COMMUNICATION AND NEW
TECHNOLOGY
COMMUNICATION STUDIES 620
University of Kansas, Spring 2012
Dr. Nancy Baym
Office:
115
Bailey Hall
Office Hours
(best): Mondays 9:30-almost 11, Wednesdays 2:00 - 4 & by
appointment
Email (next
best): nbaym@ku.edu
Phone:
785-864-9876
Mailbox: Communication
Department Office, 102 Bailey
Course Description
This course
will engage a very broad topic through close reading of recent books about the
internet and other new communication technologies:
Henry
Jenkins, Sam Ford & and Joshua Green (in press). Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture.
New York: NYU Press.
Leah Lievrouw
(2011). Alternative and Activist New
Media. London: Polity.
Daniel
Solove (2008). The Future of Reputation:
Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press. (read free online here:
http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/dsolove/Future-of-Reputation/text.htm)
Mizuko
Ito et al (2010). Hanging Out, Messing
Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media.
Cambridge, MA: MIT. (free download available here:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/full_pdfs/hanging_out.pdf)
William
Powers (2011). HamletÕs BlackBerry:
Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. NY: Harper Perennial
Through these
readings, we will consider questions such as: What communication possibilities
are enabled by new technologies? What social patterns do these possibilities
disrupt? How do people use new technologies in communication? To what extent is
social change caused by technology? To what extent is it caused by social
factors? What is ÒnewÓ about Ònew technologyÓ?
Themes we will
cover include: convergence, community, control, relationships, identity,
information, literacy, learning, participation, entertainment, gaming, work,
privacy, law, civic & political engagement, globalism.
Most class time
will be spent discussing the readings to elucidate key theoretical concepts,
recurring concerns, and findings. Think of it as a guided (and graded) book
club.
Students will
also conduct original research projects to find answers to questions about new
communication technologies that most interest them. Some class meetings will be
devoted to developing and presenting these projects.
Course Communication
Blackboard has
been set up with a discussion forum and other communication tools. If you are a
Twitter user, you can use the course hashtag #coms620 for me and any other
students (or observers!). There is also a Facebook group.
Assignments and
Expectations
Everyone is
expected to come to class having finished the dayÕs assigned readings, with
notes in hand, ready to discuss the themes, main concepts, and key points and
evidence the readings cover. Everyone should participate in discussions,
neither dominating nor allowing others to carry the intellectual load.
Undergraduate Students:
Newsbyte 5 %
Notes 25%
2 tests/final 45%
Project 25
%
-
one page proposal
-
GROUP final proposal (10%)
-
GROUP final paper (10%)
-
GROUP presentation (5%)
Graduate
Students:
Newsbyte 5%
Notes 15%
Final 20%
Project 60%
-proposal (15%)
-final paper (40%)
-presentation at research symposium Saturday May 5 (5%)
KUÕs College
Academic Council describes each letter grade this way:
á The grade of A indicates achievement of outstanding quality.
á The grade of B indicates achievement of high quality.
á The grade of C indicates achievement of acceptable quality.
á The grade of D indicates achievement that
is minimally passing, but at less
than acceptable quality.
á
The
letters F, U (unsatisfactory) and NC (no credit) are used to indicate that the
student's work was not of passing
quality at the time of un-enrollment from the course and that the student
must repeat the course in order to receive credit.
Newsbytes:
The goal of newsbytes is to keep current with new developments in the
area and to broaden the range of topics we cover. There is a Blackboard
discussion forum for posting newsbytes. Once during the semester (sign up in
advance) post a link to a current news article or story about communication and
new technology, a brief summary of the article, and one or two questions it
raises for you. In addition, take 5 minutes in class to describe the article
and pose your question(s).
