INLS 490.151 Technologies of Friendship
Fall 2008
Instructor
Fred
Stutzman
Graduate
Teaching Assistant
UNC School
of Information and Library Science
Email:
fred@metalab.unc.edu
Phone:
(919) 260-8508
Website:
http://ibiblio.org/fred/
Weblog:
http://fstutzman.com/
Office Hours
Tuesday,
1:00PM – 2:00PM, SILS Library
Other times
by appointment
Meeting Place and Time
Monday,
6:00PM – 8:30PM, Manning Hall 307
Course Website
http://ibiblio.org/fred/inls_490/
Authentication
credentials: Username: inls490, Password:
inls490
Course Network
The class network is located at http://inls490.ning.com. To access the network, create a Ning account and request to join. The network is private and for class members only.
Course Description
The Internet is a place of communication, interaction and
relational management. From Ray
Tomlinson's first email in 1971, to the iChats, Wall Posts and Twitters of
today, we have consistently turned to this vast network to find one another for
communication and collaboration.
This course is an exploration of the tools and practices of
technologically mediated relationships; that is, why and how do we use network tools to start,
build and sustain interpersonal relationships.
The use of technology as a relational intermediary is as old as technology itself. From the earliest inscribed works to the electrified telegraph, technology has played in a role in allowing us to discover, remember and communicate with others. Technology provides us the goods, means and rationale for exchange, and it allows us to imagine the communities we inhabit. Arguably, the Internet is the most profound relational technology, but technology and social process have long been intertwined.
Utilizing interdisciplinary perspectives, we will explore
the role networked communications tools play in the relational process. The course will be structured around
four thematic areas. They are:
Historical Perspectives, Theoretical Concepts, Internet Relationships and Group
Dynamics. The first area,
historical perspectives, will contextualize our analysis through the
exploration of early communication tools and practice. This area will be followed by
theoretical concepts, which explores theorization of computer-mediated communication. We will then explore Internet relationships;
how we're using modern technology to mediate our personal relationships. The course will conclude with an
analysis of how the Internet enables "ridiculously easy group formation," in
the words of Clay Shirky.
Students who successfully complete this course will develop
critical perspectives on networked communication and relational management,
better preparing them to develop tools of participation, social support and
group collaboration.
Reading
There is no required textbook for this course. Readings are organized by week in the
syllabus, and are available online via the course website. In addition to the syllabus readings,
each week you will be required to complete a "prompt" reading, which will be a
topical story from the popular or technology press.
Format
This class will employ a mixture of lecture and seminar formats, with a focus on participation and discussion. The first part of class will feature news and notes, student presentations, media exploration and discussion assignments. The second part of class will feature a directed lecture and continued discussion of the material.
In addition to active participation in class, there are a
number of assignments you will be expected to complete this semester. First, you will be expected to
contribute a question, observation or enhancement to our online forum each
week. Second, you will be expected
to produce a topical issues presentation once this semester, as well as act as
a discussion facilitator on your presentation day. Third, you will be required to complete and turn in four
short assignments. Finally, you
will be asked to complete a term project; as part of this term project you will
be expected to submit a proposal, outline and bibliography. Further instructions on your
assignments follow.
By noon on the Monday of each week, you will be expected to
pose a question, observation or enhancement to our online discussion board,
located in our class social network.
This Q, O, or E should arise from our reading (either syllabus or
topical), and generally be one or two paragraphs long (if you're especially
inspired, feel free to go longer).
Why not just a question?
I'd like for the fora to be conversational, so if someone asks a
question that you can build on, or draw on your personal experience to enhance,
feel free.
Each week, I will start a new thread (the thread name will
correspond to the upcoming week), and I ask that you try to keep your
discussions inside the thread if possible. However, feel free to contribute links, photos, videos and
wall postings to our group, have fun with it.
You will be expected to present class material and
facilitate the discussion once during the semester. Your presentations should outline the general themes in the
reading, and bring in your personal perspectives and analysis. Therefore,
simply bullet-pointing the reading is insufficient – your presentation should
apply the reading to your experience, interests or career goals. Presentations should be no more than 15
minutes in length, and you may use Powerpoint. I encourage you to be creative and find interesting or novel
connections between your topical presentation and the class material.
