SPC 260 New Media

<Introduction to New Media>

For the past decade or so, we have been living through a revolution in communication, a revolution driven by the spread of cheap personal computers and the digitization of all previous forms of media.  In the late 1980s it was estimated that only 10 percent of the nation’s population has even gone on online. Today, more than 80 percent of U.S. citizens have Internet access.  In 1993, the World Wide Web boasted only 130 web sites; by 2003, the number of sites on the web had grown to more than 40 million. By 2001, AOL’s instant messaging software was carrying more than 800 million messages a day (more than the volume of mail carried daily by the entire U.S. Postal service). Millions of people pour out their souls and their minds on personal “blogs” and on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook every day and millions more read their ramblings.  Listening to radio and watching TV/video via the web has become increasingly popular, so much so that existing broadcasters are having to adapt their content to the new medium despite not yet knowing how to profit from it. Virtually every aspect of life in the advanced industrialized world—education, scientific research, healthcare, commerce, entertainment, sports, politics, personal relationships—has been altered by the growing popularity of the Internet.  

This course offers you a critical introduction to this emerging “wired” or “cyber” culture and to the technologies and socio-political infrastructure that make it possible. In this class, you’ll learn about the historical development of the Internet and other forms of new media and examine the repercussions of the digital revolution for our communities, our identities, our politics, and our daily lives. You’ll also learn how to create a web page and how to blog. Through a variety of online and offline projects, you will not only develop a critical, sociologically and historically informed perspective on the digital communication revolution and the Internet, but you’ll also develop some of the skills you’ll need to be an active participant in the new media culture.

<Required Texts> 

Katherine C. Montgomery. Generation Digital: Politics, Commerce and Childhood in the Age of the Internet MIT Press, 2007 

Howard Jenkins. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide NYU Press, 2008

In addition, you’ll be expected to read a number of online articles and reports the links for which can be found on the online course schedule to the right (broken down by week).  

<Recommended Text>

Siva Vaidhyanathan, The Googlization of Everything (and Why We Should Worry) University of California Press, 2011.

<Procedures, Requirements and Expectations> 

Course Format. This course combines lecture, discussion and some work in the computer lab in RM 200 Carnegie. I will give a few prepared

A number of times over the course of the term we will be meeting in the computer  labs in Carnegie 200 and our lab meetings will involve some group work as well as occasional personalized instruction.

lectures but much of our class time will be devoted to group discussion of course readings and particular texts, sites and applications. Please note that my lectures usually supplement, rather than summarize, the readings. Sometimes I will go over the key points of the assigned readings; sometime I won’t even mention them. In either case, much of the information presented in the lectures will be new. So, if you miss class, please be sure to get the notes from a classmate. I will set aside time for structured group discussion almost every class meeting.

A number of times over the course of the term we will be meeting in the computer  labs in Carnegie 200 and our lab meetings will involve some group work as well as occasional personalized instruction.

For class discussion to flow well, you'll have to do the required reading, complete any required discussion-generating writing assignments and make an effort to participate. In class discussions, it will be my job to pose overarching questions, facilitate and keep the conversation flowing.

A number of times over the course of the term we will be meeting in the computer  labs in Carnegie 200 and our lab meetings will involve some group work as well as occasional personalized instruction.