Electronic Writing
Provided by
Swinburne University of Technology
Was run between 2005 and 2005
Website: www.swinburne.infoxchange.net.au
This subject aims to critically examine current theory relating to electronic writing and, in particular, hypertext. Does the embodiment of electronic writing in the form of stand alone hypertext applications or in the form of the World Wide Web (through Hypertext Markup Up Language - HTML) change our relationship as readers to the written word? Does electronic writing, as Mark Poster argues, represent a third stage in the mode of information in which “the self is decentred, dispersed, and multiplied in continuous instability?â€
Alongside these questions, students will be introduced to the basics of HTML and asked to consider the experience of writing in an online, electronic environment (namely, the WWW). What are the rules (if any) which govern this new writing space and to what extent has a rhetoric of electronic writing been developed? Students will be encouraged to rethink the concept of writing and to ask themselves such elusive questions as, what is a medium?
Through the course of the semester, students should
• be able to identify the most prominent arguments relating to electronic writing
• be able to critically discuss and assess emerging theories relating to electronic writing
• be able to demonstrate an understanding of basic HTML
• be able to demonstrate an understanding of what it means to develop a rhetoric of electronic writing and to demonstrate that understanding through application
Generic Skills Objectives
This subject is also designed to develop generic skills that are
applicable to a broad range of disciplines and contexts. These skills
are highly valued by prospective employers.
By the end of the semester you will have:
• developed your independent research skills
• enhanced your ability to develop and formulate a coherent argument
• developed your analytical and conceptual skills
• enhanced your problem solving skills
• extended your ability to communicate both verbally and in writing
• become familiar with the use of online technologies
• developed online writing skills
• become familiar with the use of email , discussion boards and listservs
Syllabus:
Theory
Hypertext - What is it? Some definitions
Memory Systems
Rhetoric and hypertext
Models for electronic writing - Rhizome
Models for electronic writing - Mystory
Strategies for research (or where does this thing start?)
Writing project
Practice
Basic HTML
Using Dreamweaver
Site construction
Image production and manipulation
Animation for the web
Using sounds on the web
DHTML
Javascript using Dreamweaver