Check out this on campus lecture series. On February 1, see Mark Pauline from Survival Research Labs.
Here is a list of links to interesting artists, projects,films, and issues on which one could write a final research paper. Often updated, keep checking back.
Look up authors, concepts, terms, art movements, etc. on this open source encyclopedia. Try: Futurism, Cyborg, Telepresence, Blade Runner, Walter Benjamin...
Don't know a word? Don't skip over it. Look it up. The OED is available online through the library's website.
Interested in becoming a Rhetoric major or minor? Find out how at the above site.
If you need help with your writing, check out UCB's Student Learning Center. You can sign up with a tutor.