Facebook. Twitter. Blogs. Skype. Our ability to communicate has become global and instantaneous through increasing mediation by and reliance upon technology. As our communication methods become further entangled with technology, we move closer to the visions of science fiction writers like Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and Ray Bradbury.

Because English 101 at U.SC offers structured, sustained practice in critical reading, analysis, and composing, First-Year English students are in a prime position to explore how we use technology to communicate and, in turn, how technology uses us.

The theme of technology is particularly suited to include critical reading not only of conventional written texts but also of digital genres like films and video games. Our writing practices will also include both the topos of traditional analytical essays and the chora of blogs, social networks, and multimedia software. Such attention to mediation in our close reading and composition will illuminate the ways in which we are continually in dialogue with technology.