INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA THEORY AND MEDIA FICTION
Fall 2008
TTh 10:00-11:15 am
Callaway C101
Dr. Brian Croxall
brian.croxall@emory.edu
Callaway N313
Office Hours: TTh 1-3 pm
Digital Office Hours: MWF 4-5 pm or whenever I’m shown as available at http://bit.ly/OfficeHours
* I reserve the right to modify this syllabus.
Course Description
In the age of Google, iPhones, and the World of Warcraft, it may seem self-evident that, as Friedrich
Kittler claims, “media determine our situation.” But it was not until the middle of the twentieth century
that media began to be considered as important as the messages they conveyed. With this realization and
the continued development of the computer came more thinking about the importance of media in our
lives. How do media proliferate and become interconnected? How do media affect our perception of
political and cultural events? How can we best represent our experiences within different media? To what
extent does digital computing affect the media ecology in which we find ourselves today? About these
and related questions, a body of media theory has arisen. This course will introduce you to some of the
important texts in this field. At the same time we will consider both print and electronic literature—
including novels about the Internet, virtual reality, and gaming—that engage these questions. We will
consider how literature is determined by and at the same time extends the theories of media. Along the
way, you and I will do our own share of writing—both print and digital.
I will conduct this course as a seminar for English / Comp Lit majors (though there may be brief spates of
lecturing). I have high expectations for all class participants. I presume that you will complete the
reading in a timely manner (and I’m aware that there are a LOT of pages to be read) and that you will
contribute regularly to class discussions. Moreover, I expect students to use the library to find the
information that they need to understand the texts at a basic level. This course is a collaborative
enterprise; your enrollment in it is a commitment to engaging in that collaboration.
Goals




To become familiar and conversant with important concepts in media theory
To analyze contemporary American literature’s intersection with and response to media theory
To become more skilled writers through an engagement with writing as a continuing process
To collaborate as a class through the use of various social media
Texts
The required texts for this course are
 Jean Baudrillard, The Gulf War Did Not Take Place (ISBN: 978-0253210036)
 Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49 (ISBN: 978-0060931674)
 Rudy Rucker, The Hacker and the Ants (ISBN: 978-1568582474)
 Stuart Moulthrop, Victory Garden (ISBN: 978-1884511035)
 Charles Stross, Halting State (ISBN: 978-0441016075)
 Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves (ISBN: 978-0375703768)
 Jeanette Winterson, The.PowerBook (ISBN: 978-0375725050)
There are also a number of optional texts for this course. We will not read the entire text but in some
cases we will be reading a significant portion. You may choose to either buy the books in the Emory
bookstore or to print off the portions that are on Reserves Direct. You are required to bring a hard copy
of these texts to class with you on the day that we will discuss them. The optional texts are
 Marshall McLuhan, The Essential McLuhan (ISBN: 978-0465019953)
 Jay David Bolter & Richard Grusin, Remediation (ISBN: 0-262-52279-9), will arrive late
 Paul Virilio, Desert Screen (ISBN: 978-0826479341)
 N. Katherine Hayles, Writing Machines (ISBN: 978-0262582155)
Finally, there are a number of texts that are only available from Reserves Direct or online. Again, the
reserve readings are required and must be printed off.
Course Requirements
Attendance: This is a class based on collaborative discourse. Students should come prepared to discuss
assigned readings. You will be allowed 3 absences without grade reduction; if you must miss a class, you
are responsible for obtaining the relevant notes and information from your classmates. If you are absent
more than three times your final grade will drop one level (if you have a B, it will become a B-). You
should definitely not miss class when your group will be in charge of Crowdsourcing the class notes.
Papers: 1 short (5-6 pages) paper
1 long (8-10 pages) research paper
1 annotated bibliography on the unit of your choice.
For each theoretical article, a summary and response (1-2 pages)
Digital Assignments:
Crowdsourced Class Notes
PMOG
Twitter
Grading: Grades will be calculated on a 1000-point scale as follows:
Short Paper: 150
Long Paper: 250
Annotated Bibliography: 150
Article Summaries: 100
Crowdsourced Class Notes: 150
PMOG: 50
Twitter: 50
Participation: 100
Points will translate into grades as follows:
1000-925 A
924-900 A899-875 B+
874-825 B
824-800 B799-775 C+
774-725 C
724-700 C699-675 D+
674-625 D
624-600 D<600 F
Assignment Policies
1. Papers must be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins
and must be in MLA standard style format (excerpts from the MLA Handbook 6th ed. are
available on reserve).
2. If you are absent the day a paper is due it is still your responsibility to turn in that paper before
class. Late work will not be accepted, except at my discretion (with a grading penalty).
Assignment deadlines are not flexible.
3. You may not turn in work to me that you originally completed for another course. Should you
wish to draw on a paper that you have written or are currently writing for another course, please
discuss the matter with me.
Plagiarism: For over half a century, academic integrity has been maintained on the Emory Campus
through the student initiated and regulated Honor Code. Every student who applies to and is accepted by
Emory College, as a condition of acceptance, agrees to abide by the provisions of the Honor Code so long
as he or she remains a student at Emory College. By his or her continued attendance at Emory College, a
student reaffirms his or her pledge to adhere to the provisions of the Honor Code. Plagiarism is a serious
offense and will be treated as such by both the University and myself. While we will be using other
people’s work in our research papers, there is a fundamental difference between drawing on those sources
and documenting them appropriately, and representing them as your own. The Honor Code is also
detailed at http://www.college.emory.edu/current/standards/honor_code.html.
