Prerequisite
ENG 100/101
Course Description
An introduction to the range of theories analyzing the evolution of linguistic communication technologies, from oral to written to computer-based. Examines the consequences of these developments for culture, literature, science, politics, pedagogy and identity. Pays particular attention to the uses and effects of networked texts and hypertexts. Includes a project where students prepare hypertexts that can be "published" on the Internet.
COM 385 introduces the terminology, history and evolution of hypertext as a literary genre and a communication medium. Students build a web-based hypertext as a means of understanding how hypertexts are composed and used on the web. The course challenges students to consider the Web as a place not only for "getting information," but also as a development environment in which to define one's own virtual space on the Web.