TCF 389 New Media:
Theory & Practice

Interim 1998

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Course Description and Overview

TCF 389 will introduce you to critical concepts and hands-on skills related to so-called "new media"--which, as we shall see, are mostly a reconfiguration and re-contextualization of older media such as film, television, and graphic design for print publications. However, in some very important ways new media phenomena such as the World Wide Web do modify the user's experience of text, image, and sound. TCF 389 will consider these significant shifts in the reading/viewing/listening experience while remaining mindful of new media's connections with the old.

Our specific focus in this course will be Internet-related new media:  the World Wide Web and computer-mediated communication (CMC) media such as e-mail, Usenet, and Internet Relay Chat. You will engage in actual Web production and CMC exercises, and read critical essays about Internet culture. Our objectives are (1) to make you a more alert, perhaps critical, consumer of new media products, (2) to provide the basic steps toward your own work in new media, and (3) to offer approaches for scholarly research in new media.

Assignments

1. Short reviews of Web sites. Every Monday and Wednesday (starting May 20^th and ending June 3st--5 total), each student will post a short blurb (one paragraph) about a Web site they've recently discovered--evaluating (1) the usefulness of its content, (2) the quality of its design, and (3) its level of hipness (is it too cool, or what?). Each review will be posted to tcf.389.WebRev, a special newsgroup. Reviews must include the URL for the site. One point each for a total of 5. This newsgroup may be accessed either through a Web browser or a news reader.
2. A personal Web page. Each student will create his/her own Web page. 20 points. Due May 27th, 5:00 p.m. More details are available!
3. A final Web project. This project must incorporate all of the course's lessons in Web design. 30 points. Due June 5th, 10:00 a.m. More details are available! Each student will create a final Web project that will be either:
   1. A critical analysis of a film or TV program
   2. A creative piece (probably narrative, but not necessarily so)
   3. An informational/commercial piece for a real or fictitious entity
4. Exams. Midterm and final exams will be given on May 26th and June 4th, respectively. They will cover the readings and all in-class material (lectures, discussions, tutorials). Make-up exams will be given at the discretion of the instructor. 20 points each.
5. In-class exercises. There will be numerous Web and CMC exercises in class. Your participation in them is worth 5 points. (See attendance policy.)
6. Extra Credit. There will be four "Web Scavenger Hunts"--conducted on the tcf.389.ScavHunt newsgroup. The winner will receive 3 extra credit points. (You may only win once.) tcf.389.ScavHunt may be accessed either through a Web browser or a news reader.

Grading

A 93-100     C  73-76    
A- 90-92     C- 70-72    
B+ 87-89     D+ 67-69    
B  83-86     D  63-66    
B- 80-82     D- 60-62    
C+ 77-79     F 59 & below

Attendance

TCF 389 relies heavily on student participation and Interim term goes by quickly (15 class periods in 3 weeks!). Consistent attendance is essential for successful completion of the course. Roll will be taken. Each student is permitted two absences. After these two, one point will be deducted for each absence.

If a job, jury duty, elective surgery, or etc. is going to occupy your time M-F 10:00-1:00, we suggest enrolling in an alternative course.

A priority system has been developed to allow equal access to the more powerful computers--the Gateway-brand, Windows95 machines identified as Lab9801, Lab9802, and Lab9803. This schedule is posted here.

Readings

Required Texts and Where to Find Them

(Most of the books may also be ordered online through www.Amazon.com.)

