Syllabus

HU6xxx: Rhetoric of Music in Video Games

Summer 2012 TBA

Walker Arts and Humanities

Course Webspace: http://rhetoricmusicvideogames.wikia.com/

CONTACT INFORMATION

Assistant Professor: Wendy K. Z. Anderson

Office: 326 Walker Arts and Humanities Center Phone: 487.3240 Email: wkzander@mtu.edu (this is the best way to reach me)

Office Hours: by appt I am open to discussing matters pertaining to the course, readings, and your writing; please feel free to contact me via email or phone as well as in person.

Calendar online: Calendar is tentative and subject to change. Please check on-line calendar for latest changes. Any hard copy may be obsolete, so be sure to bring it with you to each class to record all changes.

Description: This seminar will define and historicize digital media from a variety of perspectives, investigating forms and examples of digital media as well as theories that underlie and emerge from these forms. Theory about and forms of new and digital media will provide students with a foundation to create a digital media production for submission to an academic online journal.

Required Texts: There are two required books for the course:

Persuasive Games (Bogost)

TBA

http://www.powells.com/ http://www.half.ebay.com/ http://www.amazon.com/

Recommended Texts: Course Expectations: In order to accomplish the course goals, you must come to each class prepared. This means coming to class on time, as well as completing your readings and outside assignments. Active and informed participation in online work is also crucial. In terms of writing assignments, regular blog post entries (fifty points), one seminar project proposal (ten points), and one semester project (forty points). Late assignments will only be accepted with the prior specific permission of the instructor and will be penalized 10% for every calendar day late. Note about Incompletes: The mark of ‘I’ is inappropriate if, in the instructor’s judgment, it will be necessary for the student regularly to attend subsequent sessions of the class. I will give an Incomplete only in cases of extreme emergency.

Class Participation & Assignments: Participation is one of the most important components to the success of the course. All reading and outside assignments are to be completed prior to class. This means reading carefully and critically, bringing materials to class, and coming prepared to engage with the ideas and your class.

In terms of minor assignments, you are expected to comment twice a week on blog posts over the semester and prepare to presentations in response to the readings and class discussion. I expect you to post a weblog entry for each reading assigned in class, whether or not you choose to attend the in-class session. To receive a B on the weblog portion of your grade, your entries must be complete and posted in a timely fashion. To receive an A your entries must also be well written with strong evidence for support. Also each student is required to prepare two 15-20 minute presentation based upon two class sessions during the semester. This presentation can be a response based solely upon what is covered in the course or course texts and specific areas of interest (i.e. defining digital media to clarify the use of digital media by President Obama).

In terms of a major assignment, you will be expected to produce a proposal for and a seminar paper to be submitted to a rhetorical journal. The professor must approve a proposal on time to ensure the final project is acceptable. The production must engage concepts from class concerning the rhetoric of music in video games.

Attendance: Attendance is welcomed, expected, and mandatory. To best utilize our time, come to class on time. You are considered absent if 1) you are more than 15 minutes late and/or 2) you are unprepared for class. There will be regular in-class work to record your attendance and preparation for class. You may miss two (2) sessions without penalty. For every class after the these two, I will lower your final grade by five points. After two absences you must attend a conference with me to discuss whether you should continue in this course. Four absences constitute automatic failure of the course.

Conferences and Contact: I am open to discussing matters pertaining to the course, readings, and your writing; please feel free to contact me via email or phone as well as in person. I hope you will also take advantage of my office hours and email.

Grade Scale: Your points will be translated into percentages; your final grade will be calculated according to the following percentage scale: 100-93 A 92-87 AB 86-83 B 82-77 BC 76-73 C 72-67 CD 66-60 D 59-below F I reserve the right to give unannounced quizzes or assignment at anytime to test the preparedness of the class as a whole. These minor exercises will make up the remaining hundred points of the class total. Note about Incompletes: The mark of ‘I’ is inappropriate if, in the instructor’s judgment, it will be necessary for the student regularly to attend subsequent sessions of the class. I will give an Incomplete only in cases of extreme emergency. After reviewing the grade breakdown above, students should choose an overall grade goal that illustrates the effort he or she plans to put into all his or her assignments. I am an instructor with high expectations. If you intend to earn an “A” in this class, expect to work hard. I encourage you to ask questions about each assignment and bring in drafts of papers to ensure you meet expectations. If you wish to discuss a grade on any assignment or presentation, you must wait 24 hours after I return the critique AND come to my office to discuss your concern. This time will allow us to process any relevant information and prepare for our discussion. If you approach me in class with a concern I will refer you to my office hour and appointment times. Also, according to the Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA) any student’s grade will not be discussed with anyone other than the individual student (including family members).

UNIVERSITY POLICY Discrimination: Michigan Tech complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for equal access to education or services at Michigan Tech, please call the Dean of Students Office, at 487-2212. For other concerns about discrimination, you may contact your advisor, department head or the Affirmative Action Office, at 487-3310. MTU Disability Services: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/studenthandbook/student_services.html#disa... MTU Equal Opportunity Statement: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/boc/policy/ch3/ch3p7.htm MTU Affirmative Action: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/aao/ Academic Dishonesty: Cheating: All written work submitted for a grade in this course must be the product of your own composition. Ideas generated due to reading and group discussion may provide the inspiration for your work, but should not be the sole ideas represented. With collaborative projects, of course, ideas should be representative of the group’s work. Plagiarism: Students are responsible for reading and understanding the University policy on Cheating and Plagiarism set forth in Michigan Technological University athttp://www.studentaffairs.mtu.edu/dean/judicial/policies/academic_integr.... Respect: Insults, slurs, or attacks of any kind will not be allowed in my class. Any student who engages in this type of behavior in the classroom will be permanently removed from the class. In other words, forced to drop the course, in addition to other possible punishment given by Michigan Technological University (See the MTU Community Code of Conduct at http://www.sa.mtu.edu/dean/judicial/policies/code/conduct9.html). MTU’s Academic Integrity: http://www.studentaffairs.mtu.edu/dean/judicial/policies/academic_integr...

RESOURCES The Writing Center: The MTU Writing Center (Walker Arts & Humanities Room 107) is a superb resource. The staff is willing to help no matter what stage you're at in your paper, from brainstorming to putting on the final touches. Since writing a good paper entails having other people looking at it and giving you feedback, visits to the Writing Center are highly recommended. See http://www.hu.mtu.edu/wc/ for more information. Library Website: http://www.lib.mtu.edu/ Online Documentation Websites: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/