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TC 375: New Media, Old Media

Fall, 2007

Instructor: Dr. Nicole Ellison

Dept of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media

Michigan State University

Course Description

This class focuses on the social impacts of newer information and communication technologies. We will learn about theoretical approaches to the study of computer-mediated communication and explore how technology affects social processes such as identity formation and relationship-development. Key concepts such as privacy, the digital divide, community, and technological determinism will be discussed and critiqued.

Course Objectives

When students complete the course, they will be able to:

List and describe the main theoretical approaches to the study of computer-mediated communication in relationship to psychological, interpersonal and group dynamics
Critically assess claims about the impact of technology on society
Describe the historical, political, legal and cultural dimensions of new media in relation to topics like copyright and privacy
Explain how issues of identity, sexual orientation, race, and gender affect the use of technology in society

Required texts

Thurlow, C., Lengel, L. & Tonic, A. (2004). Computer-Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Additional Materials

We will be relying heavily on online materials to supplement our textbook, so you will need regular access to a computer with Internet access in order to get the online readings. Students are responsible for checking ANGEL and their MSU email accounts regularly to stay abreast of announcements, etc. If you don’t check your MSU email account, you should forward it to an account that you do check. You may also forward your ANGEL mail to a non-MSU account.

Content and Reading Schedule

Note: Any aspect of this syllabus, including the content and reading schedule, may be adjusted throughout the semester. Any changes will be announced in class and via ANGEL. Students are responsible for checking ANGEL on a regular basis.

NOTE: “CMC” refers to the Thurlow, Lengel, and Tonic text.

