Comp 1506: Literacy, Technology, and Society
Instructor: Professor Thomas Farrell (e-mail address: <tfarrell@d.umn.edu>)
Office: H437 (enter through H420)
Office Hours: TBA; and by appointment.
Office Tel.: 726-7292 (please leave a message)
Home Tel.: 525-1940
Liberal Education Program. Literacy, Technology, and Society is a course in the Liberal Education Program in Category 7. In general courses in the Liberal Education Program are intended to add breadth to your education. More specifically, they are intended to promote certain educational objectives: (a) to encourage you to think critically about significant ideas; (b) to provide experience in learning analytic methods of interpretation and criticism; (c) to provide an awareness of historical intellectual traditions; and (d) to provide practice in written communication. This course in particular, Comp 1506, does deal with significant ideas, the critical methods for studying ancient texts, and the historical and cultural context of various texts. In addition, this course provides students with practice in written communication through the preparation sheets and through essay exams.
Student Accommodation. Students needing special accommodation are to see the instructor about this at the beginning of the semester. Test accommodation and other special services are to be requested through the Access Center.
Required Texts
(1) Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (2nd ed., 2002)
(2) Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
(3) Neil Postman, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
(4) Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (novel)
(5) Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward (novel)
(6) Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (novel)
(7) George Orwell, 1984 (novel)
(8) Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (novel)
(9) Chinua Achebe, No Longer at Ease (novel)
Components of Final Grade
(A) Preparation sheets: 60%
(B) Class participation: 20%
(C) Final exam: 20%
(A) The preparation sheets are to be word processed. Each one should have a cover page identifying the assigned reading and setting forth your name and the name of the course and the due date. The preparation sheets will be based on the reading assignments. As part of the preview of each reading assignment, I will distribute a handout setting forth the items that you are to respond to in the preparation sheets. There will usually be two or three items. Your responses are to give evidence that you have read the assigned reading and that you understand it well enough to summarize key points from it in your own words. If you think of a newspaper that has an editorial page, you are not writing an editorial or a position paper about something or other in the assigned reading. Instead, you are writing something more like a news report about what the author has said. In the case of the novels, you will be writing something more like a plot summary than something like an editorial or position paper, except that you will not usually be writing a summary of the entire plot but only of certain selected points.
(B) Class participation will include reading part of your preparation sheet aloud in class when you are called upon to do so. On those days when we are going over the items on the preparation sheets, I will try to call on a good number of people, and I do expect everybody to be prepared to speak (that is why the written assignments are called preparation sheets).
(C) The final exam will be a cumulative exam. You are responsible not only for the reading assignments but also for the instructor's presentations and for the films shown in the class. It will be an open-book exam, and you may use not only the books but also your class notes. Blue books will be supplied for the final exam.
Attendance Policy
The students are expected to attend every class session and be present at the scheduled final exam time. When students happen to miss a class, they are responsible for keeping up with the class. The absent student is expected to find out and keep up with new assignments for the next class, either by contacting the instructor or a classmate. All students are expected to be present at the scheduled beginning of the class period and to be present during the entire class period until the class is dismissed. A student who arrives late for class or who leaves early will be counted absent unless excused in advance by the instructor. If a student is marked absent from three regular class sessions, this will be grounds for failing the student in this course. Should illness lead to a third absence, the student will be expected to present a doctor's statement that he or she was unable to attend class because of illness. If something else should come up that would prevent a student from attending class and it would be the student's third absence, the student is expected to contact the teacher before the class meeting to discuss the situation.
Class Decorum
You are expected to maintain a certain level of decorum in class. You are expected to listen when someone else is speaking, and you are expected to raise your hand and wait until you are called upon by the instructor before speaking out. Only one person should be speaking at a time. You should not speak out unless the instructor calls upon you to speak. When you do speak in class, you are expected to maintain an appropriate level of expression and respect in the things that you say.
You should bring the appropriate book or books with you for each class. You should also bring a notebook with you and take notes in class. From time to time, I will discuss note-taking and try to indicate to you how to proceed to take notes during class.
You are not to be eating food during class meetings. Please do not bring food with you to class.
You may bring drinks to class, provided that they have caps on them that may be opened and then closed (or screwed off and then screwed back on). Please do NOT bring pop-top soda cans to class or cups of coffee that have plastic lids on them because those lids can come off too easily and the coffee will spill.
How to study for this course.
(i) Out-of-class work. When you read any assignment for this course, you should mark the book so that your markings can help you find particular points in the future. You will be expected to use the books during the final exam, so you need to mark material when you read them. For example, when you read a novel, you should mark the names of the characters as they appear in the various chapters. In addition, it would probably be worth marking highlights of notable actions. When you are reading a work on non-fiction, you should also mark significant points; perhaps you should also mark the names of people who seem to be important in whatever the author is saying.
(ii) In addition to reading the assigned selection for each week, you will be asked to write out and word process a preparation sheet about it. I plan to give instructions in class for the preparation sheets on Thursdays. At that time, I will hand out the items you will be expected to write about in the preparation sheet. Each word-processed preparation sheet is to be a minimum of 350 words in length, double spaced, but it should not exceed 450 words, double spaced. In short, one to two pages in length, double spaced. I do expect you to give some thought to how you craft your responses on the preparation sheets. You are to write in complete sentences. The sentences should be arranged in an order that shows some organization of the material, rather than just a hop-skip-and-jump from one point to another.
