Rhetoric of New Media

 In this course we will examine a wide range of digital media practices including hypertext, interactive drama, video games, literary interactive fiction, socially constructed narratives in multi-user spaces, and artificial intelligence-based story generation. Through a mixture of readings, discussion, and project work, we will explore the theoretical positions, debates, and design issues arising from these different practices. Topics will include the rhetorical, ludic, theatrical, and narrative dimensions of digital media as well as digital media’s political and legal ramifications. There will be a substantial amount of reading in this course. Class projects will include online activities such as the exploration of games, interactive literature, social networking sites, and other digital media applications. There will be a midterm, a final, and a research project.