“Unless
those of us who care about public interest journalism become knowledgeable
about the technology, conversant with its applications and active in shaping
the decisions
that will be made about its uses, other forces
with more powerful
interest will make those decisions."
Bill Kovach, chairman, Committee of Concerned Journalists
"Technology is all that stuff that wasn't around when (you) were born
because the stuff that was around when you were born
was
just part of the landscape. Like the pencil."
Alan Kay, pioneer in graphic interfaces for computers
"Don't just think outside the box -- FORGET the box."
Alberto Ibarguen, publisher, The Miami Herald
ABOUT
THIS COURSE: We will look
at how new methods of sending and receiving information are transforming
the media and society. We will focus mostly on the Internet, the fastest-growing
communications technology ever, and how it is affecting society in general
and the media in particular. You can expect to get several things out of
this course:
The
course is divided into three segments. The first one is short;
it provides background about where new
communication technologies
have come from and where
they are now. The second segment deals with issues related
to new communication technologies and the challenges they raise.
The third
piece concentrates on
the media and the media audience, and how both are affected
by technological change.
This course covers a target that's moving incredibly fast. When
something big flies across the radar screen during
the semester -- or just when you find
some other aspect of the topic that grabs your
interest -- speak up and we'll try
to fit it in, too. In other words: Shift happens.
Hang on and enjoy the ride!
Iowa Dozen: Comm Tech and
Society addresses many of the School’s
core values, including:
-
Learning
to use media technologies thoughtfully.
-
Valuing
a diverse global community.
-
Exploring
media institutions, as well as the role of media in shaping cultures.
| LEARNING
ENABLEMENT: |
Jane would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that may
require modification of seating, grading or other class requirements
so appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see Jane after class
or during office hours, or make an appointment for an alternate time. |
| HONORS CREDIT: |
Any student
who is a member of the University Honors Program based on his or
her overall UI GPA is eligible to take this course for
honors credit. If you’re interested, come talk with Jane about
possibilities. |
| CLASS
POLICIES: |
Attendance: Failure to attend class regularly may adversely affect
your grade. In case of a dire emergency that prevents your being
with
us, you
must let Jane know the reason for your absence within 24 hours of
the missed class period. (E-mail is fine.) |
| |
Academic
Integrity: Please refer to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Student
Academic Handbook (available online) for info
about
academic
honesty.
University penalties for plagiarism -- defined in Webster's New World
Dictionary as taking ideas, writings and so on from another and passing
them off as one's own -- range from grade reduction to dismissal
from the University. The same rules apply online as elsewhere: If
someone else created it, that person or organization owns it. For
journalists, plagiarism or other dishonesty is a sin deadly to any
career. Don’t do it. |
| |
Student
rights and responsibilities: You have the right to expect an environment
that enables you to learn. You have a responsibility
to colleagues and instructors to help create an environment in which
others may learn. If you have a complaint against any member of the
College’s teaching staff, you are responsible for following
the procedures described in the Student Academic Handbook. In summary,
the manual advises you to try to work out a solution with the instructor
first; please come talk with Jane. If the complaint is not resolved
to your satisfaction, it should be taken up with the School’s
director, Pam Creedon. If the matter is still unresolved, you may
submit a written complaint to Associate Dean Helena Dettmer at 120
Schaeffer Hall. |
| |
Time
allocation: College policy states that for each semester
hour of credit in a course, students should expect to spend two
hours
per week in out-of-class work or preparation. This is a 3 s.h. class,
which means an average of six hours a week of outside-of-class
work. |
| |
Cross
enrollment: This course is given by the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Class policies on matters such as requirements,
grading and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by CLAS.
Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline
must receive the approval of the CLAS dean. Details of the University
cross-enrollment policy are at: www.uiowa.edu/~provost/deos/crossenroll.doc. |
| SCHOOL
INFORMATION: |
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Main office: E305 Adler Journalism Buildingl
Office phone: 335-3401 (Patty Gereau or Rosemary Zimmerman)
Director: Pam Creedon, E305B Adler Journalism
Building
335-3482; pam-creedon@uiowa.edu |
BOOKS
and OTHER READINGS: |
Issues
in Cyberspace: Communication, Technology, Law and Society
on the Internet Frontier
Jan Samoriski (2002) |
| |
Living in the Information Age: A New Media Reader
Erik P. Bucy, editor (2005, 2nd edition) |
| |
Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology
Neil Postman (1993) |
| |
Supplemental
readings are incorporated in this syllabus. They are subject
to change as new materials become available.
|
| |
In
addition, you will be supplying a collection of your own readings,
in the form of articles you select and post to our blog. Details
are provided under “grading. |
RECOMMENDED
BOOK
(optional): |
Small Pieces Loosely Joined
David Weinberger (2002)
This is a terrific little book about the Web -- how we use it, think about it,
shape it and are shaped by it. It offers an excellent counter-argument to Technopoly. |
| INSTRUCTOR: |
Dr.
