New Fall 2017 MALAS Seminar! Literacy, Technology, and Rhetoric with Dr. Jenny Sheppard

Literacy, Technology, and Rhetoric

Dr. Jenny Sheppard

MALAS-600C

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.

You can find out more about the courses I teach at http://jennysheppard.com/teaching

MALAS-600C

  

  

01

  

22171

  

LITERACY, TECH & RHETORIC

  

3.0

  

Seminar

  

1600-1840

  

W

SH-113

  

J. SHEPPARD

  

8/8

 Footnotes: 05 , ZL