Course: English 215: Digital Technologies in Literature (Fall 2020)
I took Honors English 215 in the 2020 Fall semester. This course allowed me to learn more about the role technology plays in literature. Our class read and analyzed several different works of fiction, non fiction, poetry, drama, film, and other forms of art and literature to explore this.
Before taking this course, I had little experience reading modern literature. This course not only opened my eyes to different modern texts, but gave me the opportunity to learn more about the world around me through exploring these kinds of art and literature. While reading our assigned texts, our class had many conversations about how the book related to various current events and life in general.
Our class read a graphic novel titled Sabrina which was incredibly eye opening and thought provoking. This graphic novel tells the story of a man who begins looking into and believing conspiracy theories after his girlfriend’s tragic murder. This story began the discussion of the spread of false information and conspiracy theories on the internet and in the media, which is extremely relevant in today’s times. I loved that I was able to find connections between this story and how our society functions, even though the story does not address specific current issues. With the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of harmful conspiracy theories and misinformation has been an ongoing issue. Reading this graphic novel during these times was extremely eye opening on how dangerous it is to quickly believe theories and information spread through technology and media without thinking critically about it.