Tentative Schedule for Comp 1506 (Spring 2006)
Week 1:
Introductory lectures.
Film: Homer: Singer of Tales
Week 2:
Introductory lectures.
Film: Sign, Symbol, and Script
Film: The Trial of Socrates
Preview of Ong's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (pp. 1-76).
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 3:
Preparation sheets due on Ong's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (pp. 1-76).
Discussion of Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (pp. 1-76).
Preview of Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 4:
Preparation sheets due on Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
Discussion of Things Fall Apart.
Preview of Achebe's No Longer at Ease.
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 5:
Preparation sheets due on Achebe's No Longer at Ease.
Discussion of No Longer at Ease.
Preview of Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (pp. 3-80).
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 6:
Preparation sheets due on Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (pp. 3-80).
Discussion of Amusing Ourselves to Death (pp. 3-80).
Preview Ong's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (pp. 77-152).
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 7:
Preparation sheets due on Ong's Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (pp. 77-152).
Discussion of Orality and Literacy (pp. 77-152).
Preview of Bellamy's Looking Backward.
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 8 (the end of Week 8 is the last time when you may withdraw from a course without penalty):
Preparation sheets due on Bellamy's Looking Backward.
Discussion of Looking Backward.
Preview of Shelley's Frankenstein
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 9:
Preparation sheets due on Shelley's Frankenstein.
Discussion of Shelley's Frankenstein.
Preview of Postman's Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (pp. 3-106).
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 10:
Preparation sheets due on Postman's Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (pp. 3-106).
Discussion of Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (pp. 3-106).
Preview of Huxley's Brave New World.
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 11:
Preparation sheets due on Huxley's Brave New World.
Discussion of Brave New World.
Preview of Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (pp. 83-163).
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 12:
Preparation sheets due on Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death (pp. 83-163).
Discussion of Amusing Ourselves to Death (pp. 83-163).
Preview of Orwell's 1984.
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 13:
Preparation sheets due on Orwell's 1984.
Discussion of 1984.
Preview of Postman's Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (pp. 107-199).
Instructions for preparation sheets.
Week 14:
Preparation sheets due on Postman's Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (pp. 107-199).
Discussion of Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology (pp. 107-199).
Week 15:
Review for the final exam.
Final Exam Period: TBA.
Comp 1506: Literacy, Technology, and Society
Preparation sheet for Week 3 on Ong's Orality and Literacy, pp. 1-76.
1. Explain what Ong means by the orality of language. Explain your answer.
2. According to Ong, what was Milman Parry's discovery concerning the Iliad and the Odyssey? Explain your answer.
3. According to Ong, what are some characteristics of orally based thought and expression? Explain the points you mention.
Length: 350 to 450 words, double spaced. Use parenthetical documentation at the end of each sentence in which you are summarizing a new point from Ong, so that we could look at the page in question if we wanted to. Preparation sheets are to be word processed. Be sure to use the spelling-check program to check your spelling. Put a cover page on each preparation sheet; identify the assignment and then give your name and the name of the course and the due date on separate lines. Do not use headers on the pages of the preparation sheets.
Comp 1506: Literacy, Technology, and Society
Preparation sheet for Week 4 on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.
1. Who is Okonkwo? What are some highlights of his life? Describe in your own words some highlights of his life, including the end of his life. Approximate length: 300-350 words.
2. Below I have assigned certain characters in the novel to each of you. Explain who the character assigned to you is and what the character does in the story, preferably in chronological order. Approximate length: 100-150 words.
Unoka:
Nwoye:
Ikemefuna:
Ekwefi:
Ezinma:
Ojiugo:
Chielo:
Ogbuefi Ezeudu:
Obierika:
Mr. Brown:
Mr. Kiaga:
Mr. Smith:
The District Commissioner:
Comp 1506: Literacy, Technology, and Society
Preparation sheet for Week 5 on Chinua Achebe's No Longer at Ease.
1. Who is Obi Okonkwo? What are some highlights of his life? Describe in your own words some highlights of his life. Approximate length: 300-350 words.
2. Who is Clara Okeke? What are some highlights of her life? Describe some highlights in your own words. Approximate length: 100-150 words.
Preparation sheet for Week 6 on Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, pp. 3-80.
1. Postman writes about typographic America. What all does he mean by this term? What kinds of evidence does he present to support his use of this term? Explain the points that you mention.
2. Postman writes about the typographic mind. What all does he mean by this term? Explain the points that you mention.
Overall length: 350 to 450 words, approximately 175 to 225 words per item.
Preparation sheet for Week 7 on Ong’s Orality and Literacy, pp. 77-152.
1. In chapter four Ong covers a number of points concerning how writing helps restructure consciousness. Explain some of the key points he covers.
2. In chapter five Ong discusses print (printed books and the like). Explain some of the key points he makes concerning print.