On the day you deliver your topical issues presentation, you
will also be expected be a facilitator of discussion in the second half of the
class. Prepare a few questions
about the material to get the discussion rolling, but again feel free to be
creative in your facilitation.
In this assignment, choose a pre-Web 2.0 technology and
explore its history and use in relational processes. You should use both academic and popular literature, exploring
how the technology was invented (its original purpose), how discourse around
its use was framed and re-framed over time, and how the technology was used in
interesting ways (how it was hacked or repurposed). In addition, you should explore its legacy impacts (how does
this technology continue to live in our use of modern technology) and
generative effects of the innovation.
You may turn this in as a webpage, a 3-5 minute video, a 3-5 page paper,
or in another form with my approval.
Please include sources and attribution.
Assignment: Your Use of Relational Technology
Assignment: Term Project
The term project will be a substantive original piece of research, literature or a topical project in the area (research proposals acceptable as well). I encourage you to develop a project that is relevant to your area of interest; to this extent I am quite flexible in the types of projects I'll approve. The final project should be professional, written in academic tone and style, and should not include any typographic errors. Suggested word count is 2,500-3,000. The instructor is flexible in terms of fitting the project to the student's discipline or interests. I would strongly suggest that you talk to me early and often about your project; if you keep me in the loop, I'm happy to provide feedback and guidance.
Prior to approval of the final project, you are required to turn in a proposal/outline. The proposal/outline should contain a 1-page project proposal, and a 1-page outline of the project's structure. You will be asked to deliver a short description of your project concept to the class twice during the semester.
Project presentations will occur on the last day of class, December 1. On this day you will be expected to deliver a 5-7 minute presentation or demonstration of your term project. Term project writeups will be due at 5PM on Monday, December 8.
Rules and Guidelines
All assignments should be submitted via email by noon on the day they are due. This will allow me to read and integrate the assignments into our class, as our meeting time is at a premium. Due to the fact our class meets once a week, attendance and participation is mandatory and critical. Students who miss an unacceptable amount of class will be counseled to withdraw. I reserve the right to modify or amend this syllabus.
Grading
Policy
Participation
and Attendance: 10%
Presentation
and Discussion Facilitation: 15%
Weekly
Questions, Comments or Enhancements: 10%
Analyzing
a Relational Technology: 10%
Community
Analysis: 10%
Your Use of
Relational Technology: 10%
Digital
Traces: 10%
Term
Project: 25%
Grading Scale
High Pass: 95% - 100%
Pass Plus:
90% - 94%
Pass: 85% -
89%
Pass Minus:
80% - 84%
Low Pass:
70% - 79%
Fail: 0% -
69%
Statement on Academic Integrity
Students are expected to conform to the Honor Code in all academic manners. For more information about the Honor Code, please visit the following URL: http://honor.unc.edu/honor/index.html.
Course Schedule
8/25 –
Introduction and Course Overview
Introductions,
expectations and discussion of the syllabus.
9/1 – No
Class Meeting, Labor Day Holiday
Please read
the following by 9/1.
*
Bargh,
J. A. and McKenna, K. Y. A.
(2004). The Internet and
Social Life. Annual Review of
Psychology, 55(1), 573-590.
9/8 –
The Technologies of Friendship
Surveying
and situating the technologies of friendship.
*
DiMaggio,
P., Hargittai, E., Neuman, W. R., and Robinson, J. P. (2001). Social
Implications of the Internet.
Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1), 307-336.
*
Ling,
R. (2000). Direct and mediated interaction in the
maintenance of social relationships. In Sloane, A. and Rijn, F. (Eds.), Home
informatics and telematics: Information, technology and society (pp. 61-86).
Boston: Kluwer.
9/15 –
Historical Perspectives, Early Technologies
Introducing
historical analysis of relational technologies.
*
Standage,
T. (1998). The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable
Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's Online Pioneers. New York, NY: Berkley Trade.
