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A course in media, communications,
and practical rhetoric. Emphasis on the effects of electronic multimedia
on contemporary style, message presentation, and document design.
From the days of the Athenian assembly and the Roman forum to today's
world of global conferencing and televised political debate, teaching individuals
how to communicate more effectively, and (when the situation demands it)
more persuasively, has long been a principal goal of instruction
in the verbal and representational arts. In this course students will undertake
a critical review of recent theories and developments in the field of modern
media and mass communications--with particular emphasis on the impact of
electronic sources of information and entertainment on contemporary trends
in writing, audiovisual presentation, and graphic design.
The course is offered in two formats: (1) a traditional
live classroom version (with students and instructor meeting for a series
of face-to-face class sessions--supported by multimedia); (2) an online,
computer-mediated version (using a variety of innovative communication
tools and instructional resources but with extremely limited face-to-face
contact among participants). The purpose of this division is partly to
test the effectiveness of some of the currently available web-based learning
products, but more importantly to gain insight into the comparative advantages
(and pitfalls) of computerized education in general. An additional motive
for offering this particular course online (it is, after all, a course
about analysis and evaluation of media) is to give students a vivid opportunity
to experience both the power and the limitations of modern media firsthand.
Indeed, if Marshall McLuhan is right, and the medium in which a message
is sent is the content, then a course on modern media almost
certainly belongs on the Web. |
