Blog #16

The wide variety of university majors, colleges and their offered fields of study are typically considered relatively concrete, leaving little room for speculation with regard to content and educational strategy. However, there is evidently much controversy surrounding the flexibilities and defining characteristics of English/Writing majors at many universities. Specifically, “The Undergraduate Writing Major” has been interpreted with much hesitation and indecision – hence the remainder of the article’s title – “What Is it? What Should It Be?” It is considered to be in a state of constant defining and redefining, and is effectually growing and gaining recognition as an actual first-class major. The article discusses specifically the two types of writing majors that seem to be apparent – creative writing and compositional writing, both embodied within the larger English literature scope. There appears to be little consensus for what the writing major should look like, but a few questions have been raised to take into consideration for further defining and clarification. In particular, what gateway course, what capstone course, and what is to be included with regard to history, theory, and research must be called into question. The end of the article concludes with markedly inconclusive insight – yet where do we go from here and what is the purpose/vision seems to be the consensus thus far. This article really reiterates the fluidity and seemingly ineffable nature of the English major with regard to purpose, consistency, and structure. In some ways, this is disconcerting and worrisome as an English major, but it seems to also suggest that the skills and education gained is widely applicable to any future career choice or path. The changing nature of print, writing, and English also factors into this period of redefinition, and thus the article “Writing in the Late Age of Print” seems quite apropos. The incorporation of visual, electronic, and digital medias into the literate world has propelled society into a more computer literate state. One specific point in the article was a comment made by novelist E. Annie Proulx with regard to the impossibility of anyone wanting to read off of a “twitchy little screen,” – ironic, because the emergence of the Kindle is now upon us. The redefining of digital writing, the voice of text, and writing space is providing an unstable environment that allows for something like the redefining of English/Writing majors to take place. The conclusion of the latter article is that writing space is in fact a metaphor for the human mind and social interaction. Communication, interpersonal exchange, and entirely new modes of discourse are all subject to change and grow in this constant state of technological change within society.

Blog #15

In the “Copy, Paste, Remix” article, the author describes the growing trend of Myspace profiles and the users’ incorporation of various codes and modes of media to portray a sense of individuality or expression. The profiles include images, photographs, music, games, and text and achieve the portrayal of these through the utilization of copy and paste formatting codes. It is thought to be a “collective, social process” even though the individual is essentially in control only in tension with the efforts of others. Therefore, the entire Myspace phenomenon is perpetuated by a web of intermingling users who are generally inexperienced with the entire process. The article also references bandwidth stealing - the using of different media without permission that in turn costs the provider. Through the use of a few images, the article demonstrates a before and after of this example (however the picture of the “cat poop” was a little unnecessary...). Remix culture and appropriation are also noted within the article. I thought this article was pretty informative, though I’m not sure it really drove the point home...the conclusion was a bit fuzzy. However, as a short lived Myspace user in the past, it is funny to note the evidence of this misuse and confusion of codes, etc. within the community. The Basic Design Principles article and the Bad Design article both provide basic techniques and ideas with regard to creating a website - tips towards a professional looking website. Alignment, proximity, repetition and contrast are all considerations necessary to be taken when creating a website. Additionally, elements of bad design include all caps text, break lines, faulty links, etc. I do not feel too strongly about either one of these articles because they read like manuals or how-to books. Overall, both articles are applicable to the EWM major and post-graduate because of the advancements in technology within the publishing and editing industry.