*
Fischer,
C. S. (1992). America Calling: A Social History of the
Telephone to 1940. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press.
9/22 –
Historical Perspectives, Internet Technologies
Analyzing relational mediation in the Internet Age.
Assignment due: Analyzing a Relational Technology
*
Herring,
S. C. (2002). Computer-mediated communication on the
Internet. Annual Review of
Information Science and Technology, 36(1), 109-132.
*
Barley,
S. R. (1998). What can we learn from the history of
technology? Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 15(4),
237--255.
9/29 –
Theories of Internet Communication
Exploring
Computer-Mediated-Communication.
*
Herring,
S. C. (2002). Computer-mediated communication on the
Internet. Annual Review of
Information Science and Technology, 36(1), 132-168.
*
Thurlow,
C., Lengel, L., and Tomic, A. (Eds.), Computer Mediated Communication: Social
Interaction and the Internet (pp. 45-57). London: SAGE Publications.
10/6 –
Relationships on the Internet
How we
manage and form relationships in mediated space.
*
Parks,
M. R. and Floyd, K. (1996). Making Friends in Cyberspace. Journal of Communication, 46(1), 80-97.
*
Cummings,
J. N., Butler, B., and Kraut, R.
(2002). The quality of
online social relationships.
Communications of the ACM, 45(7), 103-108.
*
Ellison,
N. B., Steinfield, C., and Lampe, C.
(2007). The Benefits of
Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of
Online Social Network Sites.
Journal of Computer Mediated Communications, 12(4).
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html
10/13 –
Transitions and Information Needs
Exploring
relational management and information needs from the transitions perspective.
*
Shklovski,
I., Kraut, R., and Cummings, J. (2006). Routine patterns of Internet use and
psychological well-being: coping with a residential move. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference
on Human Factors in computing systems, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
*
Quan-Haase,
A. (2007). University Students' Local And Distant
Social Ties: Using and integrating modes of communication on campus. Information, Communication &
Society, 10(5), 671 – 693.
10/20 –
Networks, Personal and Portable
Exploring
the role of hyperconnectivity in social life.
*
Wellman,
B. (2001). Physical Place and Cyberplace: The Rise
of Personalized Networking.
International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 25(2),
227-252.
10/27 –
No Class Meeting, ASIST Conference
Please read
the following by 10/27.
*
Solove,
D. J. (2007). The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor
and Privacy on the Internet. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
11/3 –
Traces
Exploring the identities created in relational technologies.
*
Solove,
D. J. (2007). The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor
and Privacy on the Internet. New
Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
*
Dourish,
P. and Anderson, K. (2006). Collective Information Practice:
Exploring Privacy and Security as Social and Cultural Phenomena. Human-Computer Interaction, 21(3),
319--342.
11/10 –
Groups and Technologies of Mediation
Group dynamics in the age of communication.
*
Shirky,
C. (2008). Here Comes Everybody: The Power of
Organizing Without Organizations.
New York, NY: Penguin Press
*
Haythornthwaite,
C. and Hagar, C. (2005). The social worlds of the Web. Annual Review of Information Science
and Technology, 39(1), 311-346.
11/17 –
Community and Communication
Analyzing mediated community.
Assignment due: Community Analysis
*
Ellis,
D., Oldridge, R., and Vasconcelos, A.
(2004). Community and
virtual community. Annual Review
of Information Science and Technology, 38(1), 145-186.
*
Boyd,
D. (2006). Friends, Friendsters and Top 8: Writing
community into being in social network sites. First Monday,11(12).
http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_12/boyd/index.html
11/24 –
Organization, Collective Action and Engagement
Imagining some next steps for mediated relationships.
*
Rheingold,
H. (2002). Smart Mobs: The Next Social
Revolution. Basic Books.
*
Rasiej,
A. et. al. (2008). Rebooting
America: Ideas for Redesigning American Democracy for the Internet Age. Personal Democracy Press.
12/1 –
Project Presentations
Final
projects must be submitted electronically by 5PM on Monday, December 8.