Jane B. Singer
W341 Adler Journalism Building
335-3431
jane-singer@uiowa.edu |
| Office
hours: |
2:30
to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays
Or by appointment |
| About
your instructor: |
Jane
has 15 years experience as a print and online
journalist. She worked as a reporter and editor at three East Coast newspapers
before joining CBS in 1982 as an editor of its fledgling online service. That
project evolved into the Prodigy Services Company, and she was Prodigy’s
first news manager. The job included staffing an online newsroom, designing and
producing various editorial sections, and maintaining a 24/7 news service. She
holds a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, an M.A.
in liberal studies from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in
journalism from the University of Georgia. She has been at Iowa since 1999. |
| BLOG: |
Details
about how to sign up as a blog member (it’s free
and easy, and as a member, you can originate your own messages) will
be provided in class. But in the meantime, anyone can post comments
to the blog anonymously. Here’s
how:
1.
Go to our blog: iowajournalism166.blogspot.com
2. Find
the item (posted by Jane or someone else in the class) to which
you want to contribute your comments.
3.
Click on the word “Comments.”
4.
Click on “Post a Comment.”
5.
Click on “Or Post Anonymously.”
6.
Share your thoughts! Be sure to include your name in the text
of the
post so the rest of us know who it is from.
7. “Preview” if
you like. When you are satisfied, “Publish
Your Comment.”
8.
Welcome to the blogosphere! |
GRADING
A total of 1,000 points will be possible in Communication, Technologies
and Society. All work must be completed on time to be eligible
for full credit. Here are the grading components for undergraduates.
Graduate students will meet with Jane during the first two weeks
of the semester to discuss additional course requirements for earning
graduate credit.
PLUS-MINUS: We will use plus-minus indications for final grades.
GRADE CHANGES: If you believe a grade is wrong, you
must see Jane within one week after the graded item has been returned
to you. After that, the grade stands.
TESTS and
QUIZZES
(400 points total):
|
Tests will parallel the three course segments. Test dates are:
Thursday, Feb. 3: Test over first segment; 50 points
Tuesday, March 29: Test over second segment; 100 points
Thursday, May 5: Final exam, including the third
segment; 150 points
Quizzes are designed to reduce the stress of the tests. They cover the material
in the readings between tests during the two longer course segments. That way,
you never have to deal with more than three weeks of readings at a time. We will
have quizzes, each worth 50 points, on:
Tuesday, Feb. 22: "Issues and implications" readings
(weeks 4, 5,
6)
Tuesday, April 12: "Producers and users" readings
(weeks 11, 12,
13)
|
CRITICAL
ESSAYS
ABOUT COMM TECH
and SOCIETY
(200 points total) |
These
two short essays are designed to encourage you to dig more deeply
into our course material. Each is worth 100 points. Details
will be provided in class.
Tuesday, March 1: Point/counterpoint
Thursday, April 28: Technology for a better society
|
| POSTING/PRESENTATION/PAPER
(400 points total) |
This
is where we’ll make the most use of our blog. Details
will be provided in class, but here’s an overview. This assignment
will have three components:
The first part will involve finding, posting to the blog and briefly
commenting on five published articles about a
topic you select, from among those we will cover in class; of those
articles,
you will choose
the best one for the rest of the
class to read. That part will be worth 100 points.
The
second part will involve making a brief presentation and leading
a class discussion about your topic, in conjunction with three
or four other people who also will
have chosen that topic. This part, a team component, will be worth 50
points.
All
team members will get the same presentation grade. In addition,
on the weeks you are not presenting, you will receive an individual participation
grade for your part in the class discussion; you can earn a total
of 100 points for your
participation (15 points a week…yes, there are some bonus points built
in!).
The
third part will involve writing an individual paper based on
the articles everyone has posted about your topic to the blog
(and, if you like, any additional materials
you care to draw on). The paper will be due two weeks after your class
presentation, and will be worth 150 points.
