ENGL 108D S22 Fernandez

English 108D – Digital Lives (Spring 2022, Section 005)

Territorial Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River.

Instructor: Dr. Stephen Fernandez

Email: sffernandez@uwaterloo.ca

Office Hours: Thursday 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, and by appointment (By Email or Zoom)

Lecture: REMOTE – No Live Synchronous Sessions; Classes Will Take Place Asynchronously on LEARN

  1. Course Description

    This course explores the ways in which social media and other digital media objects can influence our communities as well as how we represent ourselves and others through digital communication. What do we mean by “digital lives”? How are “digital lives” different from biological conceptions of “life”? In seeking a broader definition of “lives”, we will examine the rendering of both human and nonhuman lives in digital environments and the seemingly ubiquitous digitization of everyday experiences in the real (i.e., physical) world. Students taking this course will get to study the complexities of online and participatory cultures and to reflect on their place and practices within those cultures. To facilitate our exploration, we will consider the following questions as the term unfolds:

    How do digital media technologies affect interpersonal interactions and relationships?

    How might the incorporation of digital media technologies into fields of education, commerce, and healthcare influence the ways in which humans learn, work, play, live, and care for others?

    In what ways do digital media technologies and the cultural content produced with these technologies impact the accessibility and inclusivity of public spaces online and in real life, particularly for persons with disabilities and people living with mental illness?

    The course will include a variety of readings on cybercultures, new media, and digital communication, and students will also be offered the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge through the development of original creative projects.

  2. Learning Objectives

    By the end of this course, students will be able to demonstrate some of the following skills:

    • Analyze and interpret practices of self-presentation and the socio-cultural implications of participatory cultures in digital communication.

    • Speak and write confidently and knowledgeably about digital media, civic life online, and the rendering of human and nonhuman forms of life in digital environments.

    • Conduct effective research and analysis in the style of academic writing and through the development of creative, speculative, or applied projects.

  3. Mode of Course Delivery

    The course will be delivered fully online through LEARN. The assigned readings (journal articles and book chapters) for each week of class are available within the content modules of the LEARN course site. Note that the relevant lecture slides and the video recordings of lectures will be posted to the LEARN site by the Monday of each week. You may review the slides and the recordings at your own pace and draw insights from these materials to facilitate the completion of the assignments for the course.

    Note that there will be no live synchronous sessions in this course. Instead, all activities in the course will take place asynchronously. If you need to discuss your ideas for any assignment, or if you have any questions or concerns about the course content, you should contact the instructor via email.

  4. Virtual Office Hours

    The instructor will hold virtual office hours on Thursdays, between 10:30am and 12:30pm. The office hours will be conducted either by email or via the Zoom portal (appointment required). Email will be the more direct way of communication, whereas the Zoom route will need to be pre-arranged.

    You are encouraged to use email to contact the instructor, as it is a more convenient channel to discuss any issue pertaining to the course content or assignment. However, if you would like to discuss any course-related issue through the Zoom portal, you should contact the instructor by email to set up an appointment and reserve a timeslot for the virtual office hours on Thursdays.

  5. Communication Policy

    As email will be our primary channel of communication in this course, I will endeavour to respond to your message within 24 hours on weekdays (i.e., Monday to Friday).

    Any message that arrives on a weekend will be attended to on the next available week day, provided that the week day is not a designated university holiday or a government-approved public holiday.

    Note that I will not respond to messages with ambiguous subject lines, such as “What did I miss?”. As young adults, you are expected to adopt a professional tone when crafting your messages. Think carefully about the content of your messages before sending them. Any disrespectful message that contains derogatory or discriminatory content will be reported to the Chair of the English department.

  6. Course Readings (Available on LEARN)

    Coleman, Beth. “What is an Avatar?” Hello Avatar: Rise of the Networked Generation.

    Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011. 1-10.

    CCA Journalism Interest Group Report. “Women and Selfie Culture.” 2015.

