HON 200: New Media & Contemporary War & Peace
MW 930-1045 and 1230-1345
“What the Net diminishes is…the ability to know, in depth, a subject for ourselves, to
construct within own minds the rich and idiosyncratic set of connections that give rise to
singular intelligence.” --Nicholas Carr, The Shallows, 143.
“No one reads War and Peace…it’s too long, and not so interesting.”
--Clay Shirky, NYU media studies scholar, Jul. 17 2008 online reply to Nicholas Carr
“We are the soldiers of the new millennium. / Our digital camouflage a testament to
changed times, / Our ranks filled with the lost generation of video-pacified children.”
--PFC Allen Caruselle, “Virtual Soldiers”
Professor: Rob Emmett
Email: emmettr@uwm.edu Tel.# 229-4658
Office Hours: MW 11:00-12:00, TR 11:00-13:00, and meetings by appointment
Office: Honors House 181
Course Description
In the essay “Some Reflections on War and Peace,” the Italian novelist and critic
Umberto Eco describes how online information networks and global cable news have
altered how countries conduct contemporary wars. New media, he argues, have produced
“neowars” by amplifying dissent and disseminating behind-the-lines perspectives,
including those of our enemies. Such reflections raise serious tactical and moral
questions, which require an analysis of new media in its cultural context: Just how have
new media changed the way we make war and peace in America?
This course asks you to think about the changing meaning of armed conflicts by
examining political and cultural theory, memoir, fiction, poetry, film, and especially
online media. We will read official, dissenting, autobiographical, and sensational
accounts of conflicts from the first Gulf War to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Through discussion and course readings, we will strive to understand these events in a
historical context and to develop a critical vocabulary, including concepts such as “media
literacy,” “just war,” “resource wars,” and of course the slippery term “new media.”
Course Expectations
Seminar Format: a lively, open discussion...
I enjoy talking with students about their ideas and ongoing writing projects. While
my office hours are posted above, I am also often in my office and welcome you to make
an appointment. I hope you will take pleasure in coming to class, feel comfortable
sharing your ideas, and contribute to an atmosphere that is both intellectually stimulating
and respectful of differing opinions. The quality of our seminar depends on everyone
being actively engaged in learning.
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A good seminar changes not just what you think, but also challenges how you think and
opens new paths for learning more about a subject and living a better life. Our face-toface discussions will drive the learning process, which continues outside of class in your
independent reading, writing, and research.
Expect to spend each meeting in one or several of a variety of activities, including small
group task-based work (including peer editing), full-class conversations, in-class
reflective writing, and an occasional reading comprehension quiz. Each of these activities
invites you to make your own engagement with the ideas and stories we are studying.
Hopefully, our discussions will also raise questions, challenge assumptions, and initiate
new lines of thought that you will be asked to explore in greater detail in your essays.
Preparing for Seminar: Posting Questions
Each student is required to post questions or a selection of text they would like us to
consider in class to the discussion thread on D2L. For full participation credit, you are
required to post questions at several points during the semester by 9 PM in the evening
prior to the day of seminar.
Commitment to Learning
In past semesters, Honors seminars have been my most enjoyable and productive
classes—I always learn a great deal from our discussions and your writing. I also expect
everyone to demonstrate a commitment to learning by coming to class prepared to engage
the readings, concepts, and each other’s challenging questions.
We all choose to be here. We have limited time to spend each week learning this
material. There is no place in an Honors seminar for disrespect or distractions that hinder
our learning. Students who are belligerent, fall sleep, or take cell phone calls and texts
during class will be invited to leave and be counted absent for that day. We will decide as
a class how to integrate technologies productively into seminar.
Reading for Seminar
The amount of reading fluctuates from week to week. You will be reading short works of
fiction and poetry, essays in political and social theory, as well as a variety of media
“texts” including emails, blogs, and personal narratives with audio and video recordings.
Reading closely usually requires taking efficient notes: use a dictionary or a good
reference encyclopedia to look up unfamiliar terms and write questions, underline,
highlight, or take parallel notes in a separate notebook or in computer files. You are
expected to bring the assigned text and your notes to class. Please buy the assigned
edition so that we can all refer to the same page numbers during discussion. Keep your
eye on the calendar of assignments and if necessary, read ahead to tackle the heavier
reading.
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Required Readings (books available at the University Book Store)
1. Course Reader The reader is available at Clark Graphics. You are responsible for
bringing a copy of the day’s reading with your notes to class.
2. Brian Turner, Here, Bullet. ISBN: 1-882295-55-2
3. Nicolas Carr, The Shallows. ISBN: 978-0-393-33975-8
4. Operation Homecoming, Ed. Andrew Carroll. ISBN: 0-226-09499-5
Writing Assignments
I distribute specific guidelines for each writing assignment at least one week prior to their
due date. I expect all work to be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font and turned in
at the beginning of class the day it is due. I will go over the specific formatting of the
three main essays when we talk about MLA citation and research paper format.
In general students should aim to demonstrate the following skills in each writing
assignment:
 an ability to identify and respond generously to relevant ideas in another’s work
 an ability to generate an interesting set of questions that help a reader understand
something that is not obvious about a text
 an ability to revise an essay to reach an audience of readers with diverse views
Managing Time
Learning concepts and practicing skills takes time—perhaps more time than most of us
are used to committing to a single class. I am mindful that Honors students work (often
several jobs), take many challenging courses, and have family obligations. That said, this
is an Honors course for 3 credit hours. In addition to the time spent in seminar, you
should expect to put in a good half hour a week on D2L reading and posting questions
before class. To complete the reading, writing, and re-writing will require between two to
six hours a week, though individual students may find they spend a good deal more time
on their major essays.
