COMM 566 NEW MEDIA AND SOCIETY

Annenberg School for Communication

University of Pennsylvania

 

Spring, 2009

 

Tue 10:00-12:00 (Room ASC 223)

 

Prof. Keith Hampton

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This seminar provides an overview of recent research on how “new media,” such as the Internet and mobile phones, influence community, social relationships, and public and private spaces. This subject is heavily weighted towards the evaluation of empirical work, the study of social networks, and research that address sociological research questions. Examples of questions that will be explored in this course include:

 

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 (20%), 20 comments on other students’ blog postings (10%), a 1,000 word blog on the video game lab (5%), a presentation outlining the final project (5%), class participation (10%), and a final project (50%). 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 (500-700 words). Commentaries should focus on a minimum of 4 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 5:00pm on the Sunday before the class meeting. To be clear, students should post commentaries to their blog on the Sunday 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 200 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 6:00am on the day of class for posts related to that week’s readings.

 

Video Game Lab (due March 31):  Students will reserve time in the video game lab (apx. 8 hours over six weeks). Each student will be responsible for playing a series of games on both the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft X-Box 360. Important: As part of this assignment you will be exposed to video games that require physical activity. In addition, the content of these games may include violence, nudity, strong language, and sexual content. Each student must submit a 2,000-2,500 word commentary on their video game experience and relevant course readings.

 

Presentation: The in-class presentation is as an opportunity for students to explore individual interests and to make a preliminary presentation of their final project. Student’s presentations should be 10 minutes long, use PowerPoint, and follow the format of a formal conference presentation. Presentations of papers or proposals should include the following elements:

            -Identification of the key problem.

-Research question(s).

            -Three citations of key research in the area.

-Research methods and procedure.

-Main strengths and weaknesses of your methods.

 

Final Project (due May 4): The final project can take on one of a number of different forms to be negotiated individually with the instructor. Projects should deal with course themes focusing on a topic of interest to the student. Possibilities for the final paper/project include a full research proposal, software or a website, or a paper of near publishable quality based on the analysis of existing data or data collected as part of an original research project (20-25 double spaced pages).

 

COURSE MATERIALS

Required book: 

Ling, R (2008). New Tech, New Ties. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press.

 

All other 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/blog09/566

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

WEEK 1 (Jan 20) - Introduction and Blogging 101

 

WEEK 2 (Jan 27) - Foundations

Hampton, K.N. (2005). Social ties and community in urban places. In Harry Hiller (Ed.) Urban Sociology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 95-108.

Rheingold, H. (1993). A slice of life in my virtual community. In L. M. Harasim (Ed.), Global Networks: Computers and International Communication (pp. 37-80). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Turner, F. (2005). “Where the counterculture met the new economy: The WELL and the Origins of Virtual Community.” In Technology and Culture.

Wellman, B., and Gulia M. (1999). Net-Surfers Don’t Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities.” Pp. 331-366 in Networks in the Global Village, edited by Barry Wellman. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

 

NOTE: January 30 – Guest Lecture – Rich Ling 12-1:30 (ASC 500).

 

WEEK 3 (FEB 3) - Dystopian

Kraut, R., Lunmark, V., Patterson, M., Kiesler, S., Mukopadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). “Internet Paradox: A Social Technology That Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-Being?” In American Psychologist 53(9): 1017-1031.

Nie, N., Hillygus, S., & Erbring, L. (2002). Internet Use, Interpersonal Relations and Sociability: A Time Diary Study. In B. Wellman & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Internet in Everyday Life (pp. 215-243). Oxford: Blackwell.

Block, J. J. (2008). Issues for Dsm-V: Internet Addiction. Am J Psychiatry, 165(3), 306-307.

Jang, K. S., Hwang, S. Y., & Choi, J. Y. (2008). Internet Addiction and Psychiatric Symptoms among Korean Adolescents. Journal of School Health, 78(3), 165-171.

Park, W. K. (2005). Mobile Phone Addiction. . In R. Ling & P. E. Pederson (Eds.), Mobile Communications (pp. 253-272). London: Springer.

Marwick, A. (2008). To catch a predator? The MySpace moral panic. First Monday 13(6).

Goldberger, P. (2003, November). “Disconnected Urbanism: The Cell Phone Has Changed Our Sense of Place More Than Faxes, Computers, and E-Mail.” Metropolis Magazine.

McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Brashears, M. E. (2006). Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks over Two decades. American Sociological Review, 71, 353-375.

WEEK 4 (Feb 10) - Relational Quality and Social Networks

Baym, N. K., Zhang, Y. B., Kunkel, A., Ledbetter, A., & Lin, M.-C. (2007). Relational Quality and Media Use in Interpersonal Relationships. New Media Society, 9(5), 735-752.

