ENGL 661 (Schedule #24370)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Spring 2011
T 7-9:40pm :: 308 Hibbs
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 324D Hibbs Hall
Spring 2011 Office Hours: m 2-3:30pm & 5:30-6pm; w 5:30-6:30pm

Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies
Orality, Literacy, and the Digital

In brief, this course will try to open the questions of what we mean by core terms like "language," "speaking," and "digital communication," by carefully setting the terms in a variety of historical and philosophical contexts. We will take our inspiration from (some of) the issues raised in Walter Ong's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Ong, to some degree like his teacher Marshall McLuhan, argues that the "transition" to writing was also a backgrounding/stigmatizing of "orality," so that much that we think of as "oral" or "non-literate" is very valuable but has been errantly dismissed in whatever we call "modernity," what does that say about our attempt to define a new form of "digital reception" or "digitality" and, if so, what would it mean to see that as a stigmatization of both orality and literacy, as well as a new form of communication? Students will offer discussion questions on on each part of one day's reading; write two short papers on topics raised by the reading; and write a final paper (or project) on a subject of their choice chosen in consultation with the instructor.

Books (at VCU bookstore, but any new or used edition of these books is acceptable for class)

1. Naomi Baron, Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World (2010)
2. Stephen Robert Fischer, A History of Language (Reaktion, 2003)
3. Stephen Robert Fischer, A History of Reading (Reaktion, 2004)
4. R. Zamora Linmark, Rolling the R's (experimental fiction, Philippines,1995)
5. Jane McGonigal, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (Penguin, 2011)
6. Walter Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (1982)
7. Cass Sunstein, Going to Extremes: How Like Minds Divide and Unite (Oxford, 2009)
8. Maryanne Wolf, Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain (Harper, 2008)

Articles and Book Chapters (mostly in Blackboard)

1. Naomi Baron, "Rethinking Written Culture." Language Sciences 26 (2004)
2. Naomi Baron, "The Future of Written Culture," (in press expansion on "Rethinking Written Culture," 2005)
3. Graham Barwell, "Original, Authentic, Copy: Conceptual Issues in Digital Text." Literary and Linguistic Computing 20:4 (2005)
4. Roger Chartier, "Languages, Books, and Reading from the Printed Word to the Digital Text." Critical Inquiry 31 (Autumn 2004)
5. Jacques Derrida, "The End of the Book and the Beginning of Writing," from Of Grammatology (1967)
6. Martin Heidegger, "On the Nature of Language," from On the Way to Language (1959)
7. Martin Heidegger, "Traditional and Technological Language" (lecture delivered in 1962), with optional translator's introduction
8. Paul Hopper, "Linguistics and Micro-Rhetoric: A Twenty-First Century Encounter." Journal of English Linguistics 35:3 (Sep 2007)
9. Paul Saenger, "Introduction" to Spaces Between Words: The Origins of Silent Reading and reviews of book by LanguageHat, Relevant Practice, Mark Aronoff, and Leah Price.
10. Susan Schreibman, "Computer-Mediated Texts and Textuality: Theory and Practice." Computers and the Humanities 36 (2002)
11. Henry Staten, "Writing: Empirical, Transcendental, Ultratranscendental." CR: The New Centennial Review 9:1 (2009)

Assignments and Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on written exercises and course participation as follows:

• Two 3-5 page papers (40%; 2 papers of 20% each)
  Two short papers on media or texts we use in class or another text or media object chosen in consultation with the instructor. Students are encouraged to explore works outside the syllabus for at least one of their three course papers (short or long).
• Final 10-12 page paper (40%)
  The final paper will be on a topic of your choosing that relates to the course subject chosen in consultation with the instructor.
• Participation (20%)
  All in-class work including presentations, your attendance and participation in discussion. Every class member will give a short presentation on one topic during the semester; this presentation is not separately graded but is included as part of the general participation grade.
  

