New Course Proposal:ENGL 359 Transmedia Fiction

Rationale

This course responds to the relatively recent emergence of stories that are told throughmultiple simultaneous media channels. So-called “transmedia fiction” encompasses severalspecific genres -- Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), Viral Marketing, Hoaxes, TransmediaStorytelling, etc. -- which share a common emphasis on digital technology as a metaplatformfor disseminating large-scale interactive narrative works of significant complexity. High-profileexamples of this include ARGs used to promote new movies or TV series’ (Lost, for example),but increasingly, media consumers take for granted that the story worlds in one medium canescape traditional technological boundaries and expand into other worlds -- perhaps our own.This class first approaches this phenomenon from a historical angle by placing these works inan appropriate literary context. Next, the course theorizes these undertakings by incorporatingrelevant narratological insights. Finally, students experiment with the craft of transmedia fictionby design and (hopefully) executing their own collaborative transmedia experience. This coursehas been taught three times as a “special topics” (376MM), and each section was taught at orvery near to capacity. (Note: each iteration of this course [regrettably] was taught with a differenttitle, leading to some confusion.)

Major Program

This course was originally taught as ENGL 376MM, a special-topics in literature course that counts toward the English Major requirement of five upper-level literature courses. The new course will continue to count toward fulfilling this requirement.

Impact

This course will not require any additional resources. It may use existing lab spaces, but no special software will be required.

Sample Syllabus

Attached.

Note: This syllabus is derived from a website (worlds.zachwhalen.net), so some of the formatting is not optimized for print.

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 1

ENGL 376MM: World Building

Where: Combs 349When: 9:30 – 10:45

Website: worlds.zachwhalen.net

InstructorDr. Zach WhalenE-mail: zwhalen [at] umw.eduOffice hours: 2:00 - 4:00 Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (or by appointment)Office: Combs 308Phone: 540 654 2355Web: www.zachwhalen.net

Course DescriptionThis course is an exploration of New Media studies through the lense of a particular question: what do the dominant metaphors of Virtual Reality (in the 1980s and 1990s) and Alternate Reality (exemplified by Alternate Reality Games in the 2000s) tell us about the cultures of New Media. Our goal will be to interrogate the rhetoric of counterfactual world building within the expressive practices supported by New Media technologies, and we will proceed by examining texts that imagine Virtual Reality technology or Alternate Worlds. The culmination of this will be to collaboratively design and deploy an Alternate Reality Game of our own.

ObjectivesA successful student will:

• explore virtual and alternate worlds• gain experience in New Media tools• learn to think critically about and through virtual worlds and new media texts

Requirements• Hutchins, J.C., and Jordan Weisman. Personal Effects: Dark Art. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009.• Stephenson, Neal. Snow crash. Random House, Inc., 2000.• Stross, Charles. Halting State. Ace Hardcover, 2007.• Szulborski, Dave. This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. New-Fiction

Publishing, 2005.Other readings (including both primary and secondary/critical readings) will be available through the course website. In addition, we will screen several films throughout the semester. Attendance at screenings will be optional, but if you can’t attend, you’ll need to see the assigned film on your own.

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 2

AssignmentsBlogging [20%]. For this class, blogging will constitute a substantial portion of the work you do. You should anticipate writing approximately one entry per week, and these entries should contribute significantly to the discourse of class.Quizzes/Homework [15%]. I will occasionally assign reading quizzes, to ensure that everyone is on the same page with the material. These may be as frequent as once per week, but will more likely be every two weeks.World Building [10%]. For this project, you will build and describe a virtual world. This project thus comprises two parts: a virtual space (you will build this with a tool of your choice), and a descriptive analysis of that space (3 - 5 pg paper). UPDATE: This assignment has been modified. Make sure to view the instructions.ARGHive [10%]. As preparation for our collaborative ARG, you and a team of peers will research a specific ARG campaign and give a class presentation about it. You will also create an archive (documentation) for the game.ARG [15%]. Working in a team of your classmates, you will contribute to designing and deploying an alternate reality game. The scope and content of this ARG will be determined by you (us).Final Paper [15%]. A 5 - 7 page critical analysis paper on a topic of your choice. The topic should be related to the ideas in the class, so the thesis should comprise your own insight on the material and concepts of the semester.Participation [15%]. Simply put, the success of this class depends on your participation. Thus, 15 percent of your grade is comprised by your participation.

