Patty Ericsson: Exploring Language, Texts, and Technology
Through Books, Maps and Money
By Dr. Patricia Freitag Ericsson
Associate Professor and Director of Digital Technology and Culture/Pullman
Imagine the hushed silence as students gaze upon and touch a 500 year-old Bible, rare and ancient maps that can only be viewed in three collections in the world, or hold priceless gold coins minted in 350 B.C. Then imagine these same students examining and critiquing Amazon’s Kindle, Google Maps, and virtual money. These experiences are not just imaginary for students in my Language, Texts, and Technology (LTT) class. LTT (DTC/ENGL 375) is designed to give students an in-depth understanding of the ways in which language, texts (from books, to maps, to money), and technology have always been intricately related—a relationship that continues into the digital age.
In this course, students majoring in Digital Technology and Culture, English, and a variety of other fields dig into the history of print and see that history come alive with visits to the WSU Manuscripts and Special Collections (MASC) where Director Trevor Bond provides hands-on experience with books like Coberger’s Biblia Latina (printed in Nuremburg on April 14, 1480).
Field trips also include visits to the Fine Arts Department where print-maker and Fine Arts faculty member Kevin Hass demonstrates both lithographic and intaglio print-making. The class gets hands-on experience examining the Kindle—one of the most recent digital book technologies. Students then research and prognosticate on the future of the book. Most agree that the book as we now know it won’t be disappearing soon.
After delving into books and print, students take on the textual world of maps. Since many of the students in this class are well-versed in rhetoric and persuasion, the highly rhetorical nature of maps and map-making
is a lively topic. Another MASC field trip allows students to peruse maps printed in 1500 and examine rare Senex maps that can only be seen at WSU, New Zealand, or the Bodleian Library. Of special interest are old maps of the Pacific Northwest.
Mapmaking in the digital age is introduced by WSU Geographical Information Systems expert Dr. Rick Rupp. One of the most quoted and discussed lines from Dr. Rupp’s lecture is his claim that “All maps lie.” One of the projects for the map unit is the creation of a map narrative using photos, hyperlinks, and Google Maps. Map narratives by LTT students Erin Dienst and Marissa Sandoval are examples our first foray into the genre.
Although many students are not accustomed to thinking of money as a text, after initial research on the US $1 bill, students think differently. By the end of the money unit, many students agree that money might be the text that has been most changed by technology. In Fall 2008, Trevor Bond and the MASC provided students with the opportunity to handle beautifully designed Hellenistic Tetradrachma, as well as other ancient coins, paper certificates, and other scripts that US and foreign governments (and even local entities) have produced. Students study the promise and perils of e-money and even design their own debit cards. In Fall 2010, students may get a chance to design their own coins—made from Palouse clay.
By the end of LTT, students understand the intricate interplay of language, texts, and technology. They know that these elements work together, not in isolation, to influence and create important aspects of our culture. Students also realize that humans have a long history of using technologies in their language and text-based interactions. As students from LTT use technologies and language to create new and varied texts, they understand that they are extending in the rich history and interplay of language, texts, and technology.
Hellenistic Tetradrachma
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/thumb/f/fd/Tetradrachm_Athens_450_reverse_CdM_Paris.jpg/180px-Tetradrachm_Athens_450_reverse_CdM_Paris.jpg
A Senex map
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
~genmaps/
genfiles/COU_files/ENG/aaEng/senex_eng-det01_1700.jpg
The lithographic process
edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk/pics/litho.jpg