    Goggin, Gerard and Christopher Newell. “The Business of Digital Disability.” The Information Society: An International Journal 23.3 (2007): 159-168.

    Karches, Kyle E. “Against the iDoctor: Why Artificial Intelligence Should Not Replace Physician Judgment.” Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 39 (2018): 91-110.

    Salter, Anastasia. “Virtually Yours: Desire and Fulfillment in Virtual Worlds.” The Journal of Popular Culture 44.5 (2011): 1120-113

    Senft, Theresa M. and Nancy K. Baym “What Does the Selfie Say? Investigating a Global Phenomenon.” International Journal of Communication 9 (2015): 1588-1606.

    Turkle, Sherry. “Always-on/Always-on-you: The Tethered Self.” Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies. Ed. James E. Katz. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008.

    Reference Text

    Bugeja, Michael J. Interpersonal Divide in the Age of the Machine. 2nd ed. Oxford and New York, 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-269-3_4

    •  Loanable Copy Available at Wilfrid Laurier University Library (Call No.: HM846.B84 2018)

    • NOTE: There is NO TEXTBOOK for this course. Students are not required to purchase the reference text. The weekly lectures will cover relevant content drawn from chapters within the reference text. In addition to the information provided in the lecture slides/notes, students may choose to refer to the text for personal enrichment.

  7. Accommodation for Students with Disabilities

Note for students with disabilities: The AccessAbility Services office 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 the AccessAbility Services office at the beginning of each academic term. Email Contact: access@uwaterloo.ca

If you would like to discuss your specific learning needs in person, please let me know at your earliest convenience. If you require any course material in an alternative format, feel free to let me know. You can get in touch with me by email.

8. 

Evaluation and Assignments Weight  Due 

Participation (10 discussion posts on LEARN Forum)

10%

Due: JULY 29on LEARN Forum

Selfie Essay (Individual Work – 1000 words)

25%

Due: JUNE 23, 11:59PMon LEARN

Major Project (65%)

    

 Proposal and Timeline (Group Work)

5%

Due: JUNE 2, 11:59PMon LEARN

 Three -Minute Video (Group Work)

30%

Due: JULY 21, 11:59PMon LEARN

 Video Development Blog

(Individual Work – TWO 250-word Blog Posts)

15%

Due: JULY 21, 11:59PMon LEARN

 Reflection Paper (Individual Work – 500 words)

15%

Due: JULY 28, 11:59PMon LEARN

** NOTE: Please refer to the specific documents on LEARN that contain detailed instructions for the Selfie Essay assignment and the Major Project (with four separate components). The two documents (one for the Selfie Essay and one for the Major Project) can be found in the COURSE SYLLABUS module of the LEARN course site for ENGL108D.

Late Assignment Penalty

Late assignments will incur a 5% grade deductionfor every day beyond the official due date.

Note 7 weeks in-between

If you require an extension on any individual-based assignment, please inform the instructor BEFOREthe date on which that assignment is due. Official documentation is required for any extension request.

Please note that the due date for group-based assignments cannot be extended.

The FINAL DUE DATE for ALL ASSIGNMENTS is: Monday, August 8, 2022, by 11:59PM.

No assignment will be accepted after August 8, 2022.

The instructor reserves the right to solicit official documentation from any student who seeks an extension on an assignment as well as the right to refuse such requests at the instructor’s discretion.

Automatic Assignment of Groups for Major Project

Due to the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic and the asynchronous format of this remote-learning course, the Major Project groups comprising of four (4) students each will be automatically assigned. The assignment of group members will proceed alphabetically. No changes will be permitted.

Rules for Group Participation in the Major Project

All students participating in the completion of the group-based components of the Major Project must observe the following rules in order to satisfy the group-work requirement in the course.

