EMAC 2321 -University of Texas at Dallas

Welcome to EMAC 2321, Introduction to Emerging Media.

Course Description:

In 2006 Time named “You” as the person of the year. What at the time seemed like a clever ploy to sell extra magazines now appears to have accurately captured the zeitgeist, the sense that “you”—or “we”—now control the media. During the initial rapid growth of the internet, the dot com bubble of the 1990s, much ink was spilled and many pixels flickered to debate the cultural impact of the digital network, and for a short time after the bubble burst, those who saw the internet as a passing fad seemed to have their day. But what is now clear after the rise of “Web 2.0” is that the internet changes things—and by "things," I mean everything. The way we share, create, and disseminate knowledge has fundamentally changed. What the particular contours of this change are have yet to be revealed, but I think it is clear that the next moment in our culture will be remarkably different from the prior.  The focus of this class is in understanding this change, particularly the way that media has changed and is changing. Accordingly, this class will serve as an introduction for Emerging Media and Communications majors and serve as a building block for the rest of your coursework. 

From Here You Might Be Interested In:

• Class Expectations 
• Class Goals
• Class Requirements
• Schedule of Readings 
• My Blog About This Class
• List of Student Blogs
• Interesting Social Media Websites
• Student Twitter Accounts
• Teaching Sign Up Page
• Class Themes
• Interesting People to Follow on Twitter
• The cameras that exist on campus
• Final Assignment

Or you could download a paper copy of the syllabus, (but that is only the paper copy as required by University policy this site is far more accurate and up to date).

Current Assignment: 

November 19th

Read:

- A Public Can Talk To Itself: Why The Future of News is Actually Pretty Clear

- The Debate Over Online News: It's the Consumer, Stupid

Also, watch this short video: Traditional Media in Transition

Write:

Analyze this graphic, which explains the basics of news writing. It's a variation on what's called the "inverted pyramid," which is used to illustrate how important details come before less important details. Then, using the "inverted pyramid" writing structure, turn a scene from a movie into a news article between 300-500 words.

Co-Teaching

-Check on the schedule of readings page to see when your group is in charge of class.

-Create a wiki page for your group so that you can collaborate and have a place for others to suggest articles.

-Update the theme page to help everyone with ideas.

Finally:

Remember that the class will meet in the Conference Room on Tuesdays and the Mac Lab on Thursdays.