Grading ScaleA 94 - 100

A- 90 - 93.9

B+ 87 - 89.9

B 83 - 86.9

B- 80 - 82.9

C+ 77 - 79.9

C 73 - 76.9

C- 70 - 72.9

D+ 67 - 69.9

D 63 - 66.9

F 0 - 62.9

Policies and ExpectationsI am requesting that you use Twitter for this class; while there is no direct evaluation of tweet content, I consider your twittering when I determine your participation grade. If you do not already have an account, you should create one, and if you do have an account, you are welcome to keep using it or create a new one for this class. Twitter should serve as another channel for our discussions, so I encourage you to post class-relevant tweets including the hashtag #engl376. You can use twitter as a

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 3

way to microblog an insight or comment that wouldn't merit an entire blog entry. You can tweet questions, posing them generally or to specific classmates (or me) using the @ notation. You can even use twitter to conduct a backchannel discussion during class.

In all cases, if your tweet is class-related, make sure to include the text "#engl376." These "tagged" tweets will be archived and displayed on the course website. In addition, your twitter account will be linked to your website account such that the site will automatically send out a tweet when you post a new blog entry.

Finally, please note: I am on Twitter, @zachwhalen. You are not required to follow me, but you're welcome to. You should know, however, that if you do follow me, I may follow you back.

Course Website

If you haven't already, you should create an account on this website. Do this right now. You will use the site to post blog entries, submit assignments, and access your grades. This account may be created pseudonymously -- in fact, that is what I recommend.

Participation

Participation is defined as active engagement in whatever the class is supposed to be doing. The minimum condition is to be present in the classroom. Thus, if you are absent more than 3 times, your participation grade will be reduced by 8 points. After two additional absences, your participation grade will be a 0. Any student who misses an excessive number of classes will automatically fail the course.

Participation is also an assessment of how much effort you put into the class discussion, both online and in person, and how much you contribute to group projects. To receive full credit on participation, join in the discussion by posting comments and tweeting and (most importantly) taking an active role in group projects.

Use of Electronic Devices

Students are allowed, even encouraged, to bring laptops or other electronic devices to class for the purpose of taking notes. However, activities such as surfing the web, reading e-mail, or text-messaging are not allowed unless it's part of a class activity. Also, turn off your cell phone ring, and -- unless there is an emergency -- please do not answer it in class. If you are browsing Facebook instead of participating in class, I will consider you absent for the day. Furthermore, if I determine that you are abusing this electronic device policy, I reserve the right to ban use of electronic devices either for you individually or for the class at large.

Academic Dishonesty

The UMW Honor System is in effect for our course. I may authorize specific exercises as collaborative work, but all other work must be your own, as per Article 1, Sections 1 and 2 of the University of Mary Washington Student Honor Code.

Decorum and content

Students are expected to treat the instructor and fellow students with the appropriate degree of respect,

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 4

both in class and in online discussions. Communication, either in person or through electronic media, that is deemed abusive, threatening, or harassing in nature will not be tolerated. Students who fail to abide by this policy will receive a reduced participation grade.

Unsatisfactory Mid-Semester Reports

Students with a grade average below 68% or with more than 3 absences will receive an unsatisfactory grade report at the mid-term.

