Unit 1

Week 1

***Last day to drop or add classes is Friday, August 30.

Tuesday 8/27
Welcome. Go over syllabus and course expectations. Look at Brent Easton Ellis and Jonathan Franzen debate.

Homework: Accept invitation to class blog before next week. Read Arthur, “The Impact of the Printing Press” and the brief history, “The Invention of the Internet.” Begin your Reading Journal by noting a passage that you’d like to discuss in class. Write out a question to prompt in-class conversation.

Thursday 8/29
No class meeting. Read the New Yorker and Bustle articles about Instagram poets r.h. Sin, Samantha.King.Holmes, and R.M. Drake. Those articles feature some of the poetry, but follow the links to check out their Instagram profiles. Then read the polemic, “Instagram Poets Ruin Everything.” Use your Reading Journal to reflect on how you feel about the poems and Saienni’s critique.

Week 2

Tuesday 9/3
Discuss history of the internet, internet poems, and whether or not the internet is ruining literature.

Homework: Read “Let’s Get Lost,” the introduction to Kenneth Goldsmith’s book Wasting Time on the Internet. Think about how he takes a different position than Saienni. As you begin your first blog post, decide which position has more validity; what’s the evidence for each one? Also, as you begin, write in Word or Google Docs. You can cut and paste it into WordPress once it’s ready to post. See the prompts section for more directions about the content of your first post. If you have not yet, accept my invitation to become an author on our class WordPress blog. We’ll go over blogging basics in class. Bring questions with you.

Thursday 9/5
Discuss Goldsmith. Go over WordPress basics and brainstorm post ideas.

Homework: Finish writing your first blog post and publish it on our class blog by Friday (9/6) at 5pm. Over the weekend, read the chapters 1-5 of Stephen King’s UR. Make a note of a passage you’d like to address in class and write a discussion question in your Reading Journal.

Blogpost 1: Due on our class blog by Friday (9/6) at 5pm.