fall 2005

ryan moeller, ph.d.

mwf 2.30-3.20

rwst 214

office

rwst 312e
797.8637

course description and objectives

The central question behind the construction of this course is: what effects does mobility have on our daily lives and writing practices? We will define mobility as the complex, transitory, transformational, sequential, reconfigurable, multi-dimensional, polymorphous, technological, informational, multi-scalar, multi-linear, and multi-nodal state of potential movement or change (Hoete 11-2). This is far from a simplistic definition, I know, but it does convey the complexity which we will ascribe to mobility in order to investigate its effects on the sociology of everyday life, work, and writing as fully as possible in a fifteen week course. In order to answer the question posed by the course, we will research several technologies that facilitate mobility, practices that derive from a mobile world and reinforce mobility as a central ideology of contemporary life, and spaces that serve as points of interchange for people, products, and information.

Upon completing this course, you should be able to

• understand mobility as a concept, and be able to identify its material instantiations;
• apply rhetorical methodologies to understand complex concepts;
• see the effects of mobility on your everyday life and writing practices;
• manage short- and long-term benchmark goals;
• demonstrate the ethical nature of information design through the visual display of information;
• implement appropriate strategies for researching, designing, and producing professional documents;
• demonstrate the value of constructive criticism through successful drafting and revision strategies; and
• successfully draft and edit appropriately for grammar, mechanics, and diction.

Individually, you will be responsible for attending all classes, for conducting field work, and for completing all assigned readings and projects. Working in groups of two, you will be responsible for leading a class discussion on the required reading for that day.