Policies

• This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success. A significant portion of your grade (20%) depends on your class participation. Because the class meets only once a week, more than one unexcused absence will count against your final course grade. 3 unexcused absences results in automatic failure of the course, in accordance with College guidelines.
• Papers for this class will be accepted in printed form only (ie, not emailed or posted online) unless otherwise arranged with instructor.
• No late work is accepted in this class. Work handed in late is automatically marked down one-third grade (e.g., a B becomes a B-) for each day it is late, and after one week becomes a failing grade for the assignment.
• You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week.
• All work in this course is subject to the University's Honor Code. You may work in teams for some assignments, but all written work must be solely your own, and any reliance on published work must be properly cited.
• Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.

Honor System

• All VCU students are presumed upon enrollment to have acquainted themselves with and have an understanding of the Honor System. Therefore, it is a student's responsibility to ask course instructors to clarify expectations for each assignment in order to be in compliance with the Honor System. The 2010-11 VCU Honor System policy statement and purpose is located at http://www.provost.vcu.edu/pdfs/Honor_system_policy.pdf

Reasonable Accommodations

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 require Virginia Commonwealth University to provide an 'academic adjustment' and/or a 'reasonable accommodation' to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. If you have a physical or mental limitation that requires an academic adjustment or an accommodation, please arrange a meeting with me at your earliest convenience. Additionally, if your course work requires you to work in a lab environment, you should advise the instructor or department chairperson of any concerns you may have regarding safety issues related to your limitation(s)

What to Know and Do to be Prepared for Emergencies at VCU

1. Sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (www.vcu.edu/alert/notify). Keep your information up to date.
2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of your classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms.
3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities.
4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (www.vcu.edu/alert).
5. Know the emergency phone number fort the VCU police (827-1234). Report suspicious activities and objects"

Week by Week Schedule

Week One. Introduction

• Tues, Jan 18. topic & syllabus overview

Week Two. Heidegger on language.

• Tues, Jan 25. Martin Heidegger, "Traditional and Technological Language," "The Nature of Language"

Week Three. Orality and Literacy, part 1.

• Tues, Feb 1. Ong, Orality and Literacy, Chapters 1-4

Week Four. Orality and Literacy, part 2.

• Tues, Feb 8. Ong, Orality and Literacy, Chapters 5-8

Week Five. A History of Language , part 1.

• Tues, Feb 15. Fischer, A History of Language, Chapters 1-4

Week Six. A History of Language, part 2.

• Tues, Feb 22. Fischer, A History of Language, Chapters 5-8

Week Seven. Writing, Culture, & Language

• Tues, Mar 1. Baron, "Rethinking Written Culture"; Derrida, "The End of the Book and the Beginning of Writing," Staten, "Writing"; Hopper, "Linguistics and Micro-Rhetoric"

Week Eight. Rolling the R's.

• Tues, Mar 8. Linmark, Rolling the R's. First short paper due.

Spring Break

Week Nine. "Space Between Words"

• Tues, Mar 22. Saenger, Introduction to Space between Words," reviews by LanguageHat, Relevant Practice, Aronoff, and Price.

Week Ten. A History of Reading.

• Tues, Mar 29. Fischer, A History of Reading

Week Eleven. Proust and the Squid

• Tues, Apr 5. Wolf, Proust and the Squid

Week Twelve. Digital Textuality

• Tues, Apr 12. Schreibman, "Texts and Textuality"; Barwell, "Original, Authentic, Copy"; Chartier, "Languages, Books, and Reading." Second short paper due.

Week Thirteen. Always On

• Tues, Apr 19. Baron, Always On; "The Future of Writing"

Week Fourteen. Going to Extremes

• Tues, Apr 26. Sunstein, Going to Extremes

Week Fifteen. Reality Is Broken

• Tues, May 3. McGonigal, Reality Is Broken

Final paper due in my English Dept mailbox (Hibbs Hall) or emailed to me by 7pm, Tuesday, May 10, 2011, per the registrar's exam schedule. There is no final exam for the course beyond the final paper.

Last updated  January 23, 2011 .