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MultimediaWorks

Objectives
In this course we will explore the relationship between literary production and technological innovation during the past two centuries. Throughout the semester, we will address two central questions: 1) how has technology been treated as a theme in prose fiction, poems, and dramas? and 2) how have particular technologies--such as print, film, hypertext, animation, and multimedia--provided the material conditions of possibility for prose fiction, poems, and dramas? The issues we will discuss include the Industrial Revolution and its effect on social relations in England and the U.S. in the nineteenth century; the connection between technological change and the rise of literary modernism and postmodernism; the development of science fiction; technological utopias and dystopias; cyborgs, mutants, and clones; and the current role of computers and the Internet in literary production--for example, cyberpunk fiction, hypertext fiction, and literary adaptations of digital animation and multimedia.

In addition to providing you with insights into the many ways literature and technology intersect, this class is designed to build skills in careful reading, critical thinking, and lucid argumentative writing.

Materials
Books
books are available from Revolution Books
Cadigan, Pat. Tea From an Empty Cup. Tor Books, 1999.
Capek, Karl. Rossum's Universal Robots. Dover, 2001.
Davis, Rebecca Harding. Life in the Iron Mills and Other Stories. Feminist Press, 1985.
Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Bantam Classic, 1991.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer. Ace Books, 1995.
Stephenson, Neal. Snow Crash. Bantam Doubleday Dell, 2000.
Verne, Jules. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Puffin, 1995.

Course Packet
available from Campus Copies in the Student Center

Films
films will be on reserve for on-site viewing at Wong Audiovisual Center, Sinclair Library,
two weeks prior to scheduled discussion date
Chaplin, Charlie. Modern Times.
Lang, Fritz. Metropolis.
Wachowski, Larry and Andy. The Matrix.

Online Materials
hypertexts, animations, and other web-based materials are available on the class web site at
http://maven.english.hawaii.edu/384/online

Connectivity
You must have an active email account and reliable access to the World Wide Web.

Assignments
Assignments
Semester grades will be based on an analytical essay, 5-6 pages long (30%), a midterm examination (25%) a final examination (25%), and a class presentation for which you will submit a brief essay, 2-3 pages long (20%). Regular and active participation in class discussions, both on- and offline, is also expected. You may submit your analytical essay in a hypertext and/or multimedia format; please consult with me before beginning an online writing project.

Policy
Grading
Written assignments, including drafts, are to be turned in at the beginning of the class period on the due date. Grades for late assignments will be lowered by one letter grade for every day after the due date.

Grading
Letter grades will be assigned the following values:

I will give incompletes only in emergencies. Please speak with me or the Graduate Assistant promptly about any questions you have concerning the grades you receive during the semester—don’t wait until the final grades have been posted, when adjustments will be more difficult to make.

Attendance
Regular attendance is mandatory and will be recorded. Absences due to illness or a family emergency will be excused as long as you provide adequate documentation, such as a note from the Student Health Center. Your grade for the class will be reduced by one letter grade for every unexcused absence after three (3). More than six (6) absences, excused or unexcused, will be considered grounds for a failing grade in the course. You are expected to arrive on time. If you come in after roll has been called, you must report to me at the end of class to ensure that your presence is been recorded.
Please speak with me immediately if any circumstances arise that make it difficult for you to attend class or to complete assignments on time. It is often possible to work out solutions to such problems, but you are responsible for keeping me informed about your situation. Don’t wait until the end of the semester, when we will have fewer alternatives.

Scholastic Dishonesty
The University of Hawai‘i regulations strictly forbid plagiarism and collusion. In this class, all material turned in for a grade must be your own original work. Submitting someone else’s writing as your own, arranging for someone else to do your writing for you, or purchasing papers will earn you a failing grade for the assignment and may result in a failing grade for the course. Please read the packet on plagiarism and ask about any issues that you do not understand.

Reading Schedule
Subject to change. All reading must be completed by the date for which it is assigned.
M August 26
introduction to the course

W August 28
Forster, “The Machine Stops” (handout)
discussion of definitions and key concepts

F August 30
Capek, RUR, Acts 1-2

M September 2
Labor Day Holiday

W September 4
Capek, RUR, Act 3-Epilogue

F September 6
Marinetti, “Manifesto of Futurism”

Kim Scarborough, Futurism Site
provides links to several translations of Marinetti's manifesto
http://www.unknown.nu/futurism/

Bob Osborn, Futurism and the Futurists Site
learn more about Futurism
http://www.futurism.org.uk
discussion of Capek and Marinetti

M September 9
Gibson, Neuromancer, Parts 1-2 (pp. 3-98)

W September 11
Gibson, Neuromancer, Part 3 (pp. 101-156)

