108D W21 Ehrentraut

ENGL108D: Digital Lives 

Department of English Language and Literature - University of Waterloo 

Instructor: Dr. Judy Ehrentraut 

Email: jehrentr@uwaterloo.ca

Overview 

This course will give you the opportunity to develop a broader understanding of how old and new media affect our lives. We will examine how digital communication technologies create and promote online identities and social spaces, while exploring the technical and cultural forces that inform what it means to have “digital lives.” In this course you will also: 

  • Learn the importance of digital literacy and its history 
  • Develop your close reading skills so you can critically analyze what you read 
  • Identify the terms used to theorize media and form your own academic voice 
  • Learn how to organize an argumentative essay and create a proper thesis statement 
  • Learn how to thoughtfully respond to the opinions of your peers 

Course Meeting Times 

Though this is an online course, you are expected to log into LEARN at least twice per week to access the slideshows and do the readings on/before Mondays and Wednesdays. Participating in the Group Discussion component is the equivalent of attendance, and this is mandatory. A detailed explanation can be found in Content Group Discussion Assignment on LEARN. 

Grading Scheme and Due Dates

Assignments 

Weight 

Due Dates 

Group Discussions: 40% 

2 per week = 4% x 10 

2%  Mon/Tues & Wed/Thurs each week

Reflections: 30 % 

Reflection 1 

Reflection 2 

Reflection 3 

10% 

10% 

10% 

February 5th 

February 26th 

March 19th 

Common Errors Assignment: 10%

Upload Reflection to Dropbox 

Reflection (Peer Review) 

Reflection (Personal Review) 

2% 

4% 

4% 

April 5th 

April 7th 

April 12th 

Final Reflection: 20% 

Thesis Statement 

Final Reflection 

5% 

15% 

April 16th 

April 21st 

Required Texts 

Flew, Terry and Richard Smith. New Media: An Introduction. 3rd Canadian Edition, Oxford UP, 2018 

All other texts are available via links in Content Weekly Schedule or in Content Readings. 

Weekly Schedule 

Everyone in Sections A and B is responsible for all the readings, so please make sure you’re reading everything outlined in each block. 

If your Section is answering the Discussion Questions, posts are due at 11:59pm on Monday/Wednesday of that week. If your Section is responding to the other Section, posts are due at 11:59pm on Tuesday/Thursday. 

Week 

Day Readings  Assignments Start Time 

 End Tine

1: Introductions Mon No Course Readings Read the syllabus and all assignments Jan 11

Jan 

11:59pm


 
  Wed-Thurs   

Write your short introduction 

(Everyone) 

Jan 13   

2: What is New Media? 

Mon-Tues 

NM Chapter 1: pg. 1-16 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Jan 18 

Jan 18 

11:59pm 

Jan 19 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs  NM Chapter 1: pg. 17-30 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Jan 20 

Jan 20 

11:59pm 

Jan 21 

11:59pm

3: History of Communication Technologies 

Mon-Tues 

NM Chapter 2: pg. 34-38 

NM Chapter 2: pg. 46-49 (read until the end of “Essential Need”) 

NM Chapter 2: pg. 52-58 (begin at “Speaking Without Wires” and skip Case Study

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Jan 25 

Jan 25 

11:59pm 

Jan 26 

11:59 

  Wed-Thurs

NM Chapter 3: pg. 67-71 

NM Chapter 3: pg. 74-76 

(begin at “Approaches to technological change” and end at “The Diffusion of Innovations Model” 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Jan 27 

Jan 27 

11:59pm 

Jan 28 

11:59pm

4: Media Theory and Mobile Phones 

Mon-Tues 

NM Chapter 3: pg. 82-88 (begin at “Pioneer Media Theorists” and skip Case Study

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Feb 1 

Feb 1 

11:59pm 

Feb 2 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs 

NM Chapter 4: pg. 94-103 

Watch: History of Cell Phones 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Feb 3 

Feb 3 

11:59pm 

Feb 4 

11:59pm

    Reflection #1

Everyone uploads to Dropbox  

Feb 5  11:59pm 

5: Mobile Phone Culture 

Mon-Tues 

NM Chapter 4: pg. 104-113 

Kopomaa, Timo. “Mobile Phones, Place-centered Communication and Neo-community" 

(LEARN) 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Feb 8 

Feb 8 

11:59pm 

Feb 9 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs NM Chapter 5: pg. 128 – 140 (read until “Networks and the Economics of Social Production”) 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Feb 10

Feb 10 

11:59pm 

Feb 11 

11:59pm

Reading week (no class) 

Feb 15 - 19 

6: Media Literacy 

Mon-Tues 

NM Chapter 5: pg. 146 - 153 (start at “Participatory Media Cultures”) 

NM Chapter 5: pg. 157 - 163 (begin at “Blogs as Participatory Media”) 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Feb 22 

Feb 22 

11:59pm 

Feb 23 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs  Jenkins, Henry et al. “Enabling Participation” (LEARN) 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Feb 24 

Feb 24 

11:59pm 

Feb 25 

11:59pm

    Reflection #2

Everyone uploads to Dropbox 

Feb 26  11:59pm 

7: Online Activism 

Mon-Tues 

Tufecki, Zeynep. “Twitter and Tear Gas: How Social Media Changed Protest Forever.” 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Mar 1 

Mar 1 

11:59pm 

Mar 2 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs Gladwell, Malcolm. “Small Change.”

