Rhetoric of New Media

This course will examine major trends in theories of new media, and some of the most common forms through which these media have been conceptualized. The concept of “New Media” is itself one that is constantly being defined and redefined; does thinking about the forms which new media have taken in popular and theoretical discourse help us to an understanding of what defines new media?

We will examine particular examples of new media forms – network, protocol, cyborg, and remediation – to consider the following questions: What are the forms of new media? Why have new media been conceptualized in these ways? What are the areas of intersection amongst these forms? How have these forms arisen, and what discourses have shaped them?

Our objects of study will draw from a broad range of new media, including digital images, social media, videogames, web applications, new media art, and so on.