technological change” and end at “The Diffusion of Innovations Model”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Jan 27	Jan 27 11:59pm Jan 28 11:59pm
4: Media Theory and Mobile Phones	Mon-Tues	NM Chapter 3: pg. 82-88 (begin at “Pioneer Media Theorists” and skip Case Study)	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 1	Feb 1 11:59pm Feb 2 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	NM Chapter 4: pg. 94-103 Watch: History of Cell Phones	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 3	Feb 3 11:59pm Feb 4 11:59pm
Reflection #1	Everyone uploads to Dropbox	Feb 5	11:59pm
5: Mobile Phone Culture	Mon-Tues	NM Chapter 4: pg. 104-113 Kopomaa, Timo. “Mobile Phones, Place-centered Communication and Neo-community" (LEARN)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Feb 8	Feb 8 11:59pm Feb 9 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	NM Chapter 5: pg. 128 – 140 (read until “Networks and the Economics of Social Production”)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Feb 10	Feb 10 11:59pm Feb 11 11:59pm
*Reading week (no class)*	Feb 15 - 19

6: Media Literacy	Mon-Tues	NM Chapter 5: pg. 146 - 153 (start at “Participatory Media Cultures”) NM Chapter 5: pg. 157 - 163 (begin at “Blogs as Participatory Media”)	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 22	Feb 22 11:59pm Feb 23 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	Jenkins, Henry et al. “Enabling Participation” (LEARN)	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 24	Feb 24 11:59pm Feb 25 11:59pm
Reflection #2	Everyone uploads to Dropbox	Feb 26	11:59pm
7: Online Activism	Mon-Tues	Tufecki, Zeynep. “Twitter and Tear Gas: How Social Media Changed Protest Forever.”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 1	Mar 1 11:59pm Mar 2 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	Gladwell, Malcolm. “Small Change.”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 3	Mar 3 11:59pm Mar 4 11:59pm
8: Digital Identity	Mon-Tues	Chandler, Daniel. “Personal Home Pages and the Construction of Identities on the Web.”	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Mar 8	Mar 8 11:59pm Mar 9 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	Affsprung, Daniel. “Narrative Identity and the Data Self.”	Section A answers Discussion Questions	Mar 10	Mar 10 11:59pm

Section B responds to Section A	Mar 11 11:59pm
9: Gaming and Streaming	Mon-Tues	NM Chapter 6: pg. 167 – 169 (until “Games History”) NM Chapter 6: pg. 181 – 191 (skip Case Study)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 15	Mar 15 11:59pm Mar 16 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	Hernandez, Patricia. “The Twitch Streamers Who Spend Years Broadcasting to No-one”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 17	Mar 17 11:59pm Mar 18 11:59pm
Reflection #3	Everyone uploads to Dropbox	Mar 19	11:59pm
10: Social Media Addiction and Privacy	Mon-Tues	Harris, “How Technology is Hijacking Your Mind — from a Magician and Google Design Ethicist”	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Mar 22	Mar 22 11:59pm Mar 23 11:59pm
Wed-Thurs	boyd, dana and Alice E. Marwick. “Networked Privacy: How Teenagers Negotiate Context in Social Media” (LEARN)	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Mar 24	Mar 24 11:59pm Mar 25 11:59pm
11: Surveillance and Cancel Culture	Mon-Tues	Jonson, Ron. “How One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life” (TED Talk)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 29	Mar 29 11:59pm Mar 30 11:59pm

NM Chapter 10: pg. 299-307 (read until “New Media Scholarship”)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 31	Mar 31 11:59pm Apr 1 11:59pm
12: Final Writing Assignments	Read: “Top 10 Student Writing Mistakes”	Everyone uploads a Reflection to the Discussion Board	Apr 5 11:59pm
Common Errors Peer Review	Everyone reviews one peer’s Reflection	Apr 7 11:59pm
Common Errors Personal Review	Everyone reviews their own Reflection	Apr 12 11:59pm
Read: “Thesis Statements” and “What is a thesis?” (LEARN)	Everyone	Apr 14 11:59pm
Thesis Statement	Everyone uploads Thesis Statement to Dropbox	Apr 16 11:59pm
Final Reflection	Everyone uploads to Dropbox	Apr 21 11:59pm

Email Policy, Questions and Virtual Office Hours

Any questions you may have about the course, the assignments, the schedule, what group/section you are in, etc. can be posted under Connect Discussions Ask Me Anything. Before emailing me, please check this forum to see if someone else has already asked your question. Since some of you may have the same general questions, I would prefer to only respond once.

If your question has not been answered in this forum and is of a more personal or specific nature, please feel free to email me. Keep in mind that email is fast, but not instant. I will read your emails and respond within 24 hours, but please do not ask me to explain an entire reading to you in order to help you answer the Discussion Questions. If you have a specific question about a reading, I’ll answer it, but please complete the reading first and then ask for clarification.

I will also be available for individual virtual office hours every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2pm EST, should you want to communicate with me over Microsoft Teams. If those times don’t work for you, please email me and we can setup a time that works for both of us.

Late Policy

Given the online nature of this course and the fact that attendance cannot be recorded, the only way I can ensure you have done the readings and are keeping up with the course content is through your participation in the Group Discussions twice a week. If you miss a reading or miss your window to post your answer/response depending on your assigned Section, remember these are only worth 2% each. It would be better for you and your entire group if you focused on the next reading to ensure you don’t fall behind, so unfortunately, I cannot allow any extensions or make-ups for the weekly Group Discussions.

If you are late uploading any of the Reflection Assignments, I deduct 3% for the first day and 5% for all days following, including weekends. This is so that you can take one extra day to make

sure you are satisfied and totally finished with your work, without losing too much of your grade.

Extensions

Students who require extensions must email me at least 24 hours before the due date, and must provide a legitimate reason for the extension request. I unfortunately cannot grant extensions without some kind of proof that demonstrates a medical or family emergency.

Students who regularly require extra time for assignments should register with Accessibility Services at the beginning of term, but must still request extensions from me.

Academic Integrity

The Faculty of Arts requires that I make you aware of the following: “Students are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. Students who are unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who need help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about ‘rules’ for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Assistant Dean.

For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Academic Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm

Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the right to grieve: refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm

Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment.

Note for Students with Disabilities

The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall Room 1132, 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 OPD at the beginning of each academic term.

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre works across all faculties to help students clarify their ideas, develop their voices, and write in the style appropriate to their disciplines. Writing Centre staff offer one-onone support in planning assignments and presentations, using and documenting research, organizing and structuring papers, and revising for clarity and coherence.

You can make multiple appointments throughout the term, or drop in at the Library for quick questions or feedback. To book a 50-minute appointment and to see drop-in hours, visit www.uwaterloo.ca/writing-centre. Group appointments for team-based projects, presentations, and papers are also available.