In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St Louis with a group of about 30 men to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and to go beyond it all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Sent by President Thomas Jefferson, one of their goals was to find a Northwest Passage, a practical water route stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean that could be used to trade with Asian countries. They were also to record important scientific, geographical and cultural information about the territory they passed through.
Like Lewis and Clark, in English 326 we will be exploring a new territory: the Internet. Professor Burton has already drawn the connection between exploring uncharted territory and learning about digital culture. I think the Northwest Passage offers a particularly helpful metaphor as we chart new digital territory. Like Lewis and Clark, we don't just want to document more fully the new territory of the Internet, we are searching for new ways to navigate it and use it: our own Northwest Passage. I see the Digital Northwest Passage as personal to each student in the class. As we learn about digital culture, we will hopefully each come to understand better how we might use the Internet to enrich our personal and professional lives—understand new ways to use it and learn how we might be influenced or be an influence for good by using it.
I've already mentioned in a comment on Google+ that I have some misgivings about the Internet. But taking this class means confronting my preconceptions and finally moving beyond the familiar territory of Facebook and Gmail to really explore what's out there in the digital world. This semester in English 326 and on this blog, I'm searching for my digital Northwest Passage: a new view of what the Internet has to offer and what I have to offer it.