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Mar 3 

Mar 3 

11:59pm 

Mar 4 

11:59pm

8: Digital Identity 

Mon-Tues 

Chandler, Daniel. “Personal Home Pages and the Construction of Identities on the Web.” 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Mar 8 

Mar 8 

11:59pm 

Mar 9 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs  Affsprung, Daniel. “Narrative Identity and the Data Self.” 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Mar 10 

Mar 10 

11:59pm

Mar 11 

11:59pm 

9: Gaming and Streaming 

Mon-Tues 

NM Chapter 6: pg. 167 – 169 (until “Games History”) 

NM Chapter 6: pg. 181 – 191 (skip Case Study

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Mar 15 

Mar 15 

11:59pm 

Mar 16 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs  Hernandez, Patricia. “The Twitch Streamers Who Spend Years Broadcasting to No-one” 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Mar 17 

Mar 17 

11:59pm 

Mar 18 

11:59pm

    Reflection #3

Everyone uploads to Dropbox 

Mar 19  11:59pm 

10: Social Media Addiction and Privacy 

Mon-Tues 

Harris, “How Technology is Hijacking Your Mind — from a Magician and Google Design Ethicist” 

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Mar 22 

Mar 22 

11:59pm 

Mar 23 

11:59pm 

  Wed-Thurs  boyd, dana and Alice E. Marwick. “Networked Privacy: How Teenagers Negotiate Context in Social Media” (LEARN)

Section A answers Discussion Questions 

Section B responds to Section A 

Mar 24 

Mar 24 

11:59pm 

Mar 25 

11:59pm

11: Surveillance and Cancel Culture 

Mon-Tues 

Jonson, Ron. “How One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life” (TED Talk) 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Mar 29 

Mar 29 

11:59pm 

Mar 30 

11:59pm 

    NM Chapter 10: pg. 299-307 (read until “New Media Scholarship”) 

Section B answers Discussion Questions 

Section A responds to Section B 

Mar 31 

Mar 31 

11:59pm 

Apr 1 

11:59pm 

12: Final Writing Assignments   Read: “Top 10 Student Writing Mistakes”  Everyone uploads a Reflection to the Discussion Board    Apr 5 11:59pm 
    Common Errors Peer Review 

Everyone reviews one peer’s Reflection 

 

Apr 7 

11:59pm

    Common Errors Personal Review 

Everyone reviews their own Reflection 

 

Apr 12 

11:59pm 

   

Read: “Thesis Statements” and “What is a thesis?” (LEARN) 

Everyone   

Apr 14 

11:59pm 

    Thesis Statement 

Everyone uploads Thesis Statement to Dropbox 

 

Apr 16 

11:59pm 

    Final Reflection

Everyone uploads to Dropbox

 

Apr 21 

11:59pm

Email Policy, Questions and Virtual Office Hours 

Any questions you may have about the course, the assignments, the schedule, what group/section you are in, etc. can be posted under Connect Discussions Ask Me Anything. Before emailing me, please check this forum to see if someone else has already asked your question. Since some of you may have the same general questions, I would prefer to only respond once. 

If your question has not been answered in this forum and is of a more personal or specific nature, please feel free to email me. Keep in mind that email is fast, but not instant. I will read your emails and respond within 24 hours, but please do not ask me to explain an entire reading to you in order to help you answer the Discussion Questions. If you have a specific question about a reading, I’ll answer it, but please complete the reading first and then ask for clarification. 

I will also be available for individual virtual office hours every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2pm EST, should you want to communicate with me over Microsoft Teams. If those times don’t work for you, please email me and we can setup a time that works for both of us. 

Late Policy 

Given the online nature of this course and the fact that attendance cannot be recorded, the only way I can ensure you have done the readings and are keeping up with the course content is through your participation in the Group Discussions twice a week. If you miss a reading or miss your window to post your answer/response depending on your assigned Section, remember these are only worth 2% each. It would be better for you and your entire group if you focused on the next reading to ensure you don’t fall behind, so unfortunately, I cannot allow any extensions or make-ups for the weekly Group Discussions. 

If you are late uploading any of the Reflection Assignments, I deduct 3% for the first day and 5% for all days following, including weekends. This is so that you can take one extra day to make 

sure you are satisfied and totally finished with your work, without losing too much of your grade. 

Extensions 

Students who require extensions must email me at least 24 hours before the due date, and must provide a legitimate reason for the extension request. I unfortunately cannot grant extensions without some kind of proof that demonstrates a medical or family emergency. 

Students who regularly require extra time for assignments should register with Accessibility Services at the beginning of term, but must still request extensions from me. 

Academic Integrity

The Faculty of Arts requires that I make you aware of the following: “Students are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. Students who are unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who need help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about ‘rules’ for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Assistant Dean. 

For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Academic Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm

Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the right to grieve: refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm 

Turnitin.com: Text matching software (Turnitin®) may be used to screen assignments in this course. Turnitin® is used to verify that all materials and sources in assignments are documented. Students’ submissions are stored on a U.S. server, therefore students must be given an alternative (e.g., scaffolded assignment or annotated bibliography), if they are concerned about their privacy and/or security. Students will be given due notice, in the first week of the term and/or at the time assignment details are provided, about arrangements and alternatives for the use of Turnitin® in this course. It is the responsibility of the student to notify the instructor if they, in the first week of term or at the time assignment details are provided, wish to submit the alternate assignment. 

Note for Students with Disabilities 

The Office for Persons with Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall Room 1132, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for students with 

disabilities without compromising the academic integrity of the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the impact of your disability, please register with OPD at the beginning of each academic term. 

The Writing Centre 

The Writing Centre works across all faculties to help students clarify their ideas, develop their voices, and write in the style appropriate to their disciplines. Writing Centre staff offer one-onone support in planning assignments and presentations, using and documenting research, organizing and structuring papers, and revising for clarity and coherence. 

You can make multiple appointments throughout the term, or drop in at the Library for quick questions or feedback. To book a 50-minute appointment and to see drop-in hours, visit www.uwaterloo.ca/writing-centre. Group appointments for team-based projects, presentations, and papers are also available.