ENGLISH 348

Everywhere we turn these days, we're likely to come upon mention of the Internet. What's all the fuss about? And what, if anything, does the Internet have to offer people interested in literature, history, philosophy, or the arts? "The Internet for Humanists" (ENGL 348) will address these questions. It will introduce a variety of technological tools, focusing in particular on tools useful for studying the humanities. Students will learn how to use e-mail; participate in humanities-oriented e-mail lists; make effective use of search engines and other information tools; uncover and evaluate the rapidly growing humanities resources available on the World Wide Web; and create their own web pages. The course will also consider some important issues raised by these technological developments: the promise and problems of virtual communities; identity construction; censorship and privacy; the implications of hypertext in fiction and non-fiction; the cyborg; copyright; plagiarism; the future of books and libraries. We will also give some attention to fictional treatments of cyberspace. The course is intended primarily for students majoring in the humanities who have little or no experience with electronic communications.

Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age

Richard Holeton, ed. (McGraw Hill, 1998)

Working the Web: A Student's Research Guide

Carol Lea Clark (Harcourt Brace, 1999)

He, She and It

Marge Piercy (Fawcett, 1991)

• See also supplementary readings on reserve at Kuhn library.

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