Date	Topic	Readings Due
Tues., Aug. 28, 2006	Introductions and Syllabus	Strongly recommended: “Intro 1: For students” (CMC, 1-7)
Thurs., Aug. 30, 2006	History of the Internet	Rheingold "Visionaries and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net" (http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/3.html). Warning: this is a long article; you may need to skim sections
		“BT 1: Defining CMC” (CMC, 13-22)
		Recommended: Computer History Museum Exhibit on Internet History: http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/internet_history/
Tues., Sept. 04 2006	History of the WWW	“BT 2: Situating CMC” (CMC, 25-33)
		Kelly, "We are the Web" (online at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.08/tech.html ) (note: article is 5 pages long)
Thurs., Sept. 06, 2006	Wikis, Web 2.0	Schiff, "'Know it All" (from The New Yorker, online at http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060731fa_fact )
		O'Reilly, "What is the Web 2.0?" (online at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html?page=1 - Note it is multiple pages; Skim pages 4 and 5)
		Recommended: Rosenberg, "Fear of links" (online at http://www.salon.com/tech/col/rose/1999/05/28/weblogs/ )
Tues., Sept. 11, 2006	Online Journalism/Blogs	Hiler, "Blogosphere: the emerging Media Ecosystem" (in ANGEL)
		Selected pages from Pew Internet report on Bloggers (online at http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/186/report_display.asp (click on ‘View PDF of Report’); Read the following sections only: Summary of Findings, Part 2, 3, and 5)
		Recommended: Hourihan, "What we are doing when we blog" (online at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/06/13/megnut.html )
Thurs., Sept. 13, 2006	CMC Theories	“BT 3: Theorizing CMC” (CMC, 35-43)
		To Be Determined
Tues., Sept. 18 2006	Interpersonal CMC	“BT 4: Describing CMC: Interpersonal Dynamics” (CMC, 45-55)
		Walther & Parks, "Cues Filtered Out, Cues Filtered In" pp 529-452 (in ANGEL) Note: This is a long document, so read online or only print the pages you will be using
Thurs., Sept. 20, 2006	Online Identity	“CI 2: Online Identity: Real or Virtual?” (CMC, 95-105)
		Who Am We? Interview with Sherry Turkle in Wired (online at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//4.01/turkle.html?person=sherry_turkle&topic_set=wiredpeople ) (Note: read all ten pages)
Tues., Sept. 25, 2006	Instant Messaging and Language on the Net	“CI 4: Language and the Internet” (CMC, 118-127)
		de Jager “IM N, RU?” (online at http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/AMMagArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5210 )
Thurs., Sept. 27, 2006	Catch-up and Review
Tues., Oct. 02, 2006	EXAM 1
Thurs., Oct. 04, 2006	Ethics, Digital Divide, Race Online	Nakamura, "Race in/for cyberspace" (online at http://www.humanities.uci.edu/mposter/syllabi/readings/nakamura.html )
	(Virtual Group Activity distributed)	“CI 1: Online Ethics and International Inequities” (CMC, 82-92)
Tues., Oct. 9, 2006	Gender and Technology	AAUW, "technology Savvy" pages ix -xiii (pdf available online at http://www.aauw.org/member_center/publications/TechSavvy/TechSavvy.pdf )
		Bruckman, Finding One's Own in Cyberspace (available online as PDF and Word doc at http://www-static.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/papers/old-papers.html#tr )
		“CI 5: Women and the Internet” (CMC, 129-135)
Thurs., Oct. 11, 2006	Online Communities	“CI3 3: Online Communities: Real or Imagined?” (CMC, 107-116)
		Rheingold, "The Heart of the Well" (online at http://www.well.com/user/hlr/vcbook/vcbook1.html )
Tues., Oct. 16, 2006	Virtual Communities/ Governance.	Dibbell, A Rape in Cyberspace (available online: http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle.html ) (contains descriptions of sexuality and violence)
Thurs., Oct. 18, 2006	Avatars Offline (film)	No reading due
	Virtual Groups Assignment Due
Tues., Oct. 23, 2006 Note: We will be meeting in another location; to be announced	CMC in Groups	“BT 5: Explaining CMC: Group Dynamics” (CMC, 58-67)
		“BT6: Contexualizing CMC: "Flaming" and Embedded Media” (CMC, 69-80)
Thurs., Oct. 25, 2006	Copyright	Boynton, "The Tyranny of Copyright" (in ANGEL)
		Recommended: "The Creators Own Ideas" from Technology Review (http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=14503&ch=infotech )
Tues., Oct. 30, 2006	Review
Thurs., Nov. 01, 2006	EXAM 2
Tues., Nov. 06, 2006	Privacy	Brin, "The Transparent Society" (online at http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/fftransparent.html) - 4 pages
		Bradsher, "China enacting a high-technology plan ot track people." (online at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/business/worldbusiness/12security.html?ex=1344657600&en=bb3790592dd70f0f&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink)
Thurs., Nov. 08, 2006	Gaming (Guest Lecture: Dr. Cliff Lampe )	Nardi and Harris, "Strangers and Friends: Collaborative Play in World of Warcraft" (in ANGEL)
		Jenkins, "Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked " online at http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html
		Recommended: Steinkuehler and Williams, Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as "Third Places" (online at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue4/steinkuehler.html )
Tues., Nov. 13 2006	Mobile Technologies	Ito, "A New Set of Social Rules for a Newly Wireless Society" (online at http://www.ojr.org/japan/wireless/1043770650.php)
		Lipscomb, Totten, Cook & Lesch, "Cellular phone etiquette among college students" (in ANGEL or online at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2005.00483.x )
Thurs., Nov. 15, 2006	Social Software	Gross, Acquisti, & Heinz, "Information Revelation and Privacy in Online Social Networks" (online at www.heinz.cmu.edu/~acquisti/papers/privacy-facebook-gross-acquisti.pdf )
		boyd and Ellison, “Overview of Social Network Site Research and History” (URL to be announced)
Tues., Nov. 20, 2006	Social Software continued	Ellison et al., "The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites" (online at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html ) - OK to skim
		boyd, Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace (online at http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html)
		Recommended: Donath & boyd, "Public displays of connection" (pdf available online at http://www.danah.org/papers/PublicDisplays.pdf)
Thurs., Nov. 22, 2006	Thanksgiving Holiday	Enjoy your holiday! Class does not meet.
Tues., Nov. 27 2006	Technology in the Organization	Brown & Duguid, "Home Alone" online at http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_4/brown_chapter3.html
		Social Life of Paper (available online at http://www.gladwell.com/2002/2002_03_25_a_paper.htm)
Thurs., Nov. 29, 2006	Design	Parker, "Absolute PowerPoint" (online at http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/group/powerpt.html)
		“Topic 8: Visual Communication"(CMC, 224-227)
		Tufte, "PowerPoint does Rocket Science" (online at http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0001yB&topic_id=1). Skim, don't read comments at bottom of page
		Recommended: "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" (online at http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/Overview.html)
Tues., Dec. 04, 2006	Future of the Internet	Pew Internet report on "The Future of the Internet," read the executive summary and one of the predictions (available online at http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Future_of_Internet.pdf)
Thurs., Dec. 06, 2006	Review
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 3-5pm	Final Exam