Close Listening

New media, new genres, and new methods of evaluation are emerging as digital technologies change the way we write. How do we know what writing is when our writing spaces are constantly shifting? I suggest that we keep our ear to the ground. In Noise Jacques Attali writes “music is prophetic and … social organization echoes it.” Music often moves faster than writing instruction. Because audio recording technologies are woven into our culture we can understand certain aspects of social organization by learning more about them. In this class, students will read about the intersection of digital culture and audio recording. Students will create podcasts (audio and/or video) based on a social issue of their choosing. They will write supporting materials (web pages, logos, posters) explaining and promoting the podcasts.