Internet Studies: Appalachian State University

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internet studies

Fall 2011

IDS 3250-101 / 3300-104
TR 2:00-3:15
LLA 223

This course provides an introduction to cyberculture, digital media and Internet studies. As the Internet continues to insinuate itself into our daily lives, it is changing both our culture and ourselves. This course will look at some of those changes through an interdisciplinary investigation of some of the social, political, cultural, psychological, economic, and legal implications of the Internet. It will also provide an opportunity for you to hone your critical reading skills in the context of the Internet as well as learn some of the technical and editorial skills needed to publish online. This class fulfills requirements for the IDS Internet Studies major concentration and minor. There are no prerequisites.

Textbooks

Lessig, Lawrence. Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy. New York: Penguin, 2008.

Lanier, Jaron. You Are Not a Gadget. New York: Vintage Books, 2011.

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Requirements

The most important requirements for this course are regular class attendance, participation, and preparation. You should come prepared to ask and answer questions and to discuss the readings each day. The formal grading requirements are as follows:

Class Participation 25%
Two Web Writing Assignments 25% each
Final Web Project and Presentation 25%

The class participation portion of your grade will be based on regular class attendance, participation, periodic homeworks, blog posts, in-class assignments, presentations and group work, as well as your active efforts to make this class a positive learning experience for yourself and your fellow students.

Two absences are allowed during the semester. Each additional absence will lower your class participation grade by one letter grade. More than six absences and/or failure to complete any of the graded assignments detailed below are grounds for failing the course.

There will be two Web Writing Assignments during the semester. Late assignments will be docked one-third of a letter grade for each day late. You will receive two grades for your Web writings each of which will count one-half of your assignment grade: one for writing content and mechanics, and one for online media design and mechanics. You also may be asked to present your Web pages to the class for discussion.

There will be a Final Group Web Project and Symposium during our regularly scheduled final exam time.

More information about these assignments will be posted online later in the semester.

Students should be aware of the ASU policies on academic integrity, disability services, and religious obervances.

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Class Schedule

Week	Day	Assignment
1	T 8/23	Introductions.
	TH 8/25	Read Bruce Sterling, "A Short History of the Internet," Douglas Adams, "Beyond the Brochure" and browse Wikipedia's History of the Internet. How To: Blog.
2	T 8/30	Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think." Browse this Vannevar Bush page, photographs, and wikipedia article. Browse "Sir Tim Berners-Lee" and watch the first 4 minutes of his TED Talk.
	TH 9/1	Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Fire Worship."
3	T 9/6	Henry Jenkins' "Why Heather Can Write," "Txt Sp3ak" and this blog post on "How To: Write."
	TH 9/8	First Web Writing Assignment due: blog post. How to create a web page.
4	T 9/13	More on web page design.
	TH 9/15	Ethan Zuckerman, The Cute Cat Theory of Digital Activism.
5	T 9/20	Ugly web page homework due. Henry Jenkins, "Convergence Culture," pp. 1-24.
	TH 9/22	Revised First Web Writing Assignment due: web page. Michael Wesch's "Anthropological Introduction to YouTube" video in class.
6	T 9/27	Lessig, Remix, "Part I: Cultures," pp. 1-114.
	TH 9/29	Lessig, Remix, "Part II: Economies," pp. 117-249.
7	T 10/4	Lessig, Remix, "Part III: Enabling the Future," 253-294.
	TH 10/6	Rip: A remix manifesto, video in class.
8	T 10/11	Second Web Writing Assignment due: blog post. Rip: A remix manifesto, video concluded in class.
		FALL BREAK
9	T 10/18	How To: Screencast.
	TH 10/20	Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget, "What Is a Person?" pp. 3-72.
10	T 10/25	Revised Second Web Writing Assignment due: screencast. Lanier discussion continued.
	TH 10/27	Alan Turning, Computing Machinery and Intelligence.
11	T 11/1	John Searle, Minds, Brains and Programs.
	TH 11/3	Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget, "What Will Money Be?" pp. 75-116.
12	T 11/8	Lanier Discussion.
	TH 11/10	Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget, "The Unbearable Thinness of Flatness," pp. 119-147.
13	T 11/15	Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget, "Making the Best of Bits." pp. 151-174.
	TH 11/17	Lanier, You Are Not a Gadget, "Future Humors," pp. 177-207.
14	T 11/22	TBA
		THANKSGIVING BREAK
15	T 11/29	Groups for final web project assigned.
	TH 12/1	In Class Group Work.
	T 12/6	In Class Group Work.
	TH 12/8	In Class Group Work.
	F 12/16	Final Symposium during our regularly scheduled final exam period: Friday, December 16, 9:00 AM -11:30 AM

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Assignments

First Web Writing Assignment (750-1500 words):

Write about one of your early encounters with the internet – maybe your first experiences with email, web surfing, downloading music, chat, etc. Was it at school, at home, or at a friend's house? What machine did you use? Was it fascinating or frustrating? Was it using a dial-up modem on AOL? Or was it downloading endless files from Napster? In short, tell us a little about your early, formative history with the internet. Be as specific, concrete, detailed and engaging as possible.
Was this early brush with the internet more like the use of technology envisioned by Vannevar Bush or Nathaniel Hawthorne? That is, does your early encounter with the internet seem to you more like Bush's dream of the memex? Or was it more like the insidious threat to social and domestic life Hawthorne foresaw in his new-fangled wood stove? Take a clear position and argue for your view making direct, substantive and specific use of both articles.
Post your essay on your blog making appropriate use of graphics and links. Bring a printed copy of your essay to hand in to me in class.

Revised First Web Writing Assignment (800-1500 words):

Revise and improve your first writing assignment, then design and publish a web page version of your essay. Think about the ways your web page design and layout can be used to help make your essay clearer and more vivid. Give careful thought to your use of links and graphics.
Your web version should include two or more web pages with clear navigation links between the pages. It should include links to your blog, and to our class syllabus. It should make effective use of tables, graphics and links that are integrated into your page design in useful and interesting ways. Your text should be clear and easy to read.

Post a link to your web version on your blog. Bring a printed copy of your revised essay to hand in to me in class. Also hand in the original, graded copy of your first version of this essay.

Second Web Writing Assignment (800-1500 words):

Write an essay an on Lessig's Remix and apply his arguments to a social media website of your choice. Please choose a site other than YouTube, Twitter or Facebook as the subject for your paper. The aim is to examine the ways copyright law impacts and constrains user-generated and shared content on the site along with the ways the site attempts to accommodate these copyright issues. Then examine in detail at least two of the five reforms Lessig discusses in Chapter 9 and try to identify what specific benefits and changes they might bring to your particular social media site. How beneficial do you think these changes would be? Explain. Be specific and clear both about how your particular social media site functions, as well as clear and specific about the ways copyright law functions in its context. Do research as appropriate.
You will need to make sustained and substantive use of Lessig's book in your essay.
Post your essay on your blog and bring a printed copy to hand in to me in class.

Revised Second Web Writing Assignment (800-1500 words):

Substantially revise and improve your second writing assignment, then create and post to YouTube a screencast version of your essay.

Your screencast can be of all of your essay, but it may be better to simply use well chosen selections from it. You can mix narration with onscreen text. You can include webcam footage or other video as you see fit. Keep your finished video to under 5 minutes in length.

Post your revised essay to your blog along with an embedded version of your YouTube screencast video.

Bring a printed copy of your revised essay to hand in to me in class. Also hand in the original, graded copy of your first version of this essay.

Final Group Web Project and Symposium:

Your group should choose one