Typography and Textuality

Zach Whalen is turning his dissertation into a blog-web-thing, in the hopes of developing a book-thing. In whatever form it takes, it’s an interesting approach to a textual study of video games. This study asks how the design and configuration of text in videogames contributes to their textuality. I argue that videogames are texts in…

The great global warming collapse

It is dangerous to use local weather events (such as a heavy or light winter) to make judgments about global climate. With that caveat, I’m blogging the following because I’ve noted a shift in the online discussion about “global warming,” or the more general “climate change”. This essay does a good job exploring the events…

ENG 111: Pop Up Scholarship

Our first few readings in my freshman writing course were personal essays, with a clear narrative.  We read an academic paper today, and there’s another assigned for Friday.  A few students are already reporting feeling a little lost in the detail. I gather this is because they are used to reading textbooks, where all the…

"Can We Tape?"

I usually carry a digital voice recorder with me.  In most states it’s legal to record a conversation if all parties consent, although Pennsylvania law requires that all parties to a conversation be notified that a conversation is being recorded. “It is always legal to tape or film a face-to-face interview when your recorder or…