Class Schedule

19 Jan (Wed):

Introduction   [Lecture]
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Part I: FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS   [Major Section Begins]

24 Jan (Mon):

Where does comm tech come from?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 1: Progress   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 8: Defining Technology   [Textbook]

26 Jan (Wed):

What can old techs teach us?   [Lecture]
Case study: Collins -- Solresol   [Moodle Reading]
Discussion sections begin meeting this week.

31 Jan (Mon):

Who "needs" comm tech?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 2: Convenience   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 3: Determinism   [Textbook]

2 Feb (Wed):

SNOW DAY
Case Study: Postman -- The Judgment of Thamus   [Moodle Reading]

7 Feb (Mon):

How do comm techs shape society?   [Lecture]
Berkun -- Myth: We Understand the History of Innovation   [Moodle Reading]
Berkun -- Myth: People Love New Ideas   [Moodle Reading]

9 Feb (Wed):

What is infrastructure?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 4: Control   [Textbook]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]
Blog post cancelled due to last week's snow days.

14 Feb (Mon):

Why is infrastructure important?   [Lecture]
Manovich -- Numerical Representation   [Moodle Reading]

16 Feb (Wed):

What techs spread the fastest?   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 15: Politics   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 16: Globalization   [Textbook]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

21 Feb (Mon):

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

23 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]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

28 Feb (Mon):

What's special about today (digital)?   [Lecture]
McLuhan -- The Medium is the Message   [Moodle Reading]
C&T Ch. 12: Space   [Textbook]

1 Mar (Tue):

Optional Midterm Review Session
103 Mumford Hall, 5:15-6:15 p.m.

2 Mar (Wed):

MIDTERM EXAM   [Major Examination]

 
Part II: A DAY IN YOUR FUTURE   [Major Section Begins]

7 Mar (Mon):

Review and catch up.   [Lecture]
read ALL of Tufte pamphlet   [Textbook]

9 Mar (Wed):

IN-CLASS VIDEO: The Net at Risk   [Lecture]
Case Study: Standage -- Love Over the Wires   [Moodle Reading]
Case study: Theroux -- aloha.net   [Moodle Reading]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]
Turn in TWO of the three blog assignments for grading   [Deadline]

14 Mar (Mon):

You use it to get a date (relationships)   [Lecture]
Case Study: Cox -- War, Murder, Rape... All for Your Cell Phone   [Moodle Reading]
Case Study: Mathias -- The Fakebook Generation   [Moodle Reading]

16 Mar (Wed):

You live in an interconnected world (globalization)   [Lecture]
Slade -- Made to Break   [Moodle Reading]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

21 Mar (Mon):

SPRING VACATION   [Holiday]

23 Mar (Wed):

SPRING VACATION   [Holiday]

28 Mar (Mon):

You're supposed to buy the latest thing (obsolescence)   [Lecture]
Seiter -- Practicing at Home: Computers and Cultural Capital   [Moodle Reading]

30 Mar (Wed):

You make choices about it (resistance)   [Lecture]
C&T Ch. 5: Luddism   [Textbook]
C&T Ch. 6: Appropriate Technology   [Textbook]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

4 Apr (Mon):

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

6 Apr (Wed):

You use it to find information (search)   [Lecture]
Bartelle -- The Search   [Moodle Reading]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

11 Apr (Mon):

Lecture CANCELLED today due to illness. You are still responsible for readings.
Zittrain -- The Future of the Internet / The Generative Pattern   [Moodle Reading]

13 Apr (Wed):

You use it to make other things (innovation)   [Lecture]
Gauntlett -- Technologies of the Self   [Moodle Reading]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

18 Apr (Mon):

It is sold to you (advertising)   [Lecture]
Rogers -- The Diffusion of Innovations   [Moodle Reading]
1984 -- part one, sections 1-2   [Textbook]

20 Apr (Wed):

It is sold to you (advertising) (cont'd) / Intro to 1984   [Lecture]
1984 -- part one, sections 3-7   [Textbook]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

 
Part III: THE BIG PICTURE   [Major Section Begins]

25 Apr (Mon):

George Orwell and 1984   [Lecture]
1984 -- part one, section 8, part two, sections 1-3   [Textbook]

27 Apr (Wed):

Surveillance and comm tech   [Lecture]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]
1984 -- part two, sections 4-9   [Textbook]

2 May (Mon):

Technological utopias and dystopias   [Lecture]
1984 -- part two, section 10; part three   [Textbook]

4 May (Wed):

Conclusion: The role of comm tech in society   [Lecture]
1984 -- appendix   [Textbook]
Blog post due.   [Assignment]

10 May (Tue):

Optional Final Exam Review Session   [Review Session]
Held in Armory 328
11:00 a.m.

11 May (Wed):

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