Hello--first post on list, but I've been reading and lurking a while now! I first became aware of AOIR when I started doing internet research in fan studies, but didn't realize the listserv existed. My program (at a small university in rural Texas) is moving to incorporate a great deal of new media, transmedia, and multi media work on both graduate and the composition courses (so the movement is tied together, with graduate students learning and teaching). Since I joined the list, I've been saving stuff to read later (life's been a bit hectic with new program initiatives), but I taught an online graduate course titled "new media literacies" last fall which overlaps with the convergence idea in Sabryna's class. Here's my course description and reading list: COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is designed to teach students how to apply critical theories to a range of contemporary media in today's convergence culture. The media covered include (but are not limited to): games, fan creations, wikis, blogs, graphic novels, and other media not traditionally covered in traditional "literary" or "film studies." The course will be informed by interdisciplinary multicultural and gender theories and practices. Scholarship done in literary, media and communication, sociology, and linguistics will be assigned. I do not assume students are experts in all new media (or any new media); I do not assume they are familiar with all the theories referenced in assigned readings. We will focus on literacy practices, and so part of students' work will be tracking their acquisition of new literacy practices during the course of the term. Trouble and Her Friends Melissa Scott Split-Level Dykes to Watch Out For Alison Bechdel Control and Freedom: Power and Paranoia in the Age of Fiber Optics Wendy Hui Kyong Chun Everyday eBay: Culture, Collecting, and Desire Ken Hillis, Michael Petit, Nathan Scott Epley The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context Ernest Mathijs Unit Operation: An Approach to Videogame Operation Ian Bogost The main theory text was Chun's (we spent weeks reading it, one chapter at a time, because of the density and the importance). Too often for my taste, work on new media and media convergence (including Henry Jenkin's which is incredibly important and informed my class in major ways) ignores issues of race and gender. Chun's work is incredible. Robin *** air-l-request@listserv.aoir.org wrote: From: "Sabryna Cornish" Subject: [Air-L] convergence To: Message-ID: <48411AE7020000EE0000627F@wpo.cso.niu.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Hi all--I am teaching a graduate course on media convergence. I have a good idea for readings for the course, but wanted some suggestions from list serv members about what they might require graduate students to read. I am purposely not including a description of the course to see what list serv members think about when they consider the term media convergence. I will say this is a theoretically based course. Thanks in advance for any help! Sabryna Sabryna Cornish Assistant professor of journalism Department of communication Northern Illinois University