1. Class attendance and participation (33%). In this course we will regard close reading proficiency as essential to handling the technological apparatus. This proficiency is essential for your comfort, your success, and your ability to translate information into knowledge. For each class meeting, you will need to select a paragraph or passage from that meeting's assigned reading. The passage should be interesting and challenging to you. You will need to be prepared to read it to the class and explicate it. What is it saying, exactly? What are its precise connections to an overall interpretation or thesis you are developing about the text? What is the thesis you are developing, in specific terms? Although you will not be called on during each class meeting, you may be called on at any time. More than two unexcused absences will result in the loss of this component of your grade. More than two omissions of this assignment, when called on, will have the same result.

2. Mid-term project (33%): conduct and transcribe an interview or conversation with someone in business around one of the course topics that interests you. You will need to add a short introduction and draw a few provisional conclusions from your discussion. Ways and means to be discussed. You will also be putting your interview online. Only the most basic web publishing will be required, although more advanced users are welcome to experiment. You will need a UMail account on the university's student server, which also comes with UWeb space to publish materials on the Web. See the Uweb site for instructions and help -- http://uweb.ucsb.edu/. UWeb also offers technical support limited to assistance with uploading your pages to their Web server, though they do not assist in HTML editing or page design. This course is part of the Transcriptions Project, and a Transcriptions person will be available at particular times in the quarter to offer help. If you are unfamiliar with basic web authoring, please read Transcription's guide at http://transcriptions.english.ucsb.edu/resources//web-authoring-basics.shtml

3. Final paper (33%). An interpretative essay on some aspect of the course's general topics of creativity and innovation. You may use the results of your mid-term project in conjunction with other research.