INTRODUCTION TO THE CULTURES OF THE WEB LLCU 607: WINTER 2021 - MCGILL UNIVERSITY
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This syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
Introduction to the Cultures of the Web
LLCU 607: Winter 2021
Professor: Cecily Raynor
Zoom Classroom: (students will be provided with the Zoom link over email)
Schedule: Mondays, 1pm-4pm
Zoom Office Hours: T, Th 11:30-12:30 or by appointment
E-mail: Cecily.raynor@mcgill.ca
I. Class Description: What languages, communities and identities form in the technoscapes of
the Web, a dynamic, often ephemeral and seemingly place-less space? How do researchers
approach a territory that is multimodal in its very design --visual, textual, and auditory-- jumping
across platforms and applications and ever on the move through mobile devices? This course
will provide students with the historical and theoretical underpinnings needed to enter into the
Web as a research arena. In doing so, we will consider new architectures for engaging our web-
saturated human experience along with the constraints of digital environments as a new medium.
We will look at enduring technologies with a historical footprint as well as emerging media and
apps (including TikTok, Parler, Twitch and Discord). Many of our case studies will come from the
Americas and Europe, but students are encouraged to explore their own geographic and
language interests within the transnational traditions of the Web. This course also provides an
introduction to select digital humanities methods specifically tailored to web content including
web analytics, web-scraping and web visualizations.
II. Objectives: This course has three intersecting goals: 1) to provide students with a theoretical
framework for analyzing the web as a cultural territory; 2) to familiarize students with a series of
digital primary texts from various genres (short texts, film, audio, social media platforms,
experimental media, GIFs, MEMES, digital narratives); 3) to support students in undertaking
their own research on web-based cultural production, in which they engage theoretical and
cultural questions related to the themes of the course.
III. Class Format: In its entirety, this course will be delivered remotely over Zoom, will take the
mixed form of a seminar, comprised of lectures, tutorials, student presentations and class
discussion. Therefore, it is essential that students be prepared to actively participate. Because
the success of the sessions will depend on student contributions, all participants must read the
material before class to be able to contribute their ideas, views and comments. Please note that
all theoretical texts described below will be available on MyCourses either as a downloadable
PDFs or via links. In situations in which I have included the entirety of a text for students’
reference, the page numbers for the selected readings required for each session are specified.
Note on Remote Learning: There are 2 hours and 50 minutes of fixed instruction per week for
this course. Students are permitted two unexcused absences. For students who miss a session
on Zoom, weekly course materials, lecture slides and links to student presentations will be
organized weekly and available on MyCourses. Students will be able to respond to weekly
discussion questions on MyCourses in addition to traditional class participation. Connectivity or
time zone concerns that result in an absence will be addressed individually with the instructor,
as they may be considered grounds for an excused absence depending on the circumstance.
IV. Grading
1. Participation and Digital Portfolio (20%): Students are expected to come to class having read
all of the readings for that session. The participation grade will be based on their contribution to
class discussions, measured not only by frequency but also by quality. Failure to actively participate
in class discussions and/or to come prepared will negatively impact your grade. Students will be
given weekly assignments that they will complete on their individual WordPress sites. **These
assignments are due by the beginning of each Monday’s class session.** Each task, which willThis syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
include reflections on the weekly readings as well as digital methods such as web-scraping and
analytics, will be clearly outlined in the Assignments section of MyCourses. Length (generally 300-
500 words) and format will vary for creative prompts. The totality of the assignments will constitute
an individual Digital Portfolio for each student and will be graded as a completed project at the end
of the semester. In order to protect privacy and security, students are not required to include
personal information (McGill or otherwise) on their sites. They also have the option of keeping their
sites in privacy mode and providing the instructor with a password for individual consultation.
2. Oral Presentation (10%): Students will give one 15-20-minute oral presentation on a theoretical
text or methodology related to the Web. They may also include an analysis of a reading’s
relationship to a primary text (textual, audio, visual), explore a tool, or a digital project. Students
may choose to use audio-visual materials (screen shares of web-based materials, along with
Keynote, PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.) to aid in their presentations.
