Welcome to the Pure Serene Wiki
Course Blog for ENGL295: "Pure Serene"
This Wiki is a collection of projects that were created for ENGL295 - Literature in a Wired World. It includes group projects on genres of Electronic Literature as well as individual projects on reader communities.
Literature in a Wired World provides an introduction to the changing nature of books, texts, and narrative in the Information Age. The course explores the means by which literature engages technology and technology shapes literature, and by which new media responds to old media. Students will explore the role of the book in relation to other media, as well as the shifting status of writers and readers. In addition, students will explore digital cultures and the identities that form around them. Students will also learn practical skills such as basic HTML programming to create literary works. As an online course, students will interact with the instructor and each other via Black Board, a class blog, and wikis. No prior technical knowledge is expected or assumed, but an interest in working with digital technology (i.e. computers and portable devices) is a must. Major assignments for the course will include regular participation on the class blog), two papers, a group project, an essay test, a final digital project, and a final exam. [1]
Group Projects
Group projects for this course focused on six genres of electronic literature. Students participate together to define the genre and then individually analyze a single work from that genre. Students will sign up individually to join a group that will analyze one of three genres of electronic literature: Blog Fiction, Interactive Fiction, or Digital Poetry. In groups of no more than five, you should analyze one genre of electronic literature. The project involves a cohesive introduction paragraph written corporately by the group, followed by individually written analyses of a piece of electronic literature from one the assigned genre.[2]
Groups
Individual Projects
For this course, final projects asked students to examine the online presence that surrounds a text of their choice. Students could analyze anything from a poem to a video game. These projects locate and analyze the questions and interpretations that have arisen around these texts and the way online communities keep such discussions alive.
A Tour of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton Branch Office (Maino)
For Fans, It's More Than a Game of Thrones (Jenkins)
Chasing The Walking Dead (dela Cruz)
Just another Brick in the Wall (Riley)
The End May be Where They Begin, but the Beginning is Where I End (Harshman)
Mylo Xyloto: "What the f*^% does that mean?" (Bozick)
Hunting Jason Bourne (Nesline)
Think your life is twisted? Get a look within. (Callanan)
How Online Communities Sing the Song of Fire and Ice (Giroux)
Class Members
Links and Resources
Dave Raggett's Introduction to HTML
Class Blog Final Project Post (with link to video overview)