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CCTP-687-01 History of the Book: Theory of Text
Fall only
This course is for those interested in Graphic Novels (Comic Books), Videogames, Fan Fiction, Anime, Mash-ups, Blogging, Online Journalism, RSS-Feeds, Podcasting, Wikis, Online Communities, Web 2.0, Hypertexts, the new E-books—and other recent movements and experiments in New Media.
The course is called "Theory of the Text / History of the Book"--although we use the term "text" very broadly here, to include every kind of digital form. In fact, those who decide to enroll in the class will be able to think about the term "text" from many perspectives—including digital media, experimental books, art objects—and even musical scores and dance-notation "texts." We will ask how such forms are redefining the terms "author" and "reader"—and how they are changing our definitions of "literature" and "news" and "social networking."
Here's the way the class works: Each semester, we develop special topics in the seminar according to the particular research interests of each class member. In past
years, for instance, we have read the most popular hypertext ever written—namely, "Patchwork Girl," a powerful take-off on the novel Frankenstein (which we also discuss in the course). We have also read graphic novels such as the award-winning Fun Home, Akira, Persepolis, and The Watchmen (we saw the movie-version of the latter two as well). We consider all texts from a cross-cultural perspective, including American versions of Japanese anime and other non-Western genres.
Later in the term, each student in the class chooses a research topic of his or her own interest--the choice is completely open--and makes it their central project during the semester. Once we have a list of these individual topics, parts of our syllabus shift in order to incorporate these specific interests of the particular students in the class that semester. (I have attached a partial list from some past semesters--though, as I say, these topics are completely open, and they are open to change each semester.)
During previous terms, we have also looked at the historical origins of today's digital culture—including the history of museums, libraries, and art collections. We have discussed the origins of copyright law, comparing the first amazing trials with today's debates about digital copyright (including the famous Napster and Mickey Mouse cases). And we have investigated notorious internet hoaxes (including the Lonely Girl scandal)—and traced their origins to the most intriguing art and literary forgeries (such as those by Thomas Chatterton).
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
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