Students with Disabilities: Any student who, because of a disability or any other circumstance, may
require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should let the professor know and
should register with the Office of Disability Services: http://www.ods.emory.edu/.
Counseling Services: Free and confidential counseling services are available from the Emory Counseling
Center (404-727-7450): http://studenthealth.emory.edu/cs/index.php.
Writing Center: The Writing Center is an excellent resource for writers of all skill levels. It offers
assistance with all aspects of writing, including brainstorming, organization, thesis formation, style,
wording, and revision. I strongly encourage each of you to schedule a meeting at the Writing Center at
least once this semester. It is a good idea to secure appointments as far in advance as possible, especially
towards the end of the semester, when the Writing Center is busiest. The Writing Center is located in the
Callaway N212, and its website is http://writingcenter.emory.edu.
Schedule
Complete all assigned reading before coming to class. Please keep in mind that all reading assignments
are subject to change. All page numbers refer to the editions/ISBNs that I have ordered. For some
readings, you will download and print the text through the Reserves Direct system, indicated by RD.
Aug 28. Th
First Day of Class
Introductions, Syllabus
--------------------Unit 1: Understanding Media
Sep. 2 T
McLuhan, excerpts from Gutenberg Galaxy in Essential McLuhan (RD)
Read the 11 sections that start on the following pages: 113; 117; 119; 121; 127;
128; 131; 137; 139; 142; 144
Sep. 4 Th
McLuhan, excerpts from Understanding Media in Essential McLuhan (RD)
“Introduction” and “The Medium is the Message,” 149-161 (RD)
“The Gadget Lover: Narcissus as Narcosis” (RD only)
“Hybrid Energy,” 174-179 (RD)
“Is It Natural…,” 180-182 (RD)
Sep. 5 F
Last day of Add/Drop/Swap
--------------------Sep. 9 T
Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, 1-63
Sep. 11 Th
The Crying of Lot 49, 63-end
--------------------Sep. 16 T
Rucker, The Hacker and the Ants, 1-103
Sep. 18 Th
The Hacker and the Ants, 104-190
--------------------Sep. 23 T
The Hacker and the Ants, 191-308
Unit 2: The Desert of the Real
Sep. 25 Th
Baudrillard, The Gulf War Did Not Happen
“The Gulf War will not take place,” pages 23-28
“The Gulf War: is it really taking place,” out of a total of 38 sections, read the
following: 1-4, 6-7, 12-16, 20-21, 23, 25-26, 28, 32, 35, 38
“The Gulf War did not take place,” out of a total of 23 sections, read the
following: 1, 8, 17-18, 21, 23
--------------------Sep. 30 T
Virilio, excerpts from Desert Screen (RD)
“The Squared Horizon,” 16-20
“Interview,” 31-34
Stuart Moulthrop, Victory Garden, reading highlights TBA (read an hour)
Oct. 2 Th
Victory Garden, reading highlights TBA (read for at least an hour)
--------------------Oct. 7 T
Victory Garden, (read for at least an hour)
Rose, “Secret Websites, Coded Messages” (RD)
Start playing PMOG
Short Paper Due
--------------------Oct. 14 T
Fall break
Oct. 9 Th
Oct. 16 Th
Charles Stross, Halting State, 1-98
--------------------Oct. 21 T
Halting State, 99-212
Oct. 23 Th
Halting State, 213-324
--------------------Oct. 28 T
Moulthrop, “From Work to Play” (RD)
Jane McGonigal, “Why I Love Bees” (RD)
Unit 3: Remediation and Media-Specific Analysis
Oct. 30 Th
House of Leaves, front cover - 24 (Read all material: prefatory, cover, appendixes,
footnotes, exhibits as you come to them)
--------------------Nov. 4 T
House of Leaves, 24-79 (don’t miss the footnote on p. 72 that asks you to read a
large chunk of the appendix, 584-644)
Election Day! Go vote!
Nov. 6 Th
Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin, excerpts from Remediation (RD)
“Introduction,” 2-15
“Immediacy, Hypermediacy, and Remediation” 21-50
“Mediation and Remediation,” 53-62
“Digital Photography,” 105-112
--------------------Nov. 11 T
House of Leaves, 80-245
Nov. 13 Th Winterson, The.PowerBook, 1-141
--------------------Nov. 18 T
Jacques Derrida, “The Book to Come” (RD)
N. Katherine Hayles, excerpt from Writing Machines (RD)
“Material Metaphors , Technotexts, and Media-Specific Analysis,” 18-33
Nov. 20 Th The.PowerBook, 143-end
--------------------Nov. 25 T
House of Leaves, 246-346
Nov. 27 Th Thanksgiving Break
--------------------Dec. 2 T
House of Leaves, 347-422
Dec. 4 Th
House of Leaves, 423-528
--------------------Dec. 9 T
House of Leaves, catch-up
Course Overview and Conclusions
Dec. 15 M
Research Paper Due by Midnight to brian.croxall@emory.edu
---------------------