Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Week 1: Introduction - New Media and Transdisciplinarity

Overview of the scope and purpose of the course. Evaluation methods, including assignments and participation, will be discussed.. 
What is "new" about "new media"?
What are the characteristics, both technical and social, of new media?
How does new media transform and "remediate" earlier media practices?
This class will end with an introduction to transliteracy which will help guide our thinking until we delve further into transliteracy in week 8.
Some key questions to consider during the first class:
  • What is "new media studies" and its relationship to the humanities and social sciences ? 
  • New Media Studies is a transdisciplinary field of scholarly inquiry, what does this mean?
  • How do different disciplines approach the study of media?
  • What are some current views about the emergence and diffusion of media?

Welcome

We’re glad to be getting started with this course. You'll find it a challenge, but it will also be fun.

Please send me your preferred e-mail address so that I may add you as an author on the class blog. This is important for assignments and reflection. It can also be a great way to contribute to discussions and participate.


***Active class participation is central to our work together.***


Here are a few suggestions about how to participate in the discussion. Remember to keep up with the discussion every couple of days or so. Keep your contributions short and exploratory. Try to respond to what others have already said, if you can. And try to ground your comments and ideas in the readings whenever possible. There are suggestions provided for participating in the discussion under the icon in the main menu entitled "Course information."

Each week a new topic area will appear on the Monday. You can begin discussing things right away on Monday morning - actually it's Sunday midnight if you're inclined to be up at night.


Note: Image of the course text is from Amazon.ca.