Future English Syllabus: Will Michigan Adopt?
ENG 371WR:
Writing for Nonreaders in the Postprint Era
M-W-F: 11:00 a.m.—12:15 p.m.
Instructor: Robert LanhamCourse Description
As print takes its place alongside smoke signals, cuneiform, and hollering, there has emerged a new literary age, one in which writers no longer need to feel encumbered by the paper cuts, reading, and excessive use of words traditionally associated with the writing trade. Writing for Nonreaders in the Postprint Era focuses on the creation of short-form prose that is not intended to be reproduced on pulp fibers.
Instant messaging. Twittering. Facebook updates. These 21st-century literary genres are defining a new “Lost Generation” of minimalists who would much rather watch Lost on their iPhones than toil over long-winded articles and short stories. Students will acquire the tools needed to make their tweets glimmer with a complete lack of forethought, their Facebook updates ring with self-importance, and their blog entries shimmer with literary pithiness. All without the restraints of writing in complete sentences. w00t! w00t! Throughout the course, a further paring down of the Hemingway/Stein school of minimalism will be emphasized, limiting the superfluous use of nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, gerunds, and other literary pitfalls.
Prerequisites
Students must have completed at least two of the following.
ENG: 232WR—Advanced Tweeting: The Elements of Droll
LIT: 223—Early-21st-Century Literature: 140 Characters or Less
ENG: 102—Staring Blankly at Handheld Devices While Others Are Talking
ENG: 30—Advanced Blog and Book Skimming
ENG: 231WR—Facebook Wall Alliteration and Assonance
LIT: 202—The Literary Merits of Lolcats
LIT: 209—Internet-Age Surrealistic Narcissism and Self-AbsorptionRequired Reading Materials
Literary works, including the online table of contents of the Huffington Post’s Complete Guide to Blogging, will serve as models to be skimmed for thorough analysis. Also, Perez Hilton’s Twitter feed. – Continue Reading at McSweeneys…
Brad, as a concerned future parent, I have to wonder at what point will you begin teaching based on this course outline?
larry • 2 years ago
start with Basic Internet Typing Etiquette 095
Larry • 2 years ago
Incidentally I can’t find my copy of Brave New World and I was wondering if I let someone on here borrow it.
brad • 2 years ago
Mike it is already happening. Kids actually look over what they write if they know it will be posted on the internet. Every kid in school has a myspace page and a facebook. They all also know way more than I do about blogging. It has become such a major thing that they are creating educational twitter and blogger sites for educational use. It is so big that I have been looking into them.
I hope to have a journalism class next year that will incorporate student submitting their work to be viewed online. The kids are actually pumped.
Lastly the texting thing is really a big hassel. In thier writing I have to specify that the assignment must be done in a formal voice. Otherwise i will gt a sentence tht looks lke this. It is very frustrating.