ENC 5421 - FALL 2026 - NEAL

This course examines the evolving relationship between digital technologies and composing, exploring how the tools, platforms, and systems we write with and through shape the ways we create, communicate, and circulate knowledge. Drawing on a historical arc, the course moves across three interconnected areas: 1) the digital turn in Rhetoric and Composition, 2) digital multimodal composing practices, and 3) digital automation.

We will investigate how the field has theorized, adopted, and critiqued digital technologies. Special attention will be given to contemporary issues such as generative AI, algorithmic writing tools, and what automation means for composing processes and pedagogies. Throughout, we will ask not only what is happening but how we should respond as scholars, writers, and instructors.

Students will experiment with a range of digital and multimodal tools and develop a final exploratory digital composition accompanied by a critical reflection on their process, choices, and learning.