Thursday, Jan 27: Topic rankings to Jane
Tuesday, Feb. 1: Topics assigned, let the
blogging begin!
Presentation/discussion dates (your paper is due two weeks after your presentation):
Feb. 17 and 24; March 3, 10 and 24; April 7, 14 and 21 (all Thursdays)
|
PROPOSED
SCHEDULE of CLASSES, READINGS and ASSIGNMENTS
Supplementary readings are subject to addition or change as new materials
become available. Materials on reserve are available in both the
main library and the journalism resource center in Adler.
| FIRST SEGMENT: PAST and PRESENT |
| WEEK
ONE: INTRODUCTIONS |
Jan.
18
Jan. 20
|
Welcome
to "Communication Technology and Society"!
How much of the message is the
medium?
READ:
Issues: Chapter 1 (1-17)
Living: Reading 2-1
Levinson, “Millennial McLuhan: Clues for Deciphering the Digital Age"
Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/15/99 (handout)
|
| WEEK
TWO: PAST AS PROLOGUE |
Jan.
25
Jan. 27 |
How
did we get to today?
And what are we doing now that it's here?
READ:
Issues: Chapter
2 (18-48)
Living: Readings
1-1, 1-2, 7-1, 8-4
Bush (no, neither of those guys), "As We May Think"
Atlantic Monthly, July 1945
www.w3.org/History/1945/vbush/vbush-all.shtml
Wright, "The
Man Who Invented the Web"
Originally published in Time, 5/19/97 (on reserve)
EXTRA
RESOURCE: Online
timeline
DUE: Thursday, Jan. 27, topic selections for posting/presentation/paper
|
| WEEK
THREE: STATE of the ART |
Feb.
1
Feb. 3 |
Convergence:
Being Digital
Test day
READ:
Living: Readings 1-3, 2-2, 2-3, 3-1, 6-1, 6-4
“The Internet and Daily Life” (summary, pages 1-7)
Pew Internet and American
Life Project, Aug. 11, 2004
www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/131/report_display.asp (download .pdf)
“The Future of the Internet” (summary, pages i-vi)
Pew Internet and American Life Project, Jan. 9, 2005
www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/145/report_display.asp (download .pdf)
Gordon, “Convergence Defined”
Online Journalism Review, November 13, 2003
209.200.80.136/ojr/business/1068686368.php
FIRST TEST: Thursday, Feb. 3 (50 points)
|
SECOND SEGMENT: ISSUES and IMPLICATIONS
Please read the Postman book, Technopoly, at your convenience during
this segment of the course, which ends with a test on Tuesday,
March 29. |
| WEEK
FOUR: THE LAW |
Feb.
8
Feb. 10 |
Do
the old rules apply?
Class discussion (led by Jane): A few thorny legal issues
READ:
Issues: Chapter 3 (49-77)
Issues: Chapter 9 (236-264)
Living: Not this week…a good time to start reading Postman!
|
| WEEK
FIVE: POLICIES and POLITICS |
Feb.
15
Feb. 17 |
"Electronic
democracy"
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Issues: Chapter 10 (265-294)
Living: Readings 4-3, 4-4, 9-1, 9-3, 9-4
Grossman, "Transforming Democracy -- an Overview"
From The Electronic Republic, 1995 (on reserve)
“The Internet and Democratic Debate” (summary, pages i-viii)
Pew Internet and American Life Project, Oct. 27, 2004
www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/141/report_display.asp (download .pdf)
Pogue (Trippi interview) “The Internet and Political Campaigns”
The New York Times, March 11, 2004
E-mail: Jane will send you this article by e-mail (it’s archived
online)
|
| WEEK
SIX: SOCIAL ISSUES |
Feb.
22
Feb. 24 |
Implications
of living in a digital world
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Issues: Chapter 11 (295-328)
Living: 5-4, 7-4, 8-1, 8-2, 10-1, 10-2, 10-4
Warschauer, “Demystifying the Digital Divide”
Scientific American, August 2003 (on reserve)
Egan, “Love in the Time of No Time”
The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 23, 2003
E-mail: Jane will send you this article by e-mail (it’s archived online)
FIRST QUIZ: Tuesday, Feb. 22 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
SEVEN: A GLOBAL MEDIUM |
March
1
March 3 |
Changing
the world?