3. Short Essay (30%): Students will write an investigative essay of 10-15 pages. This first essay
can be elaborated upon for the final essay and serve as a working paper towards its extension.
MLA Style Guidelines must be followed. The due date for the short essay is Friday, March 5th by
midnight.
4. Final Essay (40%): The remaining 40% of the grade will be dedicated to the final essay,
consisting of 20-25 pages. These essays will critically engage a topic of investigation of the
student's choice. Please consult the MLA Style Guidelines and submit the essay electronically. Late
essays will not be accepted.
V. Course Outline
Week 1: Monday, January 11th, “Course Introduction, Web History and Modes of Analysis”
Readings:
Benjamin Bratton, “Introduction.” The Stack: On Software and Sovereignty. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2016.
Katherine Hayles, “Print is Flat, Code is Deep: The Importance of Media-Specific Analysis”
Dennis Tenen. “Introduction,” Plain Text: The Poetics of Computational Literature, 2017.
Digital Sources:
“History of Computers – from the Abacus to the iPhone.” Explain That Stuff.
Video: “How the Internet Works”
Week 2: Monday, January the 18th, “Decolonization and Marginality: Web on the
Periphery”
Readings:
Nisahant Shah, “The State of Internets: Notes for a New Historiography of
Technosociality.” The Routledge Companion to Global Internet Histories, 2017.
Brady Robards, Paul Byron, Brendan Churchill, Benjamin Hanckel, and Son Vivienne.
“Tumblr as a Space of Learning, Connecting, and Identity Formation for LGBTIQ+ Young
People”. Tumblr, a book. University of Michigan Press, 2020.
Allison McCracken, Alexander Cho, Louisa Stein, and Indira Neill Hoch. “You Must Be
New Here: An Introduction.” Tumblr, a book. University of Michigan Press, 2020.This syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
Digital Sources:
Tumblr: www.tumblr.com
“Queering the Map” URL: https://www.queeringthemap.com/
“Transborder Immigrant Tool” -- (B.A.N.G. Lab, International -- 2009-2012)
URL:http://collection.eliterature.org/3/files/transborder-immigrant-tool/transborder-immigrant-
tool.pdf
**Optional Reading: “Chapter Four: Unicorns, Janitors, Ninjas, Wizards, and Rock Stars” Data
Feminism. Laura Klein and Catherine D’Ignazio, MIT Open Press, 2019.
URL: https://bookbook.pubpub.org/pub/fcshwhq6
Week 3: Monday, January 25th, “Internet Archives: The Web as a Historical Document”
In-Class Tutorial on Unicode: Quinn Dombrowski, Stanford University
Readings:
Shah, Nishant. “The State of Internets: Notes for a New Historiography of Technosociality”
The Routledge Companion to Global Internet Histories, 2017.
Lepore, Jill. “The Cobweb: Can the Internet be Archived?” The New Yorker. 26 Jan. 2015.
URL: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/26/cobweb
Toobin, Jeffrey. "The Solace of Oblivion." The New Yorker. 9 Sep.
2014. URL: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/29/solace-oblivion
Digital Sources:
https://archive.org/
Week 4: Monday, February 1st, “The Free and Open Source Software
Movement (FOSS) and Net Neutrality”
Readings:
Davis et al. “The Social Shaping of the Brazilian Internet: Historicizing the interactions between
states, corporations, and NGOs in Information and Communication Technology, Development
and Diffusion”
O'Maley, Dan. "How Brazil Crowdsourced a Landmark Law." Foreign Policy. 19 Jan. 2016.