  • All members in the group must actively participate in the completion of the group-based components of the Major Project.Late Assignment Penalty
  • All members in the group are expected to foster and maintain a culture of respect towards other members in the same group.
  • In the event of disputes among members of the group, it is the responsibility of all group members to contact the instructor as soon as possible to discuss the issue at hand. As a responsible adult, each student is expected to handle potential conflicts in a mature manner. Any statement or action that is deemed disrespectful or derogatory towards another person will be referred to the Chair of the Department for disciplinary action.

Special Notes

  1. Special Note on Participation

    The Participation Grade for this course is set at 10%.

    Each week, you are expected to post responses to the weekly course readings (e.g., journal articles and book chapters) on the Discussion Forum on LEARN. The length of each response is 100 words, even though you may choose to write a longer response.

    Each response is worth 1.0%. By the end of term, you must post a total of 10 responsesto the Discussion Forum, with one response for each week’s readings. You must ensure that each response is posted to the appropriate discussion thread.

    The final date to post all 10 responses to the Discussion Forum is: July 29, 2022, by 11:59PM.

    In addition to the weekly responses, you will be evaluated on your level of participation in all assignments and activities, as assessed by the instructor. You are expected to review the course materials for each week of class and to complete all assignments and activities in a timely manner.

  2. Special Note on Mental Health and Wellbeing

    If you encounter any issue pertaining to mental health and wellbeing, please feel free to contact me via email to discuss the issue. You may also contact me in person during regular office hours, or arrange an appointment to discuss the matter privately. You can be assured that all discussions are strictly confidential, and your privacy will be fully protected.

    If you require professional counselling and psychological services, or other forms of mental health programs, please visit the UWaterloo Counselling Services office in Needles Hall North, 2nd Floor, or visit their website: https://uwaterloo.ca/campus-wellness/counselling-services

    You can also contact Counselling Services by phone at: 519-888-4567 ext. 32655

  3. Special Note on Basic Needs

    Access to the basic needs of life is a crucial aspect of overall wellbeing for any person. Proper nourishment is vital for good physical, cognitive, and mental functioning. If you encounter any trouble accessing such basic needs as food and clean water, please visit the FEDS Office’s Student Food Bank website: https://uwaterloo.ca/feds/feds-services/feds-student-food-bank

    You can also visit the FEDS Office at the basement of the Student Life Centre (SLC), or contact the office by phone at: 519-888-4568 ext. 84042, or by email at: recept@feds.ca

  4. Course Schedule

    Week

    Topics

    Readings and Assignments

    1

    Course Introduction/Syllabus Review &

    What do we mean by “Digital Lives”?

    Lecture Slides on LEARN

    2

    Digital Lives and the Sense of (Not) Belonging

    Bugeja, “Introduction: The Need to Belong” (pp.1-18)

    3

    “Real” Reality and “Virtual” Reality: Reflecting on Digital Technology and the Mass Media

    Bugeja, “Chapter 1: The Impact of Media and Technology” (pp.19-43)

    4

    Selfie Week:

    What about Selfies? Communicating Selfie Culture

    Senft and Baym, “What Does the Selfie Say”

    &

    CCA Journalism Interest Group Report, “Women and Selfie Culture”

    5

    The (Im)Possibility of Digital Ethics: Competing Values in the Age of Techno-Culture

    JUNE 2, 11:59PM:

    *** Major Project Proposal DUE on LEARN ***

    Bugeja, “Chapter 2: The Age of the Machine” (pp.44-63) (add “Tech for Good” manifesto)

    6

    Tiny Nodes in the Informational Network: Locating Digital Lives in the Sea of Big Data

    Bugeja, “Chapter 3: Big Data, Little People”

    (pp.64-82)

    7

    Digital Technology, Access, and Digital Disability

    Goggin and Newell, “The Business of Digital Disability”

    8

    Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health Care

    JUNE 23, 11:59PM:

    *** Selfie Essay DUE on LEARN ***

    Karches, “Against the iDoctor: Why Artificial Intelligence Should Not Replace Physician Judgment”

    9

    Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Emotion

    Bugeja, “Chapter 7: Machine versus Moral Code” (pp.133- 152).

