PBDS. 710
NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not
necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.
A survey of the evolution of newspapers,
periodicals, books, and the publishing industry, focusing on technological
developments, major innovations, legal and ethical issues, and social impact.
We will analyze and discuss material
drawn from a broad range of sources -- history, economics, the
law, literature, philosophy and theory.
We will consider the ways print creates a unique culture and establishes (and
reflects) a network of values critical to a technological society.
During the semester, we shall examine the
relationship between the various vehicles developed to exploit print technology
(the book, the periodical, the newspaper, the computer) and the various
audiences addressed, the new voices and forms used, and the new ideas the
changing technology created.
As a part of the course, we shall
experiment with hypermedia -- a mode of electronic publication that takes
advantage of the computer. Students will be required to "read" some
hypermedia texts using
the lab during non-class time and write
critical analysis of the text, the role of author, and the role of reader.
Orality and Literacy: The Technology
of the Word
by Walter Ong, Methuen & Co. (paper)
The Printing Revolution in Early
Modern Europe
by Elizabeth Eisenstein, Cambridge University Press (paper)
Five Hundred Years of Printing (paper, rev.) by S.
Steinberg, Lyons & Burford
The Boke, an experimental text.
Chapters One & Two and Speculations (available via handout)
(Available in the Bookstore)
*Time Permitting, sections of the
following books will be assigned
The Media Lab by Stewart Brand,
Penguin Books (paper)
Writing Space by Jay David Bolter,
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Pub (paper)
Hypertext by George Landow,
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press (paper)
The Electronic Media & The
Transformation of Law
by Ethan Katsh, Oxford Press (paper)
Note: You must also buy a large
three-ring binder to collect the material you will receive during the course of
the semester.
There will be other required readings
drawn (in part) from the following list:
History
"Publishing
History: A Hole at the Center of Literary Sociology" J.
Sutherland
"What is the
History of the Book" R.
Darnton
"Introduction"
to Printing the Written Word S. Hindman
America Revised F. Fitzgerald
The Boke, Chapts 1 & 2 and
Speculations O.
Kurtz
The New Technology
The Media Lab
S.
Brand
Hypertext
G.
Landow
Writing Space
J. Bolter
Black Hole
C.
Hughes
"Libraries and the
New Technologies" P.
Molholt
"The Log-On
Library" A.
Levin
A selection of
Hypermedia Novels
Theory & Criticism
"Design in the
Contemporary World" (excerpts) J.
Meikle
"News and new
Things: ... the Early English Novel" J.
Hunter
"Ramist Method and
the Commercial Mind" W.
Ong
"The Work of Art in
the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" W.
Benjamin
Literary
"The Library of
Babel" J.
Borges
Essays Addison
"The
Encyclopedia" Diderot
Essays and "Preface
to the Dictionary" S.
Johnson
Gulliver's Travels (Laputa) J.
Swift
Newspaper Writing &
Autobiography B.
Franklin
Law and Economics
History of Interest
Rates (Sidney
Homer)
The Great Wave (David Fischer)
"Towards a Theory
of Property Rights" H.
Demsetz
"The Origins of the
Statute of Anne" T.
Morris
"The Economic
Rationale of Copyright" R.
Hurt
Electronic Media &; The
Transformation of Law (excerpts) M.
E. Katsh
In addition to this material, I shall
hand out xeroxes that strike my fancy.
Course Requirements
All assignments must be handed in (or
available) on the due date.
Students are to complete all reading
assignments.
Students are expected to participate in
class discussions and evaluations.
Attendance is important. Exceptions
should be discussed with me in advance.
Grades will be based upon
class attendance and class participation,
the grades received for all written assignments
and exercises, and
the grades for exams.
Students will be required to write at
least one paper ( about 15 to 20 pages), several shorter assignments, and a
class presentation. I shall give a final exam or a final project or essay. 1 do
not expect to give a midterm, but 1 will give one if the class wishes one or if
1 feel
there is a need to track student participation.
Class participation is worth
approximately 5-10%
Class assignments 25 %
Paper[s] assignment 30-35%
Final exam or Project approximately
35-40%
Note: I may alter the balance of these
approximate weights during the course of the semester, after discussion with
the class, especially if assignments are changed, added or deleted. If a final
project/paper is assigned, students who do not turn it in on the due date may
(quite likely) have their final class grade devalued one letter grade.
You should attend every class session
unless you have an extraordinarily good excuse. More than two unexcused
absences may (quite likely) result in a lower grade. More than three absences
may (quite likely) result in a failing grade.
All assignments must be handed in by the
specified deadline. Late assignments may (quite likely) be devalued one letter
grade per class period late.
Students may do extra work to receive
extra credit. Interested students must first discuss this with me. Extra credit
cannot be used to replace missed or late assignments.
All writing assignments or exercises MUST
be typed, double spaced, leaving a two-inch margin on the right hand side. Use
white, 8 1/2 x 11 paper.
Type your name in the upper left hand
corner with the assignment name and date underneath.
Note: As the course develops its rhythms,
I may alter the assignments and the amount of time spent on the various areas.
If you miss class, check with me or a fellow student about revisions to the
syllabi. I shall revise the course syllabi as needed and give you a weekly outline
at the beginning of each class. It will include the work to be covered for that
class, reading questions or general issues to consider, and the assignments due
for the following class. As indicated above, I may alter somewhat the grading
criteria. It is your responsibility to get the revised syllabi and weekly
outline. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, ASK.
Orality and Literacy W.
Ong
500 Years or Printing
(sections) S.
H. Steinberg
The Printing Revolution
(sections) E.
Eisenstein
"Publishing
History: A Hole at the Centre..." J.
Sutherland
"Introduction"
to Printing the ... Word S.
Hindman
"What is the
History of the Book" R.
Darnton
"Ramist Method and
the Commercial Mind" W.
Ong
"New & New
Things..." J.
Hunter
The Great Wave
(excerpts) D.
Fischer
History or Interest
Rates (excerpts) S.
Homer
Other Handouts
The Boke, Chapts 1 &
2 and Speculations O.
Kurtz
"The Library of
Babel" J.
Borges
Essays Addison
"The
Encyclopedia" Diderot
Essays and "Preface
to the Dictionary" S.
Johnson
Gulliver's Travels
(excerpts) J.
Swift
Newspaper Writing &
Autobiography B.
Franklin
Other Selections &
Handouts
Weeks 8-9 Law and Economic
"Towards a Theory
of Property Rights" H.
Demsetz
"The Origins of the
Statute of Anne" T.
Morris
"The Economic
Rationale of Copyright" R.
Hurt et al
The Electronic Media
(excerpts) M.
E. Katsh
Copyright in the
Electronic Age N.
Kleinman
Handouts
Technology
and the Print Media
America Revised F.
Fitzgerald
"The Work of Art in
the Age of Mechanical Repro." W. Benjamin
"Mr. Bloom Meets
the Electronic Hare." N.
Kleinman
Selections from The
Media Lab, Writing Space, Hypertext
Selections of Hypermedia
Novels & Texts
Other Selections &
Handouts