URL: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/19/how-brazil-crowdsourced-a-landmark-law/
Digital Sources:
Video: John Perry Barlow: “Declaration of Independence of
Cyberspace” https://vimeo.com/111576518
Week 5: Monday, February 8th, Cuba: The Intranet, el “Paquete Semanal,” and a Late-blooming
Mobile Internet Economy
Readings:
Granados, Omar. “Voces Cubanas. Cyberactivism, Civic Engagement, and the Making of
Cubanía in Contemporary Cuba.” Online Activism in Latin America, edited by Hilda Chacón,
Routledge, 2019, pp. 175-88.This syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
Laura Zoe Humphreys. “Copying and COVID-19 in Havana, Cuba.” Mediapolis on
Coronoavirus. No. 2. Vol. 5, 2020. https://www.mediapolisjournal.com/2020/06/copying-and-
covid-19-havana/
Laura Zoe Humphreys. "Utopia in a Package? Digital Media Piracy and the Politics of
Entertainment in Cuba." Hot Spots, Cultural Anthropology website, March 23, 2017.
Digital Sources:
Short Film: “Conectifai!” (dir. Zoe Garcia, 2016, 11
min) https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/feb/02/conectifai-filming-a-digital-revolution-in-
havana
VICE video report: “This is Cuba's Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify – all without the internet” (2015, 7
min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTTno8D-b2E
Music video: La Diosa “ El paquete semanal” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rcZlGiwh-M
Week 6: Monday, February 15th, “Online Gaming as Cultural Production”
Readings:
T.L. Taylor. “Broadcasting Ourselves.” Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live
Streaming. Princeton University Press, 2018. 1-23.
Williams, Dmitri and Adams S. Kahn. "Games, Online and Off." In William Dutton, ed. The
Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Campbell, Vincent. "Playing with Controversial Images in Videogames: The Terrorist Mission
Controversy in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." Attwood, Feona, et al., editors. Controversial
Images: Media Representations on the Edge. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, pp. 254-268.
Leonard, David. “‘Live in Your World, Play in Ours’: Race, Video Games, and Consuming the
Other.” Simile, vol. 3, no. 4, Nov. 2003.
Mercille, Julien. “The Media-Entertainment Industry and the ‘War on Drugs’ in Mexico.” Latin
American Perspectives, vol. 41, no. 2, 2014, pp. 110–129.
Digital Sources:
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/
“Why This Mexican-American Designed A Video Game That Simulates Border
Crossings” https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/border-crossing-video-
game_n_58b5c8f3e4b0780bac2dc22a
Short Film: “Tata’s Gift” (Los Cenzontles,
2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlGEjj394FM (8 min)
Week 7: Monday, February 22nd, “AI and Bot-Generated Fiction”
(Students create their own bots)
Readings:
Leonardo Flores, “Interview with the Bot: “Is there a line between functional and aesthetic bots?”
Bot Watch, March 2016.
URL:https://web.archive.org/web/20170222043452/http://bot.watch/post/141901082877/intervi
ew-with-the-bot-is-there-a-line-between
James Vincent, “OPEN AI’S New Multi-talented AI Writes, Translates, and Slanders: A step
forward in AI text-generation that also spells trouble,” The Verge, Feb 14, 2019.
URL:https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/14/18224704/ai-machine-learning-language-models-
read-write-openai-gpt2This syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
Digital Sources:
https://twitter.com/home
Anna Anthropy, Queers in Love at the End of the World (California, no date)
URL: https://w.itch.io/end-of-the-world
Nick Montfort, “Taroko Gorge” (2009)
URL: https://nickm.com/taroko_gorge/
*Optional Reading: Mimi Onuoha and Mother Cyborg (Diana Nucera) “A People’s Guide
to AI” Allied Media Projects (2018): URL https://www.alliedmedia.org/peoples-ai
Week 8: Monday, March 1st, Reading Week (Short Essays are due Friday, March 5th by
midnight)
Week 9: Monday, March 8th, “Digital Waste, Glitch, and Error”
Readings: Jennifer Gabrys. “Ephemeral Screens: Exchange at the Interface.” Digital Rubbish:
A Natural History of Electronics. University of Michigan Press. 2013. pp. 45-73.
Eduardo Ledesma, “C$U%B#A#+53: Glitches, Viruses and Failures in Cuban and Cuban-
American Digital Culture,” Digital Encounters: Envisioning Connectivity in Latin American
Cultural Production. Eds. Cecily Raynor and Rhian Lewis.
