COURSE DESCRIPTION
This upper level course provides an overview of recent research on the social implications of new media. The focus is on how recent technological innovations, including personal computing, the Internet and mobile phones may be changing the way we interact with our environments and those around us. This seminar takes students beyond basic questions of “are virtual communities real communities?” and “does the Internet destroy or save community?” to an in depth discussion of how networks of community relations are maintained and transformed on and offline as a result of new media. The course is based around the argument that computer networks are inherently social networks, linking people, organizations and communities. This subject is heavily weighted towards the evaluation of empirical studies, the use of social network analysis, and studies that address sociological research questions. Students will learn to critically examine the impact of new media on society through in-depth seminars and independent research.
REQUIREMENTS
Students are not expected to have personal experience with the technologies discussed in this course. A major component of the course will involve the development and use of a personal blog. Students will receive access to the necessary blogging software and will be provided with basic instruction on how to maintain a blog.
Final grades will be based on an evaluation of 10 blog postings on the subject of the weekly course readings (30%), 20 comments on other students’ blog postings (20%), six assignments (40%), and class participation (10%). Students are urged to pay close attention to due dates, late assignments will not be accepted.
Course readings and participation: Students are expected to have read the week’s readings in advance of the course meeting. Class meetings will be in a seminar format and students should be prepared to participate in a discussion based on the topic and readings of the week.
Blog Postings: Students are responsible for submitting short commentaries on 10 of the weeks’ readings (300-500 words). Commentaries should focus on all of the readings from each week and should consist of limited summary; focusing on an evaluation of the readings and identifying 2-3 questions for discussion during the class meeting (focus on the papers’ key issues, strengths and limitations, and a comparison to previous weeks’ readings). Each commentary should be submitted as a post to the student’s personal class blog by 10:00am on the Saturday before the class meeting. To be clear, students should post commentaries to their blog on the Saturday before the topic is discussed in class.
Blog Comments: Each student is responsible for contributing comments to fellow students’ blogs. Comments should be a minimum of 125 words and offer a critique of that week’s posting, seek clarification, compare or contrast postings, or provide additional evidence or new information (such as a link to a related article, website, etc.). Each student must contribute a minimum of 20 comments, credit will be given for a maximum of two comments each week, students cannot comment on the same blog more than three times over the duration of the course. Comments must be posted by 8:00am on the day of class for posts related to that week’s readings.
Assignments: Students are responsible for completing all six of the following assignments. The following are intended as brief outlines of each assignment, detailed instructions will be provided in class and supporting material will be posted to the class Blackboard website.
1) Important Matters (5%), Handout: September 19, Due: October 3. Listen to the radio interview featuring Prof. Lynn Smith-Lovin (Duke University) and Prof. Robert Putnam (Harvard University). Write a short blog posting (500-750 words) addressing the questions in the assignment handout.
2) Internet Addiction (10%), Handout: September 26, Due: October 10. Administer Young’s Internet Addiction test and short demographic survey to 20 people. Compile your results and complete the age and gender cross-tabs as outlined on the project handout. Write a blog posting (750-1000 words) discussing the interview process and your findings. Bring the project hand out to class, meet with your small group, combine your results using the group handout and make a short 5 minute group presentation explaining your findings.
3) Time-Use (5%), Handout: October 10, Due: October 17. Complete the one-day time use diary starting at 4:00am on any weekday. Compile your results using the project handout. Write a blog posting (500-750 words) discussing your findings. Bring the project handout and completed diary to class, meet with your small group, combine your results using the group handout and make a short 5 minute group presentation explaining your findings.
4) Public Space (10%), Handout: October 17, Due: October 31. This project involves ethnographic observations of media use in public spaces. You must spend a total of 5 hours (2½ hours on a weekday and 2½ hours on a weekend) at one of the following locations: 30th Street Station, Rittenhouse Square, The Last Drop coffee house (1300 Pine St), Starbucks at Centre Square (1500 Market Street). Draw a diagram of the space. Make detailed notes of how people use electronic devices in this space. Write a blog posting (1250-2000 words) discussing your findings. Bring the project handout and observation notes to class. Meet with your small group, discuss your findings, and make a short 5 minute group presentation explaining your findings.
5) Privacy (5%), Handout: November 7, Due: November 14. Choose one of the following websites: Amazon, Google, MySpace. Research the company that operates the website you selected and compile a list of other websites and companies owned/operated by the same corporation. Find resources that identify what information this company collects and tracks from its customers/users. What if any privacy concerns do you have about this website and the company that operates it? Write a blog posting (500-750 words) discussing your findings.
6) Surveillance (5%), Handout: November 21, Due: December 5. This project involves identifying and mapping all video cameras directed into public spaces within University City and the surrounding area. Sign up for one of the map quadrants. Walk your quadrant and record the location of any cameras on your paper map. Visit the class website and use the provided interface to Google Maps to record your observations. Write a blog posting (500-750 words) discussing observations from your quadrant and the collective observations of the class Google Map.
COURSE MATERIALS
Readings, audio files, and grades will be available from the course Blackboard website: https://courseweb.library.upenn.edu/.
Handouts, information on assignments, and other announcements will be available from the course blog:
http://www.mysocialnetwork.net/blog/410