Rhetorical approach to reading and writing argumentative discourse with a film focus. Close reading of selected texts; written themes developed from class discussion and analysis of rhetorical strategies. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

“Big Data” is both our present and future. It’s allegedly the new oil, the new resource to be extracted, and the key to unlocking cutting-edge decisions in government, business, and culture. If you’ve ever used a spam folder, unlocked your phone with facial recognition, or watched a film recommended to you by Netflix, “Big Data” is already part of your daily routine. This course will help you develop the critical tools to interrogate and explore the impact of data and technology on society and culture. While these technologies can undoubtedly improve our lives, they have also played crucial roles in upholding inequities. We will explore the impact (or not) of “Big Data” on questions of cinematic and visual representation, on conceptions of authorship and originality, and on labor and production. By the end of the class, students will learn practical skills like using tools of aesthetic analysis, reading a court case, and writing across different genres for diverse audiences. Students are encouraged to write on a variety of topics including Hollywood film lighting and digital cinematography, authorship in the age of artificial intelligence, and how audiences perform unpaid labor.

Requisites

• Satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing Requirement

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills