About

Clemson University

A common narrative today is that people are reading fewer books because they are spending more time engaging with “technology.” But, although you may think of your computer or smartphone when you hear the word “technology,” print books are technologies, too. In fact, the printed book was a technological innovation that dramatically changed how we communicate and even how we think, just as the internet and digital technologies are doing today. This course focuses on the intersections between print and digital writing technologies from a media studies perspective. We will explore how print and digital writing technologies have influenced and informed one another, shaping what we mean by reading and writing today. What does the phrase “print culture” mean? How is that culture – if it ever existed – changing today? We will also gain hands-on experience with print and digital technologies through individual and group assignments involving various kinds of textual production.