Morris Eaves (meaves@ur.rochester.edu)

Rachel Lee (rlee13@mail.rochester.edu)

Monday and Wednesday 3.25 - 4.40 (Lattimore 210)

Friday 12.00 - 12.50 (Goergen 102)

Media ABC is an introduction to the very idea of medium and media - as in "the medium of photography" and "digital media." The goal is to come to a basic understanding of that concept. The perspective of the course is broadly historical and critical. The guiding assumptions are two: that media are not peculiar to the modern world, and that all media - the human voice, books, paint, electronic files - shape their "content" - words, pictures, sounds, etc. - and their authors and their audiences. There have always been media, and there must be media, because life cannot be lived without them. This year's topic is the printed word - the dominant medium of communication for the past five centuries. Only very recently has print begun to lose some of its power and influence as we experience a "digital revolution." This remarkable media shift puts us among the first explorers to arrive on the scene of what later generations will surely see as epoch-making change that we can't yet fully grasp. But we should take advantage of our own unique intellectual opportunity to look back on the history of print and forward to the future of reading.

This is a special year for Media ABC. We are participating in a series of experiments with Humanities Research Labs, where we will be able to extend our exploration of print by putting facts and theories into practice. Note that students in Media ABC must also register for the 1-credit Humanities Research Lab (ENG 385). Work in the Humanities Research Lab will replace all formal exams.