Web site project (60 marks)
Each student in 408c will create and publish an original Web site.
The "purpose" of the site may be instructive, informative, theoretical,
philosophical, declamatory, or experimental (or, most likely, any or all of
these in some combination). It may not be commercial or personal. The site must
be reflexive, i.e., it should aim to increase the visitor’s
understanding of the online medium of the Web by interrogating the constraints
and potentialities of the medium itself. The best work will manage (in some
way, shape, or form) to actually instantiate or confront the principles under
scrutiny within the Web site’s design. In this way, the site will be
more than a research paper tagged with HTML: it will be a reflection on a new
kind of discourse in the idiom of that discourse.
The site should include (most but not necessarily all of) the
following features:
· A home page/ gateway page
· Linked pages (aim for no more than twenty)
· Text (aim for no more than 3000 words)
· Images
· Additional design features (navigation bars, site index or map,
tables, integrative design metaphors)
· Appropriate external links
· Audio, video, or animation
Possible topic areas: history and theory of hypertext; rhetorical
theories and their applicability to Web design and critique; the history and
technology of writing; cultural/political/economic implications of new media;
race/class/gender issues in cyberspace; copyright/plagiarism/censorship in
digital media; interface metaphors and their implications; analyses of online
literature; analyses of online technical documentation or databases; analyses
of commercial Web sites.
The grade for this project consists of 40 marks for the Web site
itself, 10 marks for its presentation to the class, and 10 marks for a written
rationale justifying the site’s design.
Presentation: a 5-7 minute overview of your site. The presentation
will allow you share the results of your hard work with the class and help you
focus your thinking toward writing your rationale. Make sure you 1) clearly
explain the purpose/thesis/argument of your site; 2) discuss some of your most
interesting findings/conclusions/methodologies through a demonstration of
representative pages; 3) articulate your design rationale, again with reference
to representative pages. Your grade will in large measure be determined through
the organization and coherence of the presentation, not whether or not you have
the most exciting site. Thus, the presentation should not be an ad lib performance:
you must know what you want to tell us in advance; it is in your interests to
prepare a written outline.
Rationale: The rationale is your final submission for this course
(due according to the deadline schedule above). It takes the form of an e-mail
memo to me (no more than two pages, single-spaced, with your Web site address
clearly and correctly included) explaining the basis of your design decisions
with reference to the purpose of your site. In effect, it forms a companion
piece to the Web site; it will help you justify your choices by explaining why
you made the design decisions that your did. In other words, the rationale
forces you to think about the (hopefully successful) marriage of form and
function in your site. Needless to say, organize and write the memo in a
rhetorically effective manner.
Penalties will be assessed on the final project for failing to
meet deadlines (proposal, home page, etc.) of 5 points per missed deadline to a
maximum of 15 points. No penalty will be assessed for missing the final Web
site project deadline, but you must have it on the Web by April 4 to receive
full comments. After April 4 you will receive a grade and minimal comments. The
absolute deadline is April 15 to receive credit for the project.
Peer Critiques (20 marks)
Each student will be responsible for providing critical feedback
to two peers. Peer assignments will be chosen at random. Formats for the
critiques will be provided. Critiques will occur both at early and late stages
in the Web site design. Students will not grade each others’ sites, but will
assess the value of each others’ critiques.
Mid-term examination (20 marks)
The mid-term will assess students' understanding of key concepts
in rhetoric and design theory as applied to the World Wide Web. There may also
be a short analytical exercise to test student’s ability to critically examine
Web sites. You will come to the test having prepared to answer the following
question: “what set of principles (drawn from the lectures and from your
previous studies) do you find most useful for critiquing and evaluating Web
sites?” You’ll be asked to explain and justify these principles, then use them
to analyze a Web site.