Students with Disabilities

The Office of Disability Resources has been designated by the University as the primary office to guide, counsel, and assist students with disabilities. If you already receive services through the Office of Disability Services and require accommodations for this class, get in touch with me as soon as possible to discuss your approved accommodation needs. Please bring your accommodation letter with you to the appointment. I will hold any information you share with me in the strictest confidence unless you give me permission to do otherwise. If you have not contacted the Office of Disability Services and need accommodations, (note taking assistance, extended time for tests, etc.), I will be happy to refer you. The office will require appropriate documentation of disability. Their phone number is 540-654-1266.

Sample Assignment: BloggingBlogging will be a major part of your work this semester. Accordingly, it comprises 20% of your final grade. You should plan to write about one entry per week, on average, but the schedule is intentionally left open so that you can blog when inspiration strikes, with less worry about fitting into a schedule.

ContentBlog entries should be interesting, substantive, and insightful. Most importantly, they should add something unique and original to the discussion. These are not response journals, and I'm not necessarily interested in hearing how a reading made you feel. I'm also not interested in whether you liked a reading or not. Instead write about what makes a book or chapter successful, find an interesting counter reading, or discuss it in context or contrast with other works. Even better, find a reading of your own (or a comic, image, blog entry, etc.) that helped clarify or change somehow your understanding of something class-related. Really, any topic is potentially OK, as long as it relates to comics in some way and adds to the class discussion.

Blog entries should stand alone as much as possible and they shouldn't assume that the person reading your blog has read everything you have. You should also write in a way that demonstrates an awareness of other students' blogging. That is, if someone else has already written about a text you want to write about, make sure your blog entry links back to the first one.

There is no minimum length required for blog entries, however they should be "long enough."

Each blog entry should include the following items,

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• An interesting, unique title• At least one image, properly document• Links, both internal and external• Something new and uniqueFinally, please remember that these blogs go out into the "real world" of the Internet. Attracting outside readers and receiving comments from them is a good thing. If you do get comments or questions on your blog entries, make sure you respond. Sometimes the best role for a blog entry is to be the start a conversation.

EvaluationBlog entries will be assessed on a checkpoint system. Once a week, Wednesdays at 12:00 noon, I will evaluate one of your blog entries. If, since the last checkpoint, you've created more than one, I will simply evaluate the oldest entry, and the remaining entry will carry over for the next checkpoint.

Ultimately, I will evaluate 8 of your best entries. In other words, I encourage you to create more than 8 entries through the course of the semester.

During the semester, I will score your blogs using the rubric below. The grade that "counts" will be based on the sum score of your best 8 blog entries.

Rating Characteristics

4 Exceptional. The blog entry is focused and coherently integrates examples with explanations or analysis. The entry demonstrates awareness of its audience (the public), and it considers multiple perspectives. In short, the blog entry contributes substantively to the collective discourse of the seminar and satisfies all requirements.

3 Satisfactory. The blog entry is reasonably focused, and explanations or analysis are mostly based on examples or other evidence. Fewer connections are made between ideas, and though new insights are offered, they are not fully developed.

2 Underdeveloped. The blog entry is mostly description or summary, without consideration of alternative perspectives, and few connections are made between ideas. Additionally, the blog entry may not be complete or it may exhibit distracting grammatical errors.

1 Limited. The blog entry is unfocused, or simply rehashes previous comments, and displays no evidence of student engagement with the topic. Alternatively, it may be too short or too sloppy.

0 No Credit. The blog entry is completely unsatisfactory.

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Schedule of checkpointsCheckpoint 1 9/1 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 2 9/8 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 3 9/15 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 4 9/22 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 5 9/29 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 6 10/6 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 7 10/13 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 8 10/20 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 9 10/27 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 10 11/3 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 11 11/10 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 12 11/17 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 13 11/24 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 14 12/1 12:00 noon

Checkpoint 15 12/8 12:00 noon

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 7

ScheduleWeek 1

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 8/24Introductions

Virtual and alternate realies

Week 1

Class Meeting

Thursday, 8/26Visualizing virtual reality

Watch "Virtual Reality." Computer

Chronicles, 1992.