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Issues: Chapter 8 (204-235)
Living: 4-1, 5-2
Hall, "Armageddon.com: Home Pages and Refugees"
From Online Journalism: A Critical Primer, 2001 (on reserve)
And, of course, you're well into Postman…
DUE: Tuesday, March 1, Point/Counterpoint essay (100 points)
|
| WEEK
EIGHT: ECONOMIC ISSUES |
March
8
March 10 |
Eat
or be eaten
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Issues: Chapter 4 (78-101)
Living: Readings 3-2, 4-2, 7-2, 7-3
Postman makes great beach reading!
|
WEEK
NINE: Have a safe and joyous Spring Break!! |
| WEEK
10: ETHICAL ISSUES |
March
22
March 24 |
Making
difficult choices
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Issues: Chapter 7 (167-203)
Living: Readings 5-1, 11-1, 11-2, 11-4
"Ethics in Internet"
Pontifical Council for Social Communications, February 22, 2002
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/
rc_pc_pccs_doc_20020228_ethics-internet_en.html
Glaser et al., “On the Wild, Woolly Internet, Old Ethics Rules Do Apply”
Online Journalism Review, Aug. 10, 2004
ojr.org/ojr/ethics/1092186782.php
(If unavailable online, article will be put on reserve.)
You’ve finished Postman now, yes?
|
| THIRD SEGMENT: PRODUCERS and USERS |
| WEEK
11: ONLINE JOURNALISM |
March
29
March 31 |
Test
day
The medium, the message and the messengers
READ:
Living: Reading 2-4
“State of the News Media 2005/Online”: Read all the parts
Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2005
www.stateofthenewsmedia.org
Navigate from there to Online Intro, then the various other pieces.
Glaser, “Bloggers,
Citizen Media and Rather’s Fall”
Online Journalism Review, Dec. 21, 2004
209.200.80.136/ojr/stories/041221Glaser
Gup/Godwin, "Who's a Journalist? - I" and "Who's a
Journalist? - II"
Media Studies Journal, Spring/Summer 1999 (on reserve)
OPTIONAL
READING:
Glaser, "Inside Yahoo! News: Aggregator Brings RSS to the
Masses"
Online Journalism Review, April 1, 2005
www.ojr.org:80/ojr/stories/050331glaser
SECOND TEST: Tuesday, March 29 |
| WEEK
12: THE "BLOGOSPHERE" |
April
5
April 7 |
“Citizen
journalists”: Wiki
News, Podcasting and Blogs
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Living: Reading 5-3
Rosen,
"Bloggers vs. Journalism is Over"
PressThink, January 2005
journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/
2005/01/15/berk_pprd_p.html
Singer,
"Marketplace of Ideas -- With a Vengeance"
Media Ethics magazine, Spring 2005
E-mail: Jane will send you this article by e-mail
(it’s not published yet)
Weiss,
"The Unassociated Press"
The New York Times, February 2005
E-mail: Jane will send you this article by e-mail
(it’s archived online)
Kirsner,
"Podcasting Faces Growing Pains"
Boston Globe, February 2005
www.boston.com/business/personaltech/articles/
2005/02/28/podcasting_facesgrowing_pains?pg=full
OPTIONAL READINGS: Smolkin, “The Expanding Blogosphere”
American Journalism Review, June/July 2004
ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3682 (or
just go to ajr.org and
use the search)
Lasica, “Blogging As a Form of Journalism”
Online Journalism Review, April 29, 2003
www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017958873.php
|
| WEEK
13: ADVERTISERS and MARKETERS |
April
12
April 14 |
Making
money online
Student-led presentation and class discussion
READ:
Issues: Chapter 6 (139-166)
Living: Reading 6-3, 12-1,12-2, 12-3
Krasilovsky, “Newspaper Want to Charge…But Will Readers Pay?”
Online Journalism Review, Aug. 12, 2003
www.ojr.org/ojr/business/1062025099.php
SECOND
QUIZ: Tuesday, April 12 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
14: THE AUDIENCE AS CONSUMERS |
April
19
April 21 |
E-commerce:
Shop 'til your fingers drop off
Podcasting demo from Mike Brunette (bonus points!)
READ:
Issues: Chapter 5 (102-138)
Living: Readings 3-3, 3-4, 6-2, 8-3, 10-3
Margolis and Resnick, "Doing Business on the Web"
From Politics As Usual, 2000 (on reserve)
|
| WEEK
15: THE AUDIENCE AS CITIZENS |
April
26
April 28 |
Last
student-led presentation and class discussion!