• Publications
  1. Mark Dery, "Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of the Signs," (Open Magazine Pamphlet Series, 1993). Reading Room and gopher://gopher.well.sf.ca.us/00/cyberpunk/cultjam.txt
  2. Julian Dibbell, "A Rape in Cyberspace, or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society," Reading Room and http://www.levity.com/julian/bungle.html .
  3. William Gibson, Neuromancer (New York: Ace, 1984). Reading Room, local bookstores, and http://www.tcf.ua.edu/TCF389/eyesonly/Gibson.htm .
  4. Howard Rheingold, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (New York: HarperCollins, 1993). Reading Room and http://www.well.com/user/hlr/vcbook and, alternatively, a newer, HTML-ified version: http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book .
  5. Andrew Ross, "Hacking Away at the Counterculture," in Technoculture, edited by Constance Penley and Andrew Ross (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991): 107-134. Reading Room and http://www.tcf.ua.edu/TCF389/eyesonly/ross.htm .
  6. Victor J. Vitanza, CyberReader (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1996). Companion Website for the book. Reading Room and online reserve (ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 3). Also, may be purchased from Amazon.com.
  7. Lynda Weinman, Designing Web Graphics .2 (Indianapolis : New Riders Pub. 1997). See her Website at http://www.lynda.com . The Alabama Bookstore and Reserve Room in Gorgas Library: T385 .W45433 1997. Also, may be purchased (quickly!) from Amazon.com.
• E-mail discussion group
  • To subscribe to the TCF389 e-mail discussion group, e-mail maiser@tcf.ua.edu and put the following in the first line of the message:  subscribe TCF389 . All messages posted are archived over here.
• Online periodicals: Edupage and Internet Tourbus
  • To subscribe to Edupage, e-mail listproc@educom.unc.edu and put the following in the first line of the message: subscribe Edupage <yourname>
  • To subscribe to Internet Tourbus, e-mail LISTSERV@Listserv.aol.com and put the following in the first line of the message: subscribe TourBus <yourname>
• Recommended e-mail publications:
  • NetSurfer Digest (but you'll need an HTML-capable e-mail client) and NTK ("Need To Know," a snide and snarky British publication).

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Course Schedule

Subject to changes announced in class.

	Topic	Reading/Tutorial
Week One
Mon	Introduction to Course, Survey
	Sneakers (Robinson, 1992)
Tues	Internet History/Structure/Culture
	Browser Intro & Scavenger Hunt 1
	CMC 1: E-mail (Remedial Session @ 2pm)
Wed	CMC 2: Usenet, IRC	Rheingold chs. 4, 6 (skip "BBS" & "Habitat"); Gibson, ch. 1
	HTML Basics	Barta; after tutorial, Weinman ch. 5
Thur	Tron (Lisberger, 1982) & The Simpsons (1989-)	The Simpsons official homepage
	Cyberspace	Vitanza, ch. 1
	HTML Layout	Barta; after tutorial, Weinman ch. 13
Fri	HTML Editors & Website Utilities
	Graphics 1: Optimizing for the Web	Weinman chs. 3, 4, pp. 40-41
	Scavenger Hunt 2
Week Two
Mon	Memorial Day - Class As Usual
	Internet History, cont.; CMC, cont.
	Graphics 2: Transparent Artwork & Scanning	Weinman chs. 7, 8, 12
	FTP Mechanics
Tues	Midterm Exam
	Desk Set (Lang, 1957)
Wed	Work Day
	Personal Web Page Due @ 5:00
Thur	Law, Regulation, & Encryption
	Graphics 3: Imagemaps	Weinman chs. 14, 10
Fri	Culture Jamming; Hacking/Cracking	Dery; Vitanza ch. 2
	Graphics 4: Animation	GIF samples, GIF Animation Collection
	Scavenger Hunt 3
Week Three
Mon	Hypermedia	Vitanza ch. 4
	Searching the Web HTML Forms	Barta
Tues	WarGames (Badham, 1983)	The Net official homepage
	Gender & the 'Net Scavenger Hunt 4	Vitanza ch. 3; Dibbel
Wed	Hackers (Softley, 1995)	Hackers official homepage
	Hackers/Crackers & the Panopticon	Ross, Rheingold ch. 10
Thur	Final Exam
Fri	Final Projects Due @ 10:00 Project Registration
	Course Evaluation & Exit Survey

Disability Access

To request disability accommodations, please contact Disabilities Services (348-4285). After initial arrangements are made with Disabilities Services, contact Jeremy Butler.

Academic Misconduct Policy

All acts of dishonesty in any work constitute academic misconduct. The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.