Zhao, S. (2006). Do Internet Users Have More Social Ties? A Call for Differentiated Analyses of Internet Use. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 11(3), article 8.

Haythornthwaite, C. (2005). Social Networks and Internet Connectivity Effects. Information, Communication & Society, 8(2), 125 - 147.

Mesch, G., & Talmud, I. (2006). The Quality of Online and Offline Relationships: The Role of Multiplexity and Duration of Social Relationships. The Information Society, 22, 137-148.

Boase, J. (2008). Personal networks and the personal communication system. Information, Communication & Society, 11(4), 490 - 508.

Singla, P., and Richardson, M. (2008). Yes, There is a Correlation – From Social Networks to Personal Behavior on the Web. Paper presented at WWW 2008. Beijing. http://www2008.org/papers/pdf/p655-singla.pdf

 

WEEK 5 (Feb 17) - Relationship Formation [Video Game Tutorial]

Gibbs, J. L., Ellison, N. B., & Heino, R. D. (2006). Self-Presentation in Online Personals: The Role of Anticipated Future Interaction, Self-Disclosure, and Perceived Success in Internet Dating. Communication Research, 33(2), 152-177.

Andrew, T. F., & Judith, S. D. (2005). Homophily in Online Dating: When Do You Like Someone Like Yourself? Paper presented at the CHI '05 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems.

Toma, C., Hancock, J., & Ellison, N. (2008). Separating fact from fiction: An examination of deceptive self-presentation in online dating profiles. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 34: 1023-1036.

McFarlane, M, Bull, SS, and Rietmeijer, CA. (2000). The Internet as a newly emerging risk environment for sexually transmitted diseases. JAMA 284(4): 443-6.

 

WEEK 6 (FEB 24) - Video Games Part 1

Yamaguchi, M. (October 23, 2008). Angry online divorcee ‘kills’ virtual ex-hubby. MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27337812/

Wortham, J. (December 23, 2008). World of Warcraft Players Need Not Apply. The New York Times. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/world-of-warcraft-players-need-not-apply/

Anderson, C., & Dill, K. (2000). Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in Life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(4), 772-790.

Lee, K. M., & Peng, W. (2006). What Do We Know About Social and Psychological Effects of Computer Games? A Comprehensive Review of the Current Literature. In P. Vorderer & J. Bryant (Eds.), Playing Video Games (pp. 327-345). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Williams, D & Skoric, M (2005). Internet Fantasy Violence. Communication Monographs 72(2): 217-233.

Dill, KE, Brown, BP, & Collins MA (2008). Effects of exposure to sex-stereotyped video game characters on tolerance of sexual harassment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44(5): 1402-1408.

Jenkins, H. (1999). Testimony before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee. http://commerce.senate.gov/hearings/0504jen.pdf

WEEK 7 (Mar 3) - Video Games Part II

Chan, E., & Vorderer, P. (2006). Massively Multiplayer Online Games. In P. Vorderer & J. Bryant (Eds.), Playing Video Games (pp. 77-113). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bonis, J. (2007). Acute Wiitis. New England Journal of Medicine 356: 2431-2432.

Cowley, A. D., & Minnaar, G. (2008). Watch out for Wii Shoulder. BMJ, 336(7636), 110-d-.

Pate, R.R. (2008). Physically Active Video Gaming: An Effective Strategy for Obesity Prevention? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 162: 895-896.

Mellecker, R. R., & McManus, A. M. (2008). Energy Expenditure and Cardiovascular Responses to Seated and Active Gaming in Children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 162(9), 886-891.

Graves, L., Stratton, G., Ridgers, N. D., & Cable, N. T. (2007). Comparison of Energy Expenditure in Adolescents When Playing New Generation and Sedentary Computer Games: Cross Sectional Study. BMJ, 335(7633), 1282-1284.

 

WEEK 8 (Mar 10) – Spring Break

 

WEEK 9 (Mar 17) - Presentations

 

WEEK 10 (Mar 24) - Neighborhoods

Hampton, K.N. and Wellman, B. (2003). “Neighboring in Netville: How the Internet Supports Community and Social Capital in a Wired Suburb.” City and Community 2(4), 277-311.

Hampton, K.N. (2003). Grieving for a Lost Network: Collective Action in a Wired Suburb. The Information Society 19(5), 417-428.

Mesch, G. S., & Levanon, Y. (2003). Community Networking and Locally-Based Social Ties in Two Suburban Localities. City & Community, 2(4), 335-351.

