Class Schedule (by date)

21 Jan (Wed):

Introduction   [Lecture]
Please try to login to the online readings. Problems? get password help.   [Note]

26 Jan (Mon):

28 Jan (Wed):

Why should I care about comm tech?   [Lecture]
Case study: Collins -- Solresol   [Moodle Reading]
Discussion sections begin meeting today.   [Note]

2 Feb (Mon):

How do new technologies begin?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 2: Convenience   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 3: Determinism   [Textbook]

4 Feb (Wed):

How do comm techs shape society (part 1)?   [Lecture]
Case Study: Postman -- The Judgment of Thamus   [Moodle Reading]
Setting Up Your Class Blog (Discussion Section)   [Help/Handout]

6 Feb (Fri):

9 Feb (Mon):

How do comm techs shape society (part 2)?   [Lecture]
Berkun -- Myth: We Understand the History of Innovation   [Moodle Reading]
Berkun -- Myth: People Love New Ideas   [Moodle Reading]
Writing Requirements and Expectations   [Help/Handout]

11 Feb (Wed):

What is infrastructure and why is it important?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 4: Control   [Textbook]
BLOG POST DUE: Infrastructure Treasure Hunt   [Assignment]

16 Feb (Mon):

What's special about digital media?   [Lecture]
Manovich -- Numerical Representation   [Moodle Reading]

18 Feb (Wed):

What's important about digital media?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 15: Politics   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 16: Globalization   [Textbook]
Grading Rubric (Discussion Section)   [Help/Handout]
BLOG POST: The Misguided Archaeologist   [Assignment]

23 Feb (Mon):

Who gets what technology?   [Lecture]
Wilson -- The Information Revolution and the Global Digital Divide   [Moodle Reading]

25 Feb (Wed):

How does comm tech make us who we are?   [Lecture]
Dyer -- Making 'White' People White   [Moodle Reading]
C&T Ch. 13: Identity   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 14: Challenging Identity   [Textbook]
EXTENSION: The deadline for the weekly assignment Do-it-Yourself Digitization has been moved to Mon 3/2   [Note]
How to submit blogs for grading (Discussion Section)   [Help/Handout]
Midterm Review Sheet   [Help/Handout]

27 Feb (Fri):

2 Mar (Mon):

How do comm techs make the world the way it is?   [Lecture]
McLuhan -- The Medium is the Message   [Moodle Reading]
C&T Ch. 12: Space   [Textbook]
BLOG POST: Do-it-Yourself Digitization   [Assignment]

4 Mar (Wed):

Turn in TWO of the three blog assignments for grading   [Deadline]
MIDTERM EXAM   [Deadline]

9 Mar (Mon):

11 Mar (Wed):

You use it to get a date (relationships)   [Lecture]
Case Study: Standage -- Love Over the Wires   [Moodle Reading]
Case study: Theroux -- aloha.net   [Moodle Reading]
BLOG POST: The Norm Experiment   [Assignment]

16 Mar (Mon):

You live in an interconnected world (globalization)   [Lecture]
Case Study: Cox -- War, Murder, Rape... All for Your Cell Phone   [Moodle Reading]
Case Study: Mathias -- The Fakebook Generation   [Moodle Reading]

18 Mar (Wed):

You're supposed to buy the latest thing (obsolescence)   [Lecture]
Slade -- Made to Break   [Moodle Reading]
BLOG POST: Energy, Toxics, Waste, and Slavery   [Assignment]

23 Mar (Mon):

SPRING VACATION   [Holiday]

25 Mar (Wed):

SPRING VACATION   [Holiday]

30 Mar (Mon):

It helped you grow up (childhood)   [Lecture]
Seiter -- Practicing at Home: Computers and Cultural Capital   [Moodle Reading]

1 Apr (Wed):

You make choices about it (appropriation)   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 5: Luddism   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 6: Appropriate Technology   [Textbook]
BLOG POST: Dear Diary, My Capital Inventory   [Assignment]

6 Apr (Mon):

You watch a lot of screens (psychological processes)   [Lecture]
Reeves -- Image Size, Motion, Scene Changes, and Subliminal Messages   [Moodle Reading]

8 Apr (Wed):

You use it to find information (search)   [Lecture]
Bartelle -- The Search   [Moodle Reading]
BLOG POST: Search The Search Engine   [Assignment]

13 Apr (Mon):

You use it to make other things (innovation)   [Lecture]
Zittrain -- The Future of the Internet / The Generative Pattern   [Moodle Reading]

15 Apr (Wed):

You use it to express yourself (art)   [Lecture]
BLOG POST: The State of Generativity   [Assignment]
HTML Cheat Sheet   [Help/Handout]

20 Apr (Mon):

It is sold to you (advertising)   [Lecture]
1984 -- part one, sections 1-4   [Textbook]
This time only: Instructor's Lecture Notes are online for this lecture   [Note]

22 Apr (Wed):

You use it to communicate (design)   [Lecture]
1984 -- part one, sections 5-8   [Textbook]
BLOG POST: Diffusion and Configured Users   [Assignment]
Please review the Tufte pamphlet for today (one of the required textbooks from the bookstore)   [Note]

27 Apr (Mon):

29 Apr (Wed):

Surveillance and comm tech   [Lecture]
BLOG POST: 1984 and 2009   [Assignment]
1984 -- part two, sections 5-10   [Textbook]

4 May (Mon):

Technological utopias and dystopias   [Lecture]
1984 -- part three   [Textbook]

6 May (Wed):

Conclusion: The role of comm tech in society   [Lecture]
1984 -- appendix   [Textbook]
BLOG POST: Dystopian Technology?   [Assignment]
Final Exam Review Sheet   [Help/Handout]

7 May (Thu):

8 May (Fri):

12 May (Tue):

OPTIONAL Exam Review Session: 5-6pm (150 Animal Science Lab)   [Lecture]
Please bring your questions.   [Note]

13 May (Wed):

FINAL EXAM, 7:00-10:00 p.m.   [Deadline]
DEADLINE: Turn in FIVE of the remaining blog posts for grading.   [Deadline]
Blog posts must be turned in one hour before the final exam begins (6pm)   [Note]
The two 1984 Blog Posts may not be skipped   [Note]
EXTRA CREDIT BLOG POST: Amish Technology   [Assignment]