Literacy, Technology, and Rhetoric
Dr. Jenny Sheppard
Course Overview
This course is about looking closely at what people say and do in
digital spaces and how they make meaning with the different
communication resources at their disposal. We’ll investigate the social,
communicative and rhetorical strategies they use and the impact this
has on our broader culture. Through a lens of literacy studies, we will
explore the everyday reading, writing, and communication practices
people engage in online and the ways in which this impacts identity,
social relationships, and participation in public spaces. We will also
draw on rhetorical perspectives to better understand audience,
persuasion and the use of digital tools to create rhetorically effective
texts in online environments.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
- identify a range of effects digital technologies have on contemporary literacy and rhetorical practices
- demonstrate an understanding of how multimodality changes conceptions of literacy, meaning making, and persuasive practices
- explore critically a range of digital tools to understand their affordances and constraints for various contexts
- utilize theory, research, and analytical practices for investigating
the implications of digital technologies on literacy and rhetoric in
specific online spaces
Bio
Hi, my name is Jenny Sheppard and I am a faculty member in the
Rhetoric and Writing Studies
department at San Diego State University where I serve as the Associate
Director of the Lower Division Writing Program. Previously, I was an
Associate Professor of
Rhetoric and Professional Communication in
the English Department at New Mexico State University (NMSU). I
regularly teach courses in rhetoric of popular culture, visual rhetoric
and communication, technical, scientific, and professional
communication, and composition. I also developed and ran the
Design Center
at NMSU from 2004-2014, where students engaged in hands-on development
of digital and print media for campus and community clients.
I earned my PhD Rhetoric and Technical Communication from
Michigan Technological University
in 2003. My dissertation examined the design and development of
a science-based multimedia website for middle school students. My
research interests include multimodal writing, visual rhetoric and
design, and professional and workplace communication, but I am most
passionate about these areas when thinking about how to bring theory
into classroom practice. I am privileged to work with a diverse
population of smart, interesting students and at levels from first-year
undergrads to those seeking a master’s.
I am co-author of
Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects, as well as several articles in journals such as
Computers and Composition, Hybrid Pedagogy, and the
Journal of Literacy and Technology, and book chapters in collections such as
Designing Texts: Teaching Visual Communication and
RAW: Reading and Writing New Media. I am also a contributor to the MLA Commons project on
Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities.
When I’m not working, I enjoy being outdoors and spending time with
friends and family. Camping, going to the beach, gardening, and taking
adventures with my partner, our six year old, and our dog are a few of
my favorite things.
