The Information Society.
Instructor: Kay Matheisen
We live in an"information society." Information has become essential to oursocial, economic, and political interactions—we interact with others viae-mail, text messaging, and social networking sites; we shop and do our jobsover the internet; we learn about politics from surfing the web or voice ouropinions by blogging. Thetechnologies that enable these activities provide us with new opportunities,but also shape our experiences in ways that we might not be aware of. Newinformation technologies such as the internet, databases, and computersurveillance provide new challenges to our understanding of such issues asprivacy, intellectual freedom, equality, and intellectual property.
In this course, we will explorehow information technologies—from the emergence of the use of symbols, throughthe development of the book, to today’s Web 2.0 shape our lives and ourculture. We will explore thebenefits and the possible dangers of new and emerging information technologies.We will approach these and other issues from a multidisciplinary perspective,looking at the insights into our information age that can be provided by suchareas of inquiry as history, linguistics sociology, political theory,information science, and philosophy. The course will not only criticallyanalyze new information technologies, it will use such technologies to deliverthe course—providing opportunities for active reflection on the ways in whichtechnology shape learning and social interaction.
Topics Covered:
- The History of Information and Information Technologies
- The Information Economy
- Intellectual Property and the Open Source Movementf
- Surveillance and Privacy
- Virtual Reality and Social Life
- Information Technology, Democracy, and Regulation
- The Web as a force for Localization and Globalization
The goal of the course is to equip students with the conceptual tools tounderstand, engage, and critique the evolving “infosphere” in which welive.
Texts:
- Duguid, Paul and Brown, John Seely. 2002. The Social Life of Information. Harvard Business School Press (1st edition).
- Webster, Frank. 2003. The Information Society Reader. Routledge.
- Sunstein, Cass R. 2006. Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge. Oxford University Press, USA.
Weekly reflections—Students will select an issue from one of thereadings and write a 1-2 paragraph reflection on this issue. The reflection shouldillustrate a claim in the reading with a real world example, raise an objectionto a claim in the reading, relate the issues in one reading to another, etc.
Discussion Participation—Students will engage indiscussions weekly. Discussions will include posting of the weekly reflections3 times during the semester as a prompt for class discussion. In addition, there will be discussionson particular topics as assigned by the instructor.
ShortAssignments—Students will complete short assignments in which they willuse and reflect on various information media and websites, asSecondLife, Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, Youtube, etc.
Exams—There will be a mid-term and final. Exams willbe essay and short answer. Theywill be open book and open notes.
Graduate Student Paper—In addition to the otherassignments, graduate students will write a 10-15 page research paper on someaspect of the information society and its impact on the 21st CenturyInformation Professions.
Academic Code of Integrity
Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.
Accommodating Disabilities
The University has a Disability Resource Center.If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet therequirements of this course, you must register with the DisabilityResource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor,official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible.Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours todiscuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activitiesmay impact your ability to fully participate.Incompletes
The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 readsThe grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester ...
If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.
Undergraduate
|
Assignment |
Percentage |
|
Weekly Reflections |
15 |
|
Discussion |
30 |
|
Short Assignments |
25 |
|
Exams |
30 |
Graduate
|
Assignment |
Percentage |
|
Weekly Reflections |
15 |
|
Discussion |
15 |
|
Short Assignments |
15 |
|
Exams |
30 |
|
Paper |
25 |