    10

    Artificial Community and Digital Morality

    Bugeja, “Chapter 7: Machine versus Moral Code” (pp.133- 152).

    11

    Avatars and Digital Environments

    Beth Coleman, “What is an Avatar?” in Hello Avatar
    12

    Digitally in Love: Representing Gender, Sexualities, and Desire in the Online World

    JULY 21, 11:59PM:

    Video Project Due on LEARN &

    Video Development Blog (as PDF document) Due on LEARN 

    		 Anastasia Salter, “Virtually Yours”
    13

    JULY 28, 11:59PM:

    Reflection Paper Due on LEARN 

    		  

  5. Intellectual Property Statement

    Students should be aware that this course contains the intellectual property of their instructor and the University of Waterloo.

    Intellectual property includes items such as:

    Course materials and the intellectual property contained therein, are used to enhance a student’s educational experience. However, sharing this intellectual property without the intellectual property owner’s permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. For this reason, it is necessary to ask the instructor or the University of Waterloo for permission before uploading and sharing the intellectual property of others online (e.g., to an online repository).

    Permission from an instructor or the University is also necessary before sharing the intellectual property of others from completed courses with students taking the same/similar courses in subsequent terms/years. In many cases, instructors might be happy to allow distribution of certain materials.

    However, doing so without expressed permission is considered a violation of intellectual property rights. Please alert the instructor if you become aware of intellectual property belonging to others (past or present) circulating, either through the student body or online. The intellectual property rights owner deserves to know (and may have already given their consent).

    • Lecture content, spoken and written (and any audio/video recording thereof);

    • Lecture handouts, presentations, and other materials prepared for the course (e.g., PowerPoint slides);

    • Questions or solution sets from various types of assessments (e.g., assignments, quizzes, tests, final exams); and

    • Work protected by copyright (e.g., any work authored by the instructor or used by the instructor with permission of the copyright owner).

  6. Academic Freedom at the University of Waterloo

    Policy 33, Ethical Behaviour states, as one of its general principles (Section 1), “The University supports academic freedom for all members of the University community. Academic freedom carries with it the duty to use that freedom in a manner consistent with the scholarly obligation to base teaching and research on an honest and ethical quest for knowledge. In the context of this policy, 'academic freedom' refers to academic activities, including teaching and scholarship, as is articulated in the principles set out in the Memorandum of Agreement between the FAUW and the University of Waterloo, 1998 (Article 6). The academic environment which fosters free debate may from time to time include the presentation or discussion of unpopular opinions or controversial material. Such material shall be dealt with as openly, respectfully and sensitively as possible.” This definition is repeated in Policies 70 and 71, and in the Memorandum of Agreement, Section 6.

  7. University Policies

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of

Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

See UWaterloo Academic Integrity webpage: https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/

& Arts Academic Integrity webpage: https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/current-undergraduates/student- support/ethical-behaviour for more information.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs 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 Associate Dean.

When misconduct has been found to have occurred within the context of the course, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 – Student Discipline. https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat-general-counsel/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-71

For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties: https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat- general-counsel/policies-procedures-guidelines/guidelines/guidelines-assessment-penalties

Grievance

A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of his/her university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 – Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4: https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat-general-counsel/policies-procedures- guidelines/policy-70

Appeals

A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes he/she has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat-general-counsel/policies-procedures-guidelines/policy-72 http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.html

Writing Help at the UW Writing Centre

The Writing Centre works across all faculties to help students clarify their ideas, develop their voices, and communicate in the style appropriate to their disciplines. Writing Centre staff offer one-on-one support in planning assignments, using and documenting research, organizing papers and reports, designing presentations and e-portfolios, 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 http://www.uwaterloo.ca/writing-centre

Additional Note on Writing Support

The Communication Specialists at the Writing Centre will guide you to see your work as readers would. The Specialists can teach you revising skills and strategies, but will not change or correct your work for you. Please bring hard copies of your assignment instructions and any notes or drafts to your appointment.