108D W22 Ehrentraut | English Language and Literature

ENGL 108D: Digital Lives

Meetings: Mondays & Wednesdays 2:30 – 4:00pm, HH 139

Instructor: Dr. Judy Ehrentraut, English Language and Literature

Office Hours: Microsoft Teams, by appointment/Wednesdays 4:00-5:00pm at PAC 1064

Course Description

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.

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%	Feb 4 Feb 25 Mar 18
Common Errors Assignment: 10%
Upload Reflection to Dropbox Reflection (Peer Review) Reflection (Personal Review)	2% 4% 4%	Mar 28 Mar 28 Mar 30
Final Reflection: 20%
Thesis Statement 5% Apr 6 Final Reflection 15% Apr 17

Required Texts

Flew, Terry and Richard Smith. New Media: An Introduction. 4^th Canadian Edition, Oxford UP, 2021

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

Email Policy

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, and I require 24 hours.

Late Policy and Extensions

You are expected to participate in the Group Discussions twice per 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 to focus 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.

Assignments that are handed in late will lose 5% per day, including weekends. If you require an extension, please email me at least 24 hours before the due date with a legitimate reason for the 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.

NOTE: The Final Reflection is your final major assignment in place of an exam. If you don’t hand it in, you will fail the course.

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 offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Academic Discipline: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.html. 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 oneonone 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.

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	Wed	No Course Readings	Read the syllabus and all assignments + answer “Introduction” Discussion topic	Jan 5
2: What is New Media?	Mon- Tues	NM Chapter 1: pg. 1-19	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Jan 10	Jan 10 11:59pm Jan 11 11:59pm
	Wed- Thurs	NM Chapter 1: pg. 20- 30	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Jan 12	Jan 12 11:59pm Jan 13 11:59pm
3: History of Communication Technologies	Mon- Tues	NM Chapter 2: pg. 39- 44 (read until the end of “The Telegraph as Scanner” NM Chapter 2: pg. 47- 54 (read until the end of “Essential Need”) NM Chapter 2: pg. 57- 63 (begin at “Speaking Without Wires” and skip Case Study and “Artificial Intelligence”)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Jan 17	Jan 17 11:59pm Jan 18 11:59pm

Wed-

Thurs

NM Chapter 3: pg. 70-80

(skip “Open-Access

Publishing” and end at

“The Diffusion of

Innovations Model”

Section B answers Discussion Questions

Section A responds to Section B

Jan 19

Jan 19 11:59pm

Jan 20 11:59pm

4: New Media Theory

Mon- Tues

NM Chapter 3: pg. 85- 94 (end at “The Impact and Spread of New

Media Technologies”)

Section A answers Discussion Questions

Section B responds to Section A

Jan 24

Jan 24 11:59pm

Jan 25 11:59pm

Wed- Thurs

NM Chapter 4: pg. 100-

114

(end at “Spime, Anyone?”)

Section A answers Discussion Questions

Section B responds to Section A

Jan 26

Jan 26 11:59pm

Jan 27 11:59pm

5: Mobile Phones and Social Networks

Mon-

Tues

NM Chapter 4: pg. 115-

120

NM Chapter 4: pg. 124-

131

(skip Case Study and “The Mobile Phone Industry in Canada: Facts and Figures”)

Section B answers Discussion Questions

Section A responds to Section B

Jan 31

Jan 31 11:59pm

Feb 1 11:59pm

Wed- Thurs

Jenkins, Henry.

“Enabling

Participation” (article posted on LEARN)

Section B answers

Discussion Questions

Section A responds to Section B

Feb 2

Feb 2 11:59pm

Feb 3 11:59pm

		Reflection #1	Everyone uploads to Dropbox		Feb 4 11:59pm
6: Media Literacy and Participation	Mon- Tues	NM Chapter 5: pg. 135- 147 (read until “Networks and the Economics of Social Production”)	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 7	Feb 7 11:59pm Feb 8 11:59pm
	Wed- Thurs	NM Chapter 5: pg. 154- 163 (begin at “Participatory Media Culture” and skip Case Study) NM Chapter 5: pg. 168- 172 (begin at “Blogs as Participatory and Social Media”)	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 9	Feb 9 11:59pm Feb 10 11:59pm
7: Networks and Online Activism	Mon- Tues	Gladwell, Malcolm. “Small Change”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Feb 14	Feb 14 11:59pm Feb 15 11:59pm
	Wed- Thurs	Rosenblatt, Kalhan. “A summer of digital protest: How 2020 became the summer of activism both online and offline”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Feb 16	Feb 16 11:59pm Feb 17 11:59pm
		Reflection #2	Everyone uploads to Dropbox		Feb 25 11:59pm

8: Truth and Misinformation	Mon- Tues	NM Chapter 7: pg. 214- 226	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Feb 28	Feb 28 11:59pm Mar 1 11:59pm
	Wed- Thurs	NM Chapter 7: pg. 227- 235	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Mar 2	Mar 2 11:59pm Mar 3 11:59pm
9: Digital Creativity: Gaming	Mon- Tues	NM Chapter 6: pg. 203- 210	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 7	Mar 7 11:59pm Mar 8 11:59pm
	Wed- Thurs	Ehrentraut, Judy. “The Ethics of Commodification: Game Modding and the New Digital Economy”	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 9	Mar 9 11:59pm Mar 10 11:59pm
10: Media Control and Disconnection	Mon- Tues	Harris, Tristan. “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 14	Mar 14 11:59pm Mar 15 11:59pm
	Wed- Thurs	Affsprung, Daniel. “Narrative Identity and the Data Self.”	Section A answers Discussion Questions Section B responds to Section A	Mar 16	Mar 16 11:59pm Mar 17 11:59pm

		Reflection #3	Everyone uploads to Dropbox		Mar 18 11:59pm
11: Social Media Privacy and Regulation	Mon- Tues	boyd, dana and Alice E. Marwick. “Networked Privacy: How Teenagers Negotiate Context in Social Media” (LEARN)	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 21	Mar 21 11:59pm Mar 22 11:59pm
		NM Chapter 10: pg. 313-324, 329	Section B answers Discussion Questions Section A responds to Section B	Mar 23	Mar 23 11:59pm Mar 24 11:59pm
12: Final Writing Assignments		“Top 10 Student Writing Mistakes” Common Errors Peer Review	Upload your Reflection to Common Errors Peer Review + Review someone else’s Reflection	Mar 28 11:59pm
		Common Errors Personal Review	Review your own Reflection after reading comments	Mar 30 11:59pm
		“Thesis Statements” and “What is a thesis?” (LEARN)		Apr 4 11:59pm
		Thesis Statement	Upload to Dropbox	Apr 6 11:59pm
		Final Reflection	Upload to Dropbox	Apr 17 11:59pm