Hampton, K. N. (2007). Neighborhoods in the network society: The e-neighbors study. Information, Communication and Society, 10(5), 714-748.

Kavanaugh, A., Carroll, J. M., Rosson, M. B., Zin, T. T., & Reese, D. D. (2005). Community networks: Where offline communities meet online. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 10(4), article 3.

Servon, L., & Pinkett, R. (2004). Narrowing the Digital Divide: The Potential and Limits of the US Community Technology Movement. In M. Castells (Ed.), The Network Society: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (pp. 319-338). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

Hampton, K.N. (2009). Internet Use and the Concentration of Disadvantage: Glocalization and the Urban Underclass.  Working paper.

Wellman, B. (2001). Physical Place and Cyberplace: The Rise of Networked Individualism. In L. Keeble & B. Loader (Eds.), Community Informatics: Shaping Computer-Mediated Social Relations. London: Routledge

 

WEEK 11 (Mar 31) - Surveillance / Privacy

Smith, Gavin J.D. (2004). Behind the Screens. Surveillance & Society 2(2/3): 376-395.

Salzberg, C. (August 8, 2008). Japan: Letter to Google about Street View. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/08/08/japan-letter-to-google-about-street-view/

Center for Digital Democracy (2009). Complaint and Request for Inquiry and Injunctive Relief Concerning Unfair and Deceptive Mobile Marketing Practices. Letter to the FCC.

WEEK 12 (April 7) - Mobile Life Part 1

Gergen, K. J. (2008). Mobile Communication and the Transformation of the Democratic Process. In J. E. Katz (Ed.), Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies (pp. 297-310). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Ling, R (2008). New Tech, New Ties. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press.

Humphreys, L. (2005). Cellphones in public: social interactions in a wireless era. New Media & Society, 7(6), 810-833.

Ito, M., & Okabe, D. (2006). Intimate Connections. In R. Kraut, M. Brynin & S. Keisler (Eds.), Computers, Phones, and the Internet: Domesticating Information Technology (pp. 235-247). New York: Oxford University press.

Matsuda, M. (2005). Mobile Communications and Selective Sociality. In M. Ito, M. Okabe & M. Matsuda (Eds.), Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life (pp. 123-142). Cambridge, MA: MIT press.

 

WEEK 13 (April 14) - Mobile Life Part 2

Hampton, K.N., & Gupta, N. (2008). Grande Wi-Fi: Social Interaction in Wireless Coffee Shops.

Forlano, L. (2008). Anytime? Anywhere?: Reframing Debates around Community and Municipal Wireless Networking. The Journal of Community Informatics, 4(1).

Powell, A. (2008). Wifi Publics: Producing Community and Technology. Information, Communication, and Society, 11(8), 1068-1088.

Hampton, K.N., Livio, O., & Sessions, L (in press). The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces: Internet Use, Social Networks, and the Public Realm. Journal of Communication.

Madara, J. (2009). I Am Here. Wired Magazine, February. 70-75.

Humphreys, L. (2007). Mobile social networks and social practice: A case study of Dodgeball. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), article 17. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/humphreys.html

Xiong, L., R. Ratan & D. Williams (2009, in press). Location-Based Mobile Games: A Theoretical Framework for Research. In A. deSouza e Silva & D. Sutko (Eds.) Hybrid Reality Games: Reconfiguring Social and Urban Networks Via Locative Media. New York: Peter Lang.

 

WEEK 14 (April 21) - Pervasive Awareness

Thompson, C. (Sept 5, 2008). Brave New World of Digital Intimacy. The New York Times Magazine.

Boyd, D., & Ellison, N.B. (2007). Social network sites: definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

Boyd, D. (2006). Friends, Friendster, and Top 8: Writing community into being on social networking sites. First Monday 11(12).

Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B, & Lampe, C. (2008). Social Capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29: 434-445.

Huberman, B.A., D.M. Romero., F. Wu (2009). Social networks that matter: Twitter under the microscope. First Monday 14(1).

Livingston, S. (2008). Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation. New Media & Society 10(3), 393-411.

WEEK 15 (April 28) - Civic / Political Engagement

Rheingold, H. (2008). Mobile Media and Political Collective Action. In J. Katz (ed), Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies (pp. 225-239).

Shah, D., et al (2007). Campaign Ads, Online Messaging, and Participation: Extending the Communication Mediation Model. Journal of Communication, 57(4), 676-703.

Williams, D. (2006). Groups and Goblins: The Social and Civic Impact of Online Gaming. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 50(4): 651-670.

DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Celeste, C., & Shafer, S. (2006). From unequal access to differentiated use. In D. B. Grusky & S. Szelényi (Eds.), The Inequality Reader (pp. 549-565).