The
online community
READ:
Living: Readings 9-2, 11-3
Willis and Bowman, We Media: “Introduction to
Participatory Journalism”
www.hypergene.net/wemedia/weblog.php?id=P36
Glaser, "The New Voices: Hyperlocal Citizen Media Sites…"
Online Journalism Review, Nov. 17, 2004
209.200.80.136/ojr/glaser/1098833871.php
Lasica, "Citizens
as Budding Writers and Editors"
American Journalism Review, July/August 1999
ajr.org/article.asp?id=424 (or just go to ajr.org and use the search)
DUE:
Thursday, April 28, Technology for a Better Society essay (100
points)
|
| WEEK
16: THE 21st CENTURY |
May
3
May 5 |
Future
prospects: Communication Technology and Society
Test day
READ:
Issues: Chapter 12 (329-359)
Living: Reading 12-4
THIRD TEST: Thursday, May 5, 150 points
|
POSTING/PRESENTATION/PAPER
TOPICS
Here is some information to help you make your selections. You can expand on
these general themes in whatever directions interest you, of course; you are
not limited to the options listed here, which are only suggestions. (For instance,
although none is explicitly about journalism, you could use a journalistic
angle to explore any of these topics.) You will be asked to rank your topic
preferences during the second week of the semester, and you’ll know your
topic by the next week. As soon as you have your assignment, you can begin
posting links to relevant articles on the blog; Jane will create appropriate
spaces for each topic. Again, more details will be provided in class.
TOPIC:
Communication Technology
and Politics and/or Policy-making
|
For
instance: Technology and democracy; how government bodies
affect the development of technology; online voting; political
uses of the Internet; effects of technology on the campaign process
and/or on political communication, particularly in 2004…
Presentation date: Feb. 17
Paper
due: March 3
|
TOPIC:
Communication Technology
and Social Issues
|
This
is a particularly wide-ranging topic. For instance, it
includes: Children’s use of technology (the effects of computers on
formal and/or informal education; children's exposure to "undesirable" materials
and the use of blocking or screening programs; children's privacy,
etc.); the “digital divide” (haves and have-nots);
effects of technology on social development; online dating or other
social (or anti-social) activities…
Presentation date: Feb. 24
Paper due: March 10 |
TOPIC: Communication Technologies
as Global Media |
For
instance: Effects of technological development on other nations,
particularly relatively closed societies; the “global village”;
technology as a hegemonic force; “globalization” of
media companies and of news itself; terrorism and technology (lots
of angles there); copyright as an international law under siege…
Presentation date: March 3
Paper due: March 24
(extra week because
of spring break) |
TOPIC: Communication Technology
and Economic Issues |
For
instance: Corporate couplings and their effects on consumers; the
impact of established “players” (think Microsoft) and/or
of newcomers (think Google or Friendster or KaZaa); technology's
effect on the U.S. and/or global economy; the economic impact of
an “information society” and/or its effect on those
who work in it…
Presentation date: March 10
Paper due: March 31
(extra week because
of spring break) |
TOPIC: Ethical Issues Related
to Communication Technology |
For instance: Privacy
issues; hackers and their subculture; ethical issues raised by
a medium in which anyone can publish anything, anytime – and
anyone anywhere can access it; ethical challenges for journalists
raised by online communication technologies…
Presentation date: March 24
Paper due: April 7 |
| TOPIC: The Blogosphere |
For instance: The
impacts of blogs on politics, war, crisis relief efforts, journalism…you name it; bloggers’ credibility,
responsibility and/or accountability; the “rock stars” of
the blogosphere and how they got that way; the lure of global self-publishing;
the future of “participatory journalism”…
Presentation date: April 7
Paper due: April 21 |
TOPIC: Advertisers and Marketers
in a Wired World |
For instance: Spam;
viral marketing; integrated and/or “strategic” communications
online; privacy, security and surveillance issues related to marketing
and consumer tracking (think cookies, spyware and more); challenges
for traditional news media in an online world where advertising works
differently (at best)…
Presentation date: April 14
Paper due: April 28
|
| TOPIC: Communication Technology Users as Consumers |
This one may
overlap somewhat with the previous week, but the emphasis here
is on e-commerce and technology’s impact on our consumer
culture. For instance: Online shopping; how an anything-goes
medium affects and is affected by commercial interests (ours and
theirs);
the future of entertainment consumption in an all-digital world;
the notion of a technologically savvy “overclass” (see
the Living reading)…
Presentation date: April 21
Paper due: May 5 |
|
|