Week 2

Class Meeting

Monday, 8/30

Week 2

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 9/1Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 2

Class Meeting

Thursday, 9/2

Week 3

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 9/7*topiaWatch Jesse Schell's. Design Outside the Box Presentation. DICE Summit., 2010Read William Gibson's Gibson, William."Burning Chrome." Burning Chrome New York: Arbor House, 1986.

Week 3

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 9/8Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 3

Class Meeting

Thursday, 9/9Quiz!Introduction to MaryMOO!

Week 4

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 9/14Virtual Worlds and Real EthicsMOO DiggingDibbell, Julian. "A Rape in Cyberspace." The Village Voice (1993).

Week 4

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 9/15Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 4

Class Meeting

Thursday, 9/16Read Snow Crash through p. 89

Week 5

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 9/21Read Snow Crash through page 149

Week 5

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 9/22Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 5

Class Meeting

Thursday, 9/23Virtual World Building assignment due!Read Snow Crash, through ch. 23

Week 6

Class Meeting

Week 6

Checkpoint

Week 6

Class Meeting

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 8

Tuesday, 9/28Finish Snow Crash

Wednesday, 9/29Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Thursday, 9/30Quiz 2! (Will include Snow Crash and Tron)Tron discussionMake sure you've viewed Tron before class.

Week 7

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 10/5RoadmapsIntro to ARGGroups assigned for next projectHave a look at the Wikipedia article on ARGs

Week 7

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 10/6Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 7

Class Meeting

Thursday, 10/7What is the Matrix: Virtual, Alternate, Augmented, Etc.?ARGs selected for ARGHive projectRead Halting State, through p. 49

Week 8

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 10/12No Class Meeting!Fall Break!

Week 8

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 10/13Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 8

Class Meeting

Thursday, 10/14AvalonHalting StateARGHiveRead Halting State through page 161

Week 9

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 10/19Augmenting RealityFinish Halting StateKeep playing your ARG

Week 9

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 10/20Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 9

Class Meeting

Thursday, 10/21Gosney, Jon. Beyond Reality, Ch. 1: "A Brief History."

Week 10

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 10/26Szulborski, Dave. This is not a Game, through p. 118.

Week 10

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 10/27Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 10

Class Meeting

Thursday, 10/28ARG Presentations, ClassicSzulborski, Dave. This is not a Game, through p. 196.

Week 11

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 11/2ARG Presentations, ContemporaryARGHive due (Omeka Exhibit)

Week 11

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 11/3Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 11

Class Meeting

Thursday, 11/4Characters in TransmediaBrainstormingMinds of their Own, PixelVixen707

Week 12

Class Meeting

Week 12

Checkpoint

Week 12

Class Meeting

Whalen, ENGL 376MM: World Building (F10) p. 9

Tuesday, 11/9Quiz!ARG Planning (committee decisions)Szulborski, Dave. This is not a Game, through p. 296.Contribute to the planning wiki.

Wednesday, 11/10Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM. Thursday, 11/11

ARG WorkshopMcGonigal, Jane. TINAG: Immersive Aesthetics and Collective Play

Week 13

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 11/16ARG WorkshopBaudrillard, Jean. "The Precession of Simulacra"

Week 13

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 11/17Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 13

Class Meeting

Thursday, 11/18ARG Begins By NowBorges, Jorge Luis. "On Exactitude in Science"Borges, Jorge Luis. "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius"

Week 14

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 11/23ARG ContinuesTransmedia FictionBegin Personal Effects: Dark Art

Week 14

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 11/24Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 14

Class Meeting

Thursday, 11/25Thanksgiving!

Week 15

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 11/30Transmedia FictionConclude Personal Effects: Dark Art

Week 15

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 12/1Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.

Week 15

Class Meeting

Thursday, 12/2ARG Concludes by nowDrawing Conclusions, sharing our workCourse Evaluation

Finals

Class Meeting

Tuesday, 12/7Discuss Final Projects

Finals

Checkpoint

Wednesday, 12/8Blog entries will be graded at 12:00 PM.