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January 31, 2007

Lecture: How do comm techs shape society?

Key concepts: fallacy of technological neutrality, technological determinism, , shaping, sociotechnical system
Examples: Oral Cultures (Homer's Iliad clip 1 and clip 2), Moses's Bridge, Dr. Strangelove, the Therac-25 Disaster

Announcement: All blogs are now visible on the blogs page

Announcement: The second assignment is due 2/7

Class Reader: Orality, Literacy, and Modern Media

Ong, Walter. (2007) Orality, Literacy, and Modern Media. FROM: Communication in History: Technology, Culture, & Society. (5th ed.) David Crowley & Paul Heyer (eds.), New York: Allyn & Bacon. pp. 66-72. Password Protected Online Full-Text (PDF) [Get Password Help]

Class Reader: The Judgment of Thamus

Postman, Neil. (1992). The Judgment of Thamus. FROM: Technopoly. New York: Vintage. pp. 3-20. Password Protected Online Full-Text (PDF) [Get Password Help] Key concepts: the fallacy of technological neutrality, examples of technological determinism

Assignment: BLOG POST: Communication Infrastructure Treasure Hunt

Part I: Sign-Up for an item from the Password Protected treasure hunt sign-up sheet [Get Password Help]. Include the text of the item at the beginning of your blog post (e.g., copy and paste it).

Part II: After you find the item, briefly describe what you did and what you found, including a photograph or picture (as indicated by the item).

Part III: Tell a one-paragraph story about your infrastructure that is either in the form of a technological determinist account or in the form of a cultural determinist account, using the case studies from Wednesday's Winston reading as your model. (State which approach you chose.)

Some important notes:

• Use good judgement during this assignment and behave in a professional manner.
• Only one student can choose each topic on the sign-up sheet.
• The write up must be your own work. However, it is OK to work together with other class members or non-members to find the item.
• This assignment usually requires calling people on the phone or going somewhere
• Anticipate that the assignment will take time to complete and don't wait until the last minute
• If you want to use a digital camera or cell phone camera and you don't have one (and you can't borrow one from a friend), ask your TA for help.
• If your topic turns out to be impossible, switch topics!
• Extra credit will be given for successfully completing a topic that turns out to be very difficult, if you document the difficulty.
• You don't have to do historical research to complete Part III -- just tell a plausible story about the infrastructure that fits the perspective of a technological determinist or a cultural determinist.

This assignment must be at least 300 words (about 1 page). Part I -- restating the assignment -- does not count toward the word limit.

DEADLINE: Post your blog entry by 11 a.m. -- one hour before class begins. (You may want to select your topic as soon as you can.)