THR, 7:00 – 9:50 p.m.
McIver 139A
McIver 231
Instructor:
Ted Savides
E-Mail:
savidet@labcorp.com
tcmbsavides@msn.com
Phone:
(336) 436-8246
(on week days)
(336) 437-1884 (after 4 p.m. on week days, and on
weekends)
Office
Hours:
By arrangement.
This course has a strong interdisciplinary
emphasis: We will survey the broad and vital field of cognition studies,
examining the parts that both computer technology and the humanities play
within those studies. Having established this context, we will go on to explore
how the theory and application of computer technology relate to the study of
language, rhetoric, composition and literature, and reflect upon ethical,
social, and philosophical issues raised by such technologies.
At the conclusion of
this course, you should:
·
Have an understanding of
the part the humanities play in the history and ongoing research involved with
cognitive studies and computers.
·
Have ideas for applying
findings from cognitive and computer research to your own scholarly activities.
·
Have ideas for applying
findings from cognitive and computer research to your own pedagogic activities.
·
Have experience in planning
and conducting a panel discussion.
·
Have developed a web
site for professional promotion and activity.
The Mind’s New Science – Gardner.
Cybernetics
– Wiener.
The Computer and the Brain – von Neumann.
Godel, Escher, Bach – Hofstadter.
Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st Century
Technologies - Hawisher & Selfe.
Macromedia Dreamweaver for Windows & Macintosh – Towers.
I will base each student’s
course grade upon his or her performance on the following tasks and
responsibilities. The weight that a requirement holds in my determination of
each student’s final grade appears in (bolded
parenthetical text).
1. Weekly
attendance.
ü
Class starts at
7:00 p.m. sharp. Any student who is more than ten minutes late for any given
class - and does not have a valid excuse - will be marked absent for that day.
ü
Students are
allowed one unexcused class absence for the semester. Additional absences will
result in the student’s final grade being lowered ½ grade per additional absence.
2. Commitment
to the seminar process (30%).
I evaluate student participation by the following
criteria:
ü
The degree of
energy & enthusiasm with which the student participates in the seminar
process.
ü
The degree to
which a student actively, openly, and supportively listens to the ideas of his
or her colleagues.
ü
The degree to
which a student avoids behavior that bullies, alienates, or silences other
seminar participants.
I expect that you will keep up with assigned readings,
and come to class ready to participate. Consequently, be prepared for me to
call on you during class discussions.
3. Weekly
response paper & question for discussion (30%).
ü
I expect each of
you to submit a paper that responds in some way to the previous week’s
readings.
ü
This paper should
be 2-3 three typed & double-spaced pages long.
ü
Along with the
response paper, I want each of you to submit at least one question, relative to
the previous week’s readings, that you want the class to discuss.
4. A web page
(15%).
I expect that each of you will develop a web page that
contains the following:
ü
A link to the
student’s curriculum vita.
ü
A link to a list
of the student’s publications-to-date.
ü
A link to a list
of the student’s conference presentations to date.
ü
A link to a list
& description of the student’s research interests.
ü
An attractive,
professional site format.
ü
Presentation of
your site to the class on a prearranged class day.
5. Panel
discussion (15%).
ü
I expect that
each of you will work with three or four colleagues to examine one of the four
sections in Passions, Pedagogies, and 21st
Century Technologies.
ü
I encourage you
to use a variety of theoretical and pedagogical approaches (even within the
same panel).
ü
Two hours of
class time will be allotted for your panel & any ancillary activities that
you may have planned for the class.
ü
Panel
participants will be evaluated according to the criteria described under
“Commitment to the seminar process”.
6. Comprehensive
final exam (10%).
ü
The exam will be
open book & note. Otherwise, it will be analogous to the “Comp” exam that
English graduate students at UNCG take.
ü
You will be given
the opportunity to suggest exam questions two weeks before the exam.
ü
The exam will
consist of five questions. You will be asked to write on two of them.
I will evaluate your answers according one or both of
the following criteria (depending on the question being answered):
ü
Demonstration
that you have a general understanding of the ideas that we studied and
discussed during the semester.
ü
Demonstration of
interdisciplinarity - relating ideas studied during the semester with your own
scholarly and pedagogical concerns.
January
16 Introductions.
23 Gardner, Chapters 1 – 5.
30 Gardner, Chapters 6 – 9.
February
06 Gardner, Chapters 10 -14.
13 Wiener.
20 von Neumann.
27 Hofstadter, chapters Intro. – 4.
March
06 Hofstadter, chapters 5 – 9.
13 Spring Break.
20 Hofstadter, chapters 10 – 14.
27 Hofstadter, chapters 15 – 18.
April
03 Hofstadter, chapters 19 – 20.
10 Hawisher & Selfe, Intro. and Part 1.
Panel discussion #1.
Web page presentations.
17 Hawisher & Selfe, Part 2.
Panel discussion #2.
Web page presentations.
24 Hawisher & Selfe, Part 3.
Panel discussion #3.
Web page presentations.
May
01 Hawisher & Selfe, Part 4.
Panel discussion #4.
Web page presentations.
Turn in suggested final exam question (optional).
08 No class.
13 Final exam.