Sunday, April 10, 2016

Five Major Concepts of the Course

The five major concepts of this class are: 1) the analysis of extant print and online media, 2) the composition of texts for publication, 3) the design of such texts to facilitate publication, 4) the revision of texts to enhance comprehensibility, and 5) the identification of the new role technologies play in the publication process.

The analysis of extant print and online media has allowed us as a class to identify previous patterns of publication that has developed as textuality and rhetoric develop. Readings like those of Gladwell and Porter trace the growth and function of writing, moving from record-keeping to the growth of rhetorical and intellectual communities. This forms a foundation from which we were tasked with composing our own texts for publication, accomplished through the three major projects in the course. Each project required that theoretical understanding be applied to generate original content, demonstrating and applying the experience and theory of prior practitioners and rhetoricians. Successful composition includes the development and implementation of certain design elements and principles, which are also covered in the assigned readings and discussions in class. Through this interaction with the concepts behind design, students are able to develop design techniques to better facilitate and develop publication practice. Before any of the projects or texts written are ready to be published, however, the class guides students through the revision process through not only simple self-checks, but the creation and evaluation of heuristics to thoroughly interrogate composed texts. This empowered each of us to grow not only as writers but also as editors, identifying non-traditional and atypical aspects of publication as important and impactful in modern publishing. Finally, this course has sought to legitimize and justify use of modern technology like social media and Internet publications in the world of publishing. Through readings and practical interaction with these technologies, they are put in context and validated as modern publication media.

This class has sought to develop a skill set for composition and publication both in print as well as online media.

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