3. In chapter six Ong surveys certain large trends concerning oral memory, story line, and characterization. Explain some of the key points he makes concerning these matters.
Overall length: 350-450 words. Approximately 150 words per item.
Preparation sheet for Week 8 on Bellamy's Looking Backward.
1. Who is Julian West? At the outset of the story, where and when is he living? What happens to him that enables him to be alive in the year 2000? Explain your answers. In other words, summarize the plot revolving around Julian West.
2. Explain how the industrial army is organized and how it works.
3. Explain the credit system for each person and how it works.
Overall length: 350-450 words. Approximately 150 words per item.
Preparation sheet for Week 9 on Shelley’s Frankenstein.
1. Who is Robert Walton, and how do we come to know him? In answering these questions, you should draw on material not only at the beginning of the book. What are some of the things that we learn about him? Length: 100 to 150 words. To be answered by everybody.
2. Who is Victor Frankenstein? How old is he and where is he when he makes the creature? Length: 100 to 150 words. To be answered by everybody.
3. The creature kills young William and helps frame the servant Justine for his death. Explain the circumstances involved in each of their deaths. Length: 100 to 150 words. To be answered by the following people:
4. Later the creature kills Henry Clerval and almost manages to frame Victor for Henry’s death. Explain who Henry is and when and how he dies. Explain how Victor is suspected of killing Henry but then freed of the charge. Length: 100 to 150 words. To be answered by the following people:
5. The creature next kills Elizabeth Lavenza. Explain who she is and when she dies. Length: 100 to 150 words. To be answered by the following people:
Preparation sheet for Week 10 on Postman’s Technopoly, pp. 3-106.
Postman says, “Cultures may be classified into three types: tool-using cultures, technocracy, and technopoly” (p. 22).
1. Explain what he means by tool-using cultures. Then explain how he sees the clock as an example of a tool in tool-using culture.
2. Explain what he means by technocracy. According to Postman’s way of thinking, what about technocracy, as he calls it, makes it different from tool-using culture?
3. Explain what he means by technopoly. According to his way of thinking, what about technopoly, as he calls it, makes it different from technocracy?
Overall length: 300 to 450 words. Approximately 150 words per item.
Preparation sheet for Week 11 on Huxley's Brave New World.
In the imaginary world in this novel, children are produced in Hatchery and Conditioning Centres. We learn about the one for Central London. Human foetuses are produced on an assembly-line in glass containers; instead of being born of a woman, children are decanted--that is, they are removed from the bottles in which they have matured. Then they receive social conditioning suitable to their class or caste in society (i.e., Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, Epsilons).
1. Explain the social conditioning the children receive and how it is supposed to work.
2. People in this world take soma. Explain how soma is supposed to work. Also explain the impact that different amounts of soma are supposed to have on people.
3. Below I have assigned certain characters in the novel to each of you. Explain who the character assigned to you is and what this character does in the story, preferably in chronological order.
Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning (D.H.C.; also known as Tomakin):
Mustapha Mond, a World Controller:
Bernard Marx:
Lenina Crowne:
Linda:
John the Savage:
Preparation sheet for Week 12 on Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, pp. 83-163.
You might want to reread chapter 5 concerning the telegraph and the photograph. On page 78, Postman says that television combines the instancy of the telegraph with the image of the photograph.
1. In Postman's view, television presents "news" as entertaining. Explain in detail what he means by this. Draw on points he makes on different pages, not just on points he makes on one page.
2. Postman says that "the commercial disdains exposition, for that takes time and invites argument" (p. 131). Explain in detail what he means by exposition; explain how it can be seen as inviting argument. Then drawing on various statements that Postman makes about commercials, explain how they proceed in his view; then explain how the way commercials proceed amounts to disdaining exposition.
Overall length: 350 to 450 words, double spaced.
Preparation sheet for Week 13 Orwell's 1984.
The story is set in 1984 in London, which is now part of Oceania, one of three superstates in the world. Oceania includes North America. The three superstates dropped atomic bombs on major industrial centers in the 1950's (see page 160). Even though they have not used atomic bombs since then, they have continued to engage in warfare with one another since then.
1. Explain what telescreens are and how they work.
2. Explain what the Inner Party, the Outer Party, and the proles are.
3. Below I have assigned certain characters in the novel to each of you. Explain who the character assigned to you is and what this character does in the story.
Winston Smith:
Julia:
O'Brien:
Big Brother and Emmanuel Goldstein:
Mr. and Mrs. Parsons:
Mr. Charrington:
Overall length: 350 to 450 words, double spaced; approximately 150 words per item.
Preparation sheet for Week 14 on Postman's Technopoly, pp. 107-199.
Answer three of the following items. Number your answers as the items are numbered here.
1. Explain Postman's reservations about medical technology.
2. Explain Postman's reservations about computer technology.
3. Explain what Postman means by “invisible technologies.”
4. Explain what Postman means by “scientism.”
5. Explain what Postman means by the great symbol drain. Explain why he is concerned about this alleged drain.
6. Explain what Postman means by “the loving resistance fighter.”
Overall length: 350 to 450 words; approximately 150 words per item.