[1] From: john slatin <jslatin@mail.utexas.edu> (66)
Subject: Re: 10.0691 courses in literary computing
The University of Texas at Austin now offers a Ph.D. concentration in
Computers and English Studies. A brief description follows.
The graduate program in Computers & English Studies seeks to develop and
sustain a dialogue between traditional print-based culture and the emergent
culture(s) of electronic information. Students will develop both
theoretical and practical understanding of the ways in which electronic
textuality (as represented, for example, in hypertext and multimedia)
diverges from and converges with print textuality; they will also develop
expertise in applying contemporary technology to more traditional problems
in literary scholarship. Students will bring to the critical examination
of electronic textuality a perspective informed by an understanding of
contemporary theoretical concerns as well as familiarity with literary forms
and their cultural contexts; they will also explore new modes of scholarship
made possible by contemporary technology, and will explore new outlets for
publication such as electronic journals. Thus students specializing in
Computers and English Studies will carry out scholarly investigations using
the most recent available technology, and will address the impact of the
technologies they use upon the construction of their objects of study and,
finally, of the field of inquiry itself.
Coursework and Other Requirements
Requirements for the Ph.D. concentration in Computers and English Studies
will be filled by a combination of courses under the rubric Computers and
English (388M) as well as other English courses with a substantial emphasis
on theoretical and/or practical applications of information technology to an
area of literary, rhetorical, or linguistic study.
The English Department's requirements for the Ph.D. involve a total of 24-33
hours beyond the Master's, including:
6 hours Qualifying Exam
3 hours Supervised Teaching
9 additional hours in the area of concentration beyond the MA
3 hours conference course to revise or develop a paper
3 hours conference course for 3 area exam
3 additional hours in the minor field
1 foreign language at or beyond 3d-year proficiency, or 2 languages at or
beyond 2d-year proficiency
A Ph.D. candidate in Computers & English Studies might offer something like
the following:
18 hours in Computers and English Studies: Introduction to Electronic
Discourse; Introduction to Multimedia; Texts, Minds, and Machines (all 388M,
taken to fulfill Master's requirements, as above); Postmodern Rhetorics
(387M); Textual Studies (384K); Modern Drama (392M)
9 hours in a minor field: Design (Virtual Environments) and
Radio-Television-Film (The Challenge of Multimedia); Library & Information
Science (Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems)etc..
Areas for the 3-Area Exam might include: (a) Electronic Textuality,
Renaissance Drama, and Shakespeare; or (b) 20th-century Rhetorics,
Computer-Mediated Communications, and the World Wide Web; or (c) Theories of
Drama, Interactive Environments, Brecht; etc.
Proficiency in a European language such as Spanish or French, plus 4 or
more semesters programming language such as Pascal, C, C++, Visual Basic,
Java, HyperTalk, etc., including an introductory computer science course
such as CS 304P. (Satisfies the 2-language option for Ph.D.).
Please send requests for application forms to:
The Graduate Adviser
Department of English
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
John Slatin, Professor
Director, Institute for Technology and Learning
PCL 1.128, Mail code S5471, University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712
phone (512)495-4288, fax (512)495-4524, email jslatin@mail.utexas.edu
http://www.ital.utexas.edu