Digital Sources:
Boca de lixo (1993) Dir. Eduardo Coutinho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRGCB7uTCUo (opening sequence)
Lixo extraordinário/Waste Land (2010) (Netflix, Dir. Vik Muñoz)
Week 10: Friday, March 13th, “Immersive Media, Techno-femme/feminized/feminism and Digital
Identities”
Readings:
Yolande Strengers and Jenny Kennedy. “Meet the Smart Wife.” The Smart Wife: Why Siri, Alexa
and Other Smart Home Devices Need a Feminist Reboot. MIT Press, 2020. pp. 1-23.
Ana Viseu, “Simulation and augmentation: Issues of wearable computers,” Ethics and
Information Technology; 5: 17-26, 2003.
Rob Cover, “Ubiquitous Digitality: Beyond the Real/Virtual Distinction” Digital Identities: Creating
and Communicating the Online Self, 2016.
Jacqueline Werimont. “What Manufacturers Think Women Want: Why do companies think that
female customers are only interested in bling, safety and babies?’
https://slate.com/technology/2016/04/what-wearable-manufacturers-think-women-want.html
Digital Sources:
Keiichi Matsuda, “Hyper-Reality,” 2016.
URL: http://hyper-reality.co/ (short film)
Week 11: Friday, March 20th, “Social Media Narratives and Communities”This syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
Readings:
Aimee Morrison, “Micro counter narratives: viral hashtag humour in #DistractinglySexy and
#StayMadAbby.” Digital Dilemmas: Transforming Gender Identities and Power Relations in
Everyday Life. Eds. Diana C. Parry, Corey W. Johnson, and Simone Fullagar. Springer, 2019.
Aimee Morrison, “What’s on Your Mind?”: The Coaxing Affordances of Facebook’s Status
Update.” Identity Technologies: Producing Online Selves. Julie Rak and Anna Poletti, editors.
University of Wisconsin Press, 2013.
Rob Cover, “Performativity, Communication and Selfhood” Digital Identities: Creating and
Communicating the Online Self, 2016.
Digital Sources:
Twitter Hashtags: #distractinglysexy URL:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/distractinglysexy?lang=en
#staymadabby URL: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23staymadabby&src=typed_query
“#ShareBlackStories on Instagram.” Instagram Info Center. Posted on February 12, 2019
URL: https://instagram-press.com/blog/2019/02/12/shareblackstories-on-instagram/
Week 12: Friday, March 27th, “Visual Ephemerality and Remix: MEMES and GIFs”
Readings:
Ryan M. Milner. “Vernacular: Everyday Expression in the Memetic Lingua Franca.” The World
Made Meme: Public Conversations and Participatory Media. MIT Press, 2018.
Shifman, Limor, “Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling with a Conceptual Troublemaker,”
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2013.
Digital Sources:
Anna Anthropy, “Games, memes, interactive fictions”, W.itch.io URL: https://w.itch.io/
#Wastelandmemes URL:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/WasteLandMemes?src=hashtag_click
Sor Juana memes URL: https://www.pinterest.ca/an_valerio/memes-de-sor-juana-
in%C3%A9s-de-la-cruz/
Week 13: Friday, April 3rd, “Cellphilms and Web-Based Short Films”
Readings:
Debra Castillo, “The New New Latin American Cinema: Cortometrajes on the Internet” Latin
American Cyberculture and Cyberliterature, Liverpool University Press, 2007.
MacEntee et al. “What’s a Cellphilm?: Integrating Mobile Phone Technology and Participatory
Visual Research and Activism” Sense Publishers, 2016
Eduardo Ledesma, “Cell Phone Cinema: Latin American Horror Flicks in the Postdigital Age.”
Publication forthcoming, 2020.
