English 287 - Winter, 2024

Topics in Literature & Media

Class Information

Instructor: Boluk, Stephanie
CRN: 44959
Time: TR 3:10-6:00pm
Location: 120 Voorhies
Focus: Theory

Description

Media Theories:

This introductory graduate seminar will survey a range of historical and contemporary approaches to media, media theory, and media philosophy. A significant unit of the course will focus on contemporary engagements with Marshall McLuhans' methods and thought by scholars such as Sarah Sharma, Armond R. Towns, and Jonathan Beller, but we will also cover a range of media theory We will examine how the field of media studies has been shaped by multiple disciplines ranging from information theory and cybernetics to cultural studies and critical theory to infrastructure studies and environmentalism. We will think about issues of human embodiment, identity, materiality, economy, and ecology in relation to the history of media technologies. Beyond using the term media as a descriptor for either technological platforms or communication protocols, this course investigates how a practical and philosophical understanding of media might help live in the twentieth-first century.

The course welcomes students across all programs and departments interested in media philosophy. For English doctoral students, part of the course will engage some readings from the "Media Technologies" exam book list. The goal will be to develop literacy in different areas of media studies in order to advance your individual research, practice, and teaching.

(NB: Thursdays are media screening days)

Potential Readings (list will change and be shorter):
Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin
Roland Barthes
Simone Browne
Mary Ann Doane
Michel Foucault
N. Katherine Hayles
Mark Hansen
Marshall McLuhan
Nicholas Mirzoeff
Hito Stereyl
Bernard Stiegler
Nicole Starosielski
Armond R. Towns


Grading

Class Presentations (25%): leading one class in a discussion of weekly readings and participation in weekly class discussions
Project Proposal (15%): 1 page (~250 word abstract + 4-5 sources)
Midterm Project In-Class Presentation/Workshopping (15%)
Final Project Presentation (15%)
Final Project (30%)