<SPC
260 Introduction
to New Media>
Spring
2019. T-TH 10:00-
11:50 a.m. Goldspohn RM. 31.
Instructor: Dr.
Steve
Macek Office
Hours: Monday
10 to 11:50 a.m.;
Tuesday
2 -4 p.m., Wednesday
10 to 11:50
a.m. and by appointment
Campus
Phone: 630-637-5369
Home
Phone: 630-718-0836
E-mail: shmacek@noctrl.edu
Webpage: http://shmacek.faculty.noctrl.edu
Office: Goldspohn, 24B
<Course
Description>
For
the past twenty years
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 had ever gone on online. Today, more than 90
percent
of U.S. citizens have Internet access. In 1993, the World
Wide Web
boasted only 130 web sites; by 2013, the number of sites on the web had
grown
to more than 700 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, Instagram and Facebook every day and millions more read
their
ramblings. Listening to music and radio, playing games and
watching
TV/movies/video via the web has become increasingly popular, so much so
that
existing media content providers are having to adapt their businesses
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, journalism, sports,
politics,
social movements, personal relationships—has been altered by the
growing
popularity of the Internet.
This
course offers you a
critical introduction to our evolving “wired” culture and to the
technologies
and economic and 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 informed
participant in the new media culture.
Danah Boyd, It’s
Complicated:
The Social Lives of Networked Teens Yale
University Press, 2014.
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 either
on
Blackboard or on the webpage for this course at:
http://stephen.macek.faculty.noctrl.edu/Courses/IntroNewMedia/Newmedia.html
Course Essentials
- Course Home Page
- Course Blog
- Syllabus
- Blogging
Resources
- FB Group
- Web Design Resources
- New Media Studies Links
-
Course Schedule