Digital Sources:
Checklist (Colombia, 2004, dir. Felipe Cardona, 1:31)
URL: https://vimeo.com/9118164
Sangre y Levadura (Colombia, 2015, dir. Juan Carlos Mazo, 5:00)
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esF-hTT3jdQ
Rojo en el bosque sangriento (Argentina, 2006, dir. Tetsuo Lumiere, 4:04)This syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINsGagzVJI
Due-Low-Fi - I´ll Shoot You First (Argentina, c. 2008, dir. Tetsuo Lumiere, 3:02)
URL: https://vimeo.com/120332957
El Algoritmo del Alma (Mexico, 2019, dir. Israel Gomez, 6:58)
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFEmy26vjI&feature=emb_title
Sector Zero 4 (Spain, 2014, dir. Alfonso Garcia Lopez, 5:31)
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_HWRcs4tz8
Week 14: Friday, April 10th, “Mobile Futures and Emerging Media”
Readings:
Paul D. Miller and Svitlana. “Introduction.” The Imaginary App. MIT Press, 2014.
David Gilbert. “Even QAnon Is Abandoning Parler, the Far-Right's Answer to Twitter.” Vice,
2020.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/wx8gj5/even-qanon-is-abandoning-parler-the-far-rights-
answer-to-twitter
Poniewozik et al.“48 Hours in the Strange and Beautiful World of TikTok” New York Times,
October 2019
URL: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/10/arts/TIK-TOK.html
Digital Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parler
https://www.tiktok.com/en/
FINAL PAPERS DUE BY EMAIL BY MIDNIGHT ON THE 20th of April 2021
IMPORTANT: According to Senate regulations, instructors are not permitted to make special
arrangements for final exams. Please consult the Calendar, section 4.7.2.1, General
University Information and Regulations at www.mcgill.ca.
VI. Academic Integrity
McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning
and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offences under the Code of Student
Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures (see www.mcgill.ca/students/srr/honest/ for more
information).
VII. Submission of Assignments in French
In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have the right
to submit in
English or in French any written work that is to be graded.
Conformément à la Charte des droits de l’étudiant de l’Université McGill, chaque étudiant a le droit
de soumettre en français ou en anglais tout travail écrit devant être noté (sauf dans le cas des
cours dont l’un des objets est la maîtrise d’une langue).
VIII. A Note on Student InclusionThis syllabus is a live document and is subject to change
Last updated: December 23rd, 2020
As the instructor of this course I endeavor to provide an inclusive learning environment.
However, if you experience barriers to learning in this course, do not hesitate to discuss them
with me and the Office for Students with Disabilities, 514-398-6009.
IX. Remote Delivery
This course will be delivered entirely online, which might be a challenging experience. If you have
any concerns, you can contact me or refer to McGill’s Student-specific Guidelines for Remote
Teaching and Learning and Remote Learning Resources.
X. Recording of Sessions
Some portions of the online sessions might be recorded. You will be notified through a ‘pop-up’ box
in Zoom if a lecture or portion of a class is being recorded. By remaining in sessions that are
recorded, you agree to the recording, and you understand that your image, voice, and name may
be disclosed to classmates. You also understand that recordings will be made available in
myCourses to students registered in the course.
XI. Intellectual property
Instructor-generated course materials (e.g., handouts, notes, summaries, exam questions) are
protected by law and may not be copied or distributed in any form or medium without the explicit
permission of the instructor. Note that infringements of copyright can be subject to follow up by the
University under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. Please refer to McGill’s
Guidelines for Instructors and Students on Remote Teaching and Learning for further information.
XII. Netiquette
The University recognizes the importance of maintaining teaching spaces that are respectful and
inclusive for all involved. To this end, offensive, violent, or harmful language arising in contexts
such as the following may be cause for disciplinary action:
1. Username (use only your legal or preferred name)
2. Visual backgrounds
3. "Chat" boxes
To maintain a clear and uninterrupted learning space for all, you should keep your microphone
muted throughout your class, unless invited by the instructor to speak. You should follow
instructors’ directions about the use of the “chat” function on remote learning platforms.
Remember that we are communicating through technology and online platforms but still require the
warmth and understanding of human social interactions. The most important rule in netiquette is to
always remember the human(s) behind the machine(s). Always treat your instructor and
classmates with respect in Zoom sessions, emails, or any other communication. Disrespectful
interactions and comments will not be tolerated.You can also read