Grading
Your final grade is determined by combining the percentage grades that you earn for the
assignments below:
 Completing readings, preparing for discussions, and participating in seminar
(20% of final grade)
 Completing four out of five possible one page response papers during the
semester (20%)
 Writing three major essays (4-6 pages each), two of which can be revised for a
higher grade (60%)
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For the three major essays, you will receive a percentage grade on the basic plus/minus
scale. For smaller written assignments, you will receive a point grade out of ten. For the
final new media presentation, you will receive an individual grade and your group will
receive a grade, both out of ten.
A 93-100
C+ 78-79
A- 90-92
C 73-77
B+ 88-89
C- 70-72
B 83-87
D 60-70
B- 80-82
F <60
Course Calendar (subject to change)
Unit 1: The “Literary Ethic” and New Methods of Reading
Jan. 23
Embedded in New Media in a World at War
Reading: Watch all the videos and read the text associated with The
Guantanamobile Project, http://guantanamobile.org/vectors/
On D2L: login and read “guide to posting questions”
Jan. 25
NO CLASS: MEET IN WORKGROUPS AT DESIGNATED SITES
Reading: Malcolm Gladwell New Yorker essay in Course Reader
Complete field assignment #1: “Do you think we are at war right now?”
On D2L: post field assignment to discussion topic (due by Jan. 28)
Jan. 30
New/old media: print world’s model of close reading
Reading: Nicholas Carr, The Shallows, “Prologue” and chapter 1, “Hal
and Me,” 1-16 and chapter 4, “The Deepening Page,” 58-77.
BRING TO CLASS: Brian Turner’s Here, Bullet; we will discuss “A
Soldier’s Arabic” and other poems in section I, 5-20.
Feb. 1
Close Reading New Media: multimodal close reading?
Reading: Nicholas Carr, The Shallows, chapters 5 and 6, 81-114.
Feb. 6
Why do we go to war? Day I
Reading: Hedges’ “War is a Force that Gives us Meaning” in Reader
BRING TO CLASS: Brian Turner’s Here, Bullet
Feb. 8
Virtual Peacemaking
Reading: IVAW YouTube channel favorites, printed testimony in Reader
Complete Field assignment #2: critical readings of video posted to
class YouTube channel
Feb. 13
Reprinted and Edited Emails from Iraq and Afghanistan
Reading: Preface and Introduction to Operation Homecoming and the
reprinted (edited) emails: pp. 56-59, 68-73, 140-143, 174-8, 258-65.
Feb. 15
Essay One Workshop
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Feb. 20
Why do we go to war? Day II
Reading: Contemporary stories: Emails and personal narratives from
Operation Homecoming: pp. 97-107, 232-4, 310-312, 326-331
Unit 2: Neowars and New Media
Q2.1: What is new about contemporary wars?
Q2.2 How is contemporary warfare adapting to and with new media?
Q2.3 How are media adapting to warfare?
*Feb. 22
Coping with Information Overload
Readings: PFC Allen J. Caruselle, “The Virtual Soldiers,” Operation
Homecoming pp. 281-2; Nicholas Carr, “The Juggler’s Brain,” 115-143.
Feb. 27
Film screening of The Hurt Locker
Essay 1 due
Feb. 29
Discussing The Hurt Locker
Reading: spend at least an hour selecting and reading online archived
news coverage of 2003-2006 phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom (D2L)
Complete field assignment #3: “This is not a game…”
Mar. 5
Why do we go to war? Day III
Reading: Klare, “Resource Wars,” Reader
Mar. 7
Simulated and Virtual Wars
Reading: Wired magazine 1993 report on virtual warfare, Reader
Recommended: view “The Danger Room” on wired.com
Mar 12
Spectacle and “Fake” Wars
Reading: Baudrillard, “The Gulf War Did Not Take Place,” Reader
Mar. 14
“Here and there, peace breaks out…”
Reading: Eco’s “Some Reflections on War and Peace,” Reader
Mar. 18-25
Spring Break! Consider a refresh through unplugging; reconnect with
your five senses in the old creaturely world and find moments of peace
Mar. 26
Producing the War
Reading: Sylvester and Huffman, Introduction and “The “Most” War,”
Reader
Mar. 28
Power controls the flow of information: Embedded Journalism
Reading: Katovsky and Carlson, from Embedded, Reader
*Apr. 2
Virtual Bodies and Real Detentions: Bradley Manning in Cyberspace
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Essay 2 due
Unit 3: Using New Media to Create New Public Knowledge
*Apr. 4
Information Escapes Power: Blogging War and Peace
Readings: make your own selections from veteran and peace activist
websites and blogs (suggestions on D2L)
*Apr. 9
New Media Humanism
Reading: “Search, Memory,” in Carr, The Shallows, 177-197, and
“Afterword,” 225-228.
Complete field assignment #4: new media design groups visit
memorials to war and peace around Milwaukee
Apr. 11
Accessible Information ≠ Public Knowledge
Reading: Hedges “The Hijacking and Recovery of Memory,” Reader
Apr. 16
If Loose Lips Sank Ships, will Wikileaks Down Drones?
Readings: text of FOIA and your group’s selection of appropriate online
“leaks” (suggestions on D2L)
*Apr. 18
Public Memory after 9/11
Reading: Putnam, Reader
Apr. 23
Just War in Theory and Practice
Reading: Johnson “Just War” OR Walzer, “Just War and Terrorism,”
Reader
*Apr. 25
New Media Interventions into Just War Discourse
Reading: links on D2L “Just War” discussion
*Apr. 30
Meet in Groups: Design Workshop for New Media Presentations
May 2
Independent and alternative media
Readings: Schecter in Reader plus your selection from suggested sites
May 7
New Media Presentations
May 9
New Media Presentations
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