Institutions, technologies, education, and agency

texts

feenberg, andrew (1999). questioning technology. new york: routledge
foucault, michel (1975). discipline and punish. new york: vintage
haraway, donna (2004). the haraway reader. new york: routledge
hunter, ian (1994). rethinking the school. new (out of print)
lemke, jay (1995). textual politics. london: taylor and francis
miller, richard e. (1998). as if learning mattered. ithaca: cornell up
wenger, etienne (1998). communities of practice. cambridge: cambridge up

projects

double-entry journal
This journal will include summaries and reactions based on each reading. It will be collected and evaluated at various points during the semester. A completed journal is required to receive a grade in this course. For details on how to keep a double-entry journal see the explanation at http://vccslitonline.vccs.edu/DoubleEntryJournal.html This journal may be kept in a format that is convenient for you--online as a web-based text, as a blog, as a wordprocessed file, or hand-written in a notebook. It will be collected and graded at mid-term and at the end of the course.

teaching collaboration
Collaboration 1: Each of you will have the opportunity to "teach" at least a section of one of the course texts. This will involve selecting the section from the assigned texts, preparing activities and questions for class discussion, and writing a brief evaluation of your teaching experience. Your plan for teaching must involve an active learning experience for the class--on other words, you must have the class "do" something. Creative/experimental designs for this teaching experience are strongly encouraged. Your teaching experience should be planned for at least one hour of class time.

Collaboration 2: In groups of two or three, you will present an additional text with content that is closely related to the course content. Choices for this additional text are a) Cynthia Selfe, Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century
The Importance of Paying Attention; b) James Berlin, Rhetorics, Poetics, and Cultures; c) Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks.

project #1 institutional/technological analysis
This project will involve a detailed analysis of one particular segment of an institution and its accompanying technologies. The institution analyzed must be one in which the author has worked, lived, or somehow participated. Insider knowledge is essential to completing this project successfully. Critical use of course readings is required in this analysis. The end-prodcut of this project is not limited to a traditional academic essay, although substantial written analysis is required in any format. This analysis will be read by all class members and one class period will be devoted to discussion of the project results so that all participants can learn through the experiences of others.

project #2 institutional autobiography
This project will focus on the author's personal interactions and challenges in one technologically complicated/complex institutional environment. Choice of a specific interaction that can be analyzed in detail will make this project more successful. The author must consider the possibilities for agency in this situation, critique his/her own action, and suggest other actions available to an agent in such a situation. Ideally, this project will grow out of the analysis in Project #1. Critical use of course readings is essential in this autobiography. An in-class presentation of the project will be required. The end-product of this project is not limited to a traditional academic essay, although substantial written analysis is required in any format. This project should be thought of as a possible publication. If an alternative project format is chosen, that format should be one that could be published.

Alternative formats for projects could include
> graphically enhanced print/paper-based projects;
> graphic arts projects;
> web-based hypertext projects;
> web-or CD-based multimedia projects;
> other formats approved in consultation with the teacher

attendance/assignment policy
Attendance at every class meeting is expected. Absences should be discussed in advance with the teacher. Assignments must be completed as scheduled. Late assignments will receive substantially lowered grades.

students with disabilities
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC). All accommodations MUST be approved through the DRC (Admin Annex Bldg, Room 205). Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an appointment with a disability specialist.

academic honesty
All students are expected to act in accordance with the WSU policies on Academic Honesty found in the Student Handbook. These policies include falsification of information, fabrication of information, plagiarism, multiple submission, and various others. Information about these policies can be found in the Handbook. These policies will be discussed in class and students will be asked to acknowledge that discussion and a basic understanding of the polcies. For additional information on plagiarism, WSU has a good site.

*instructor: dr. patricia freitag ericsson*	*ericsson@wsu.edu*
*spring 2009*	*phone: 335-4820*
office: avery 223	*office hours: by appointment*

office: avery 223

seminar overview