This course offers a critical and comprehensive introduction to computer-mediated communication (CMC) and the academic study of digital culture. We will discuss the history of text technologies from manuscripts to smart phones and hypertext, investigate how the concepts of reading and writing have changed over the centuries and are changing right now, explore how well traditional linguistic and discourse analytical models can be applied to digital discourses, carry out our own analyses of digital media, and discover how English is changing as a result of the borderless and unedited nature of online communication. The students will be encouraged to suggest timely topics for discussion and to make use of their own experiences with digital media.

The course work will involve background reading, in-class discussions, group work and online interaction.