Understanding Computer Programming as a Literacy

Since the 1960s, computer scientists and enthusiasts have paralleled computer programming to literacy, arguing it is a generalizable skill that should be more widely taught and held. Launching from that premise, this article leverages historical and social findings from literacy studies to frame computer programming as “computational literacy.” I argue that programming and writing have followed similar historical trajectories as material technologies and explain how they are intertwined in contemporary composition environments. A concept of “computational literacy” helps us to better understand the social, technical and cultural dynamics of programming, but it also enriches our vision of twenty-first century composition

Syllabus for "Digital Humanity"

How have computational devices affected the way we think about our own humanity? Our relationship to digitality has changed from the mainframe to the smartphone, but throughout, computers have processed huge amounts of data, kept track of our (or our enemies’) activities, made our lives more fun or at least more complicated, allowed us to communicate with each other, and to archive knowledge on a broad scale. What roles do computers play in our lives, and what role do we play in theirs? What are the borders between humans and computers, or can they be drawn at all? This course prepares students to critically examine the intersections between digital devices and human life. Covering topics such as the relationship between computers and humans, surveillance, big data, and interactivity and games, we question what it means to be human in a space of pervasive digitality. Students will read philosophy, fiction, essays, book excerpts, and watch movies and play games. Assessment will be based on regular online posts to WordPress, a take-home midterm examination, a reflective synthesis of online posts, and class participation. The course fills the Philosophy General Education requirement and meets three times per week: twice for lecture, once for recitation/lab

Digital Humanity

An undergraduate Philosophy and Ethics gen-ed course developed and co-taught by Alison Langmead and Annette Vee and focused on what it means to be human in an age of ubiquitous computing. Course Description How have computational devices affected the way we think about our own humanity? Our relationship to digitality has changed from the mainframe to the smartphone, but throughout, computers have processed huge amounts of data, kept track of our (or our enemies’) activities, made our lives more fun or at least more complicated, allowed us to communicate with each other, and archive knowledge on a broad scale. What roles do computers play in our lives, and what role do we play in theirs? What are the borders between humans and computers, or can they be drawn at all? This course prepares students to critically examine the intersections between digital devices and human life. Covering topics such as the relationship between computers and humans, surveillance, big data, and interactivity and games, we question what it means to be human in a space of pervasive digitality. Students will read philosophy, fiction, essays, book excerpts, and watch movies and play games. Assessment will be based on regular online posts to WordPress, a take-home midterm examination, a reflective synthesis of online posts, and class participation. The course fills the Philosophy General Education requirement and meets three times per week: twice for lecture, once for recitation/lab

Internet Poetry

Curatorial note from Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: With inspiration and theoretical background from Kenneth Goldsmith’s “uncreative writing,” Rachael Sullivan asked her undergraduate students in Information Overload: Literature and Contemporary Life to compose poetry from found texts online, imitating a popular image-macro form. She showcases examples of “Internet literature,” where “Everything on the list either [1] responds to internet culture as a theme, [2] uses features of the internet (such as hyperlinking) as literary techniques, or [3] depends on the internet as a distribution platform” (Sullivan). By composing their own “Internet poetry” from language found online, students used an iterative process to recontextualize and reconsider issues of information overload. This resource is just one way instructors could have students iterate on found language online