SES # | TOPICS | READINGS |
---|---|---|
1 | Introduction to the Course, Discussion/Negotiation of the Syllabus, Assignments and Self-Introductions | |
2 & 3 | Theorizing Technological Change |
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3 & 4 |
Sociology of Deviance & Media Moral Panic |
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5 & 6 | Writing & Print |
Plato. "Phaedrus." Translated by Benjamin Jowett. 360 BCE (approx.).
Grossman, Lev. "From Scroll to Screen," The New York Times, September 4, 2011. Helvetica. Directed by Gary Hustwit. Color, 80 min. 2007. (screened in-class during session 6) |
7 & 8 |
Technopanic in Victorian Times |
Optional Reading
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9 | Television Guest Speaker: Dr. Heather Hendershot |
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10 | Comics at Home and Abroad |
Tilley, Carol L. "Seducing the Innocent: Fredric Wertham and the Falsifications That Helped Condemn Comics." Information & Culture 47, no. 4 (2012): 383–413.
Itzkoff, Dave. "Scholar Finds Flaws in Work by Archenemy of Comics," The New York Times, February 20, 2013. Kinsella, Sharon. "Japanese Subculture in the 1990s: Otaku and the Amateur Manga Movement." Journal of Japanese Studies 24, no. 2 (1998): 289–316. |
11 & 12 |
Film Midterm Due at the Beginning of Session 12 |
Phillips, Kendall R. "The Lost Art of Showing Dangerous Films." Stone Canoe 5 (2010). Jacobs, Lea. "Reformers and Spectators: The Film Education Movement in the Thirties." Camera Obscura 8, no. 1 (1990): 28–49. Optional Readings
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13 | What's so new about "New" Media? |
Jenkins, Henry. "Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape." Blog post. November 6, 2006.
Manovich, Lev. |
14 | Threat talk |
Threat Level. Wired.com blog. |
15 |
Does the Internet Make Us Stupid? |
Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic, July 1, 2008. Pasek, Josh, eian more, et al. "Facebook and Academic Performance: Reconciling a Media Sensation with Data." First Monday 14, no. 5 (2009). Shirky, Clay. "Why Abundance is Good: A Reply to Nick Carr." Encyclopedia Britannica blog. July 17, 2008. Optional ReadingsPinker, Steven. "Mind Over Mass Media," The New York Times, June 10, 2010. Bilton, Nick. "The Defense of Computers, the Internet, and Our Brains." The New York Times Bits blog. June 11, 2010. |
16 | Privacy, Anonymity, and Deception |
Boyd, Danah. "Real Name Policies are an Abuse of Power." Blog post. August 4, 2011. Donath, Judith. "Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community." 1996. Turkle, Sherry. |
17 | Cyber-Vigilantism |
MacKinnon, Rebecca. "From Red Guards to Cyber-Vigilantism to Where Next?" Blog post. February 26, 2009. Human Flesh Search Engine Parts I & II Optional ReadingMadrigal, Alexis. "Hey Reddit, Enough Boston Bombing Vigilantism." The Atlantic, April 17, 2013. |
18 & 19 |
Hackers Final Paper Topic Due Session 18 Session 19 Guest Speaker: Molly Sauter |
Coleman, Gabriella. "Our Weirdness is Free." Triple Canopy 15, January 13, 2012. Sterling, Bruce. The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier. Project Gutenberg, 2008.
Live Free or Die Hard. Directed by Len Wiseman. Color, 128 min. 20th Century Fox. 2007. Supplemental ResourceAudio Recording of The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier as read by Cory Doctorow. |
20 & 21 | Pornography and Sexual Predators |
Marwick, Alice E. "To Catch a Predator? The MySpace Moral Panic." First Monday 13, no. 6 (2008). Shah, Nishant. "Subject to Technology: Internet Pornography, Cyber-terrorism and the Indian State." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 8, no. 3 (2007): 349–366. Berkman Center for Internet and Society. |
22 & 23 | Trolls and Cyberbullying Session 23 Guest Speaker: Dr. Nathan Fisk |
Chen, Adrian. "Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web." Gawker, October 12, 2012. Phillips, Whitney. "LOLing at Tragedy: Facebook Trolls, Memorial Pages, and Resistance to Grief Online." First Monday 16, no. 12 (2011). Marwick, Alice E., and Danah Boyd. "The Drama! Teen Conflict, Gossip, and Bullying in Networked Publics." Presented at A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society. Oxford Internet Institute, September 2011. Fisk, Nathan. "Why Children Laugh at the Word 'Cyberbullying'." The Society Pages, July 14, 2012. |
23 & 24 |
Video Games, Violence, and Addiction Final Paper Due Session 24 |
Playing Columbine. Directed by Danny Ledonne. Color, 94 min. 2008. (screened in-class during session 23) |