F September 13
Gibson, Neuromancer, Parts 4-Coda (pp. 159-271)

M September 16
Haraway, “A Cyborg Manifesto:
Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century,” (packet)
discussion of Gibson and Haraway

W September 18
Davis, Life in the Iron Mills, pp. 11-41

F September 20
Davis, Life in the Iron Mills, pp. 42-65

M September 23
Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (packet)
discussion of Davis and Benjamin

W September 25 KUY 309
dicussion of Davis, Life in the Iron Mills

F September 27 KUY 309
Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (packet)
discussion of Davis and Benjamin

M September 30 KUY 309
discussion of films Modern Times and Metropolis

W October 2 KUY 411
Fischer, These Waves of Girls (WWW)
http://www.yorku.ca/caitlin/waves/

F October 4 KUY 411
Fischer, These Waves of Girls (WWW)
http://www.yorku.ca/caitlin/waves/

M October 7 KUY 309
Dickens, Hard Times, pp. 1-102

W October 9 KUY 411 Presenters: Dusty Middleton, Candice Lau
Dickens, Hard Times, pp. 103-154

F October 11 KUY 309
Dickens, Hard Times, pp. 155-204

M October 14 KUY 411 (MOO)
Dickens, Hard Times, pp. 205-277

W October 16 KUY 411 (MOO)
discussion of Dickens

F October 18 KUY 309
review for midterm examination

M October 21 KUY 309
midterm examination

W October 23
INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS ON PROJECTS KUY 219

F October 25
INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS ON PROJECTS KUY 219

M October 28 KUY 309 Presenter: Dwayne Campos
Stephenson, Snow Crash, pp. 1-103

W October 30 KUY 411 Presenter: Daniel Espinoza
Stephenson, Snow Crash, pp. 103-198

F November 1 KUY 309
Stephenson, Snow Crash, pp. 199-285

M November 4 KUY 411
Stephenson, Snow Crash, pp. 286-438

W November 6 KUY 411 Presenters: Michelle Villanueva, Shayne Takahashi
Hayles, “The Semiotics of Virtuality: Mapping the Posthuman” (packet)
discussion of Stephenson and Hayles

F November 8 KUY 411s
selected poems and projects by Hae-Chang, Ford, and other multimedia artists/writers (WWW)

Young-Hae Chang, Heavy Industries
http://www.yhchang.com/

Terri Ford and Erik Loyer, "Story Problem"
Born Magazine
http://www.bornmag.org/
(Look up "Story Problem" in the search field on the main page.)

Shelley Jackson, "My Body: A Wunderkammer"
http://www.altx.com/thebody/

Rick Mullarky, "Barnyard Algorithm"
http://www.bornmag.org/
(Look up "Barnyard" in the search field on the main page; read the "about" section as well as the piece.)

M November 11
Veteran’s Day Holiday

W November 13 KUY 309 Presenter: Diana Jean
selected poems and projects by Hae-Chang, Ford, and other multimedia artists/writers (WWW)

Young-Hae Chang, Heavy Industries
http://www.yhchang.com/

Terri Ford and Erik Loyer, "Story Problem"
Born Magazine
http://www.bornmag.org/
(Look up "Story Problem" in the search field on the main page.)

Shelley Jackson, "My Body: A Wunderkammer"
http://www.altx.com/thebody/

Rick Mullarky, "Barnyard Algorithm"
http://www.bornmag.org/
(Look up "Barnyard" in the search field on the main page; read the "about" section as well as the piece.)

F November 15 KUY 411 Presenter: Kainoa Fernandes
Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, pp. 3-63

M November 18 KUY 411
Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, pp. 64-125

W November 20 KUY 411
Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, pp. 129-279

F November 22 KUY 309 Presenter: David Asato, Gabriel Margulies
de Certeau, “Writing the Sea: Jules Verne” (packet)
discussion of Verne and de Certeau
ANALYTICAL ESSAYS DUE

M November 25 KUY 309
film: The Matrix

W November 27 KUY 309
film: The Matrix

F November 29
Thanksgiving Holiday

M December 2 KUY 411
Cadigan, Tea from an Empty Cup, pp. 11-71

W December 4 KUY 411 Presenters: Kai Gaspar, Lauren Kekahio, Renell Gamboa
Cadigan, Tea from an Empty Cup, pp. 72-142

F December 6 KUY 309
Cadigan, Tea from an Empty Cup, pp. 143-254

M December 9 KUY 309
Althusser, from “Ideology and Ideology State Apparatuses” (packet)
discussion of Cadigan, The Matrix, and Althusser

W December 11 KUY 309
review for final exam

Final Exam: Friday, December 20, 12:00 - 2:00 KUY 309