Notes on reading: The goals of these notes are to help you
read for the major issues, develop an understanding of the key issues,
theories, and phenomena we cover, and to ensure that you come to class ready to
contribute to discussion. For each class meeting, you should come with 1-2
pages of typed notes prepared. Notes should seek to identify the main points of the readings and to identify what they
have to say in response the the classÕs core questions (What communication
possibilities are enabled by new technologies? What social patterns do these
possibilities disrupt? How do people use new technologies in communication? To
what extent is social change caused by technology? To what extent is it caused
by social factors? What is ÒnewÓ about Ònew technologyÓ?). Notes should be
turned in each Wednesday.
Tests: The goal of the tests is to provide you an opportunity to
present a well-synthesized understanding of issues covered across readings. The tests will be take-home essay questions. The better the notes you have taken
on the readings and class meetings, the easier it will be to do well on these
exams. Graduate students will write a take home final comparable to a
comprehensive exam question.
Project: Individuals and groups will complete
research projects designed to answer a research question or test a hypothesis
about communication and new technologies. For example, you might do a survey to
find out how people use the internet in conjunction with TV or what their
attitudes are toward the use of communication media in friendships. You might
look at how particular social or political causes are using social media and
with what effects. There are countless projects you could do, so long as they
are relevant to the courseÕs topics and you find them engaging. In most cases,
graduate students should lead their own projects. If you would like to
collaborate or work with undergraduates in the course, please discuss it with
me. Undergraduates should work in groups. If you are an undergraduate who
yearns to do an independent project or to work with a graduate student project,
please discuss it with me.
Extra Support
Writing Support: I encourage you to take advantage of
KUÕs writing centers, known as the Writer's Roosts. These are places for
students to talk about their writing with trained peer consultants. There are
several open across the Lawrence campus; please check the website at
www.writing.ku.edu for current locations and hours. The Roosts welcome both
drop-ins and appointments. There is no charge for their services. For more
information, call 864-2399 or send an e-mail to writing@ku.edu. There is a very
helpful online writerÕs handbook by the University of WisconsinÕs writing
center available here: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/index.html
Students
With Disabilities: The staff of Services for Students with
Disabilities (SSD), 135 Strong, 785-864-2620 (v/tty), coordinates
accommodations and services for KU courses. If you have a disability for which you may request
accommodation in KU classes and have not contacted them, please do as soon as
possible. Please also see me privately in regard to this course.
Course Policies
All grade
concerns should be addressed either during office hours, an appointment, or if
it is a very quick matter, just after class. University privacy concerns
prevent me from discussing your grades via email. If you believe you have been
graded unfairly or incorrectly, you must
bring this to my attention within one week of the assignment being returned in
class. After that week, I will not review grades that have been assigned.
You are responsible for being in class to collect your returned work in a
timely manner.
Under
normal circumstances late work will not
be accepted. Tests and papers (though not presentations) can be turned in
early. If you encounter an extreme emergency at the last minute, we may be able
to make alternative arrangements IF you contact me immediately. If you contact
me after missing work, I make no promises.
Incompletes: will be granted only when these three
conditions are met: there is a serious emergency, no additional class
attendance is necessary to finish the course, and the extension is cleared with
me before the final class period.
Academic Integrity: The issue of digital
plagiarism has raised concerns about ethics, student writing experiences, and
academic integrity. KU subscribes to a digital plagiarism detection program
called SafeAssign, which may be used to check papers submitted in this course.
In addition to turning in a paper copy, you must submit your exams and papers
electronically within BlackBoardª so that your paper can be checked against web
pages and databases of existing papers. Although you may never have engaged in
intentional plagiarism, many students do incorporate sources without citations;
this program can alert us to your academic needs. If you have concerns about
turning in your paper to this database electronically, you may instead turn in
complete print outs of all sources you used that are not already listed on the
syllabus. I may still check excerpts of such papers using electronic search
engines. NO GRADE WILL BE ASSIGNED UNTIL ONE OF THESE OPTIONS HAS BEEN TAKEN.
Plagiarism and other practices of
academic dishonesty will
result in a reduced grade and possible a zero for the assignment and possibly
the course, and will be reported for further possible disciplinary action at
the college and university levels. Disciplinary actions at those levels can
include reduced grades, academic probation and expulsion. Simply put, all work
you turn in must be your own. Ideas that came from others must be credited to
them, whether through quotation or citation. If you click on Òavoiding
plagiarismÓ at this KU website http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/docs/guides.shtml you will have a useful starting place
if you are unsure what exactly constitutes the misuse of sources that leads to
charges of plagiarism
University
Senate Rules and Regulations (USRR) 2.6.1 provides the following definition of
student academic misconduct:
Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be limited to,
disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student in an
academic setting, giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations or in
the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments; knowingly
misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized change of grades;
unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures;
falsification of research results, plagiarizing of another's work; violation of
regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects; or
otherwise acting dishonestly in research.
Taping Class. Course materials prepared by the
instructor, together with the content of all lectures and review sessions
presented by the instructor are the property of the instructor. Video and audio
recording of lectures and review sessions without the consent of the instructor
is prohibited. On request, the instructor will usually grant permission for
students to audio tape lectures, on the condition that these audio tapes are
only used as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless
explicit permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures and
review sessions may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted
to any other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course.
COMS 620: Communication and
New Technology
COURSE SCHEDULE
Introduction to
Jenkins et al
Introduction to
Lievrouw
Introduction to
Solove
Introduction to
Ito et al
Prologue & Introduction
to Powers
Gleick, J.
(2011). ÔDrums that TalkÕ,Õ Chapter 1 in The
Information, NY: Pantheon
Standage, T.
(2011, December 17) Social Media in the 16th Century: How Luther
Went Viral. The Economist. {Read the
article and listen to the 15 minute interview posted at the top}
Standage, T.
(1998). Love Over The WireÕ from The
Victorian Internet. New York: Berkley
Jenkins, H., Ford, S. & and Green, J.
(in press). Spreadable Media: Creating
Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. New York: NYU Press.
Ch 1: Why Media
Spreads
Ch 5: What
Constitutes Meaningful Participation
Ch 6: Random
Acts of Circulation?
Ch 8: Thinking
Transnationally
Lievrouw,
L. (2011). Alternative and Activist New
Media. London: Polity.
Ch 2. Roots
Ch 3. Culture
Jamming
Ch 4. Hacking
Ch 5.
Participatory Journalism
Ch 6.
Mobilization
Ch 7. Commons
Knowledge
Ch 8. New Media,
Mediation
Daniel
Solove (2008). The Future of Reputation:
Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
Ch 2: How the Free Flow of Information Liberates and
Constrains Us
Ch 3: Gossip and the Virtues of Knowing Less
Ch 4: Shaming and the Digital Scarlet Letter
Ch 6: Free Speech, Anonymity, and
Accountability.
Chapter 7: Privacy in an Overexposed World
Chapter 8: Conclusion: The Future of Reputation
Hannu Rajaniemi
(2010). The Detective and the Chocolate Dress. Chapter 3 from The Quantum Thief. New York: Tor.
Mizuko
Ito et al (2010). Hanging Out, Messing
Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media.
Cambridge, MA: MIT.
Appendix 1: Project Overview
Appendix 2: Project Descriptions
Ch 1: Media Ecologies (Lead Authors: Heather Horst, Becky Herr-Stephenson
& Laura Robinson)
Ch 2: Friendship (Lead Author: danah boyd)
Ch 3: Intimacy (Lead Author: C. J. Pascoe)
Ch 4: Families (Lead Author: Heather A. Horst)
Ch 5: Gaming
(Lead Authors Mizuko Ito & Matteo Bittanti)
William Powers (2011). HamletÕs
BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age. NY: Harper Perennial
Part 1: What
Larks? The conundrum of the connected life.
Part 2: Beyond
the Crowd: Teachings of the seven philosophers of screens
Part 3: In
Search of Depth: Ideas in practice
Monday April
23 – Monday April 30
Wednesday May 2: Final Class Meeting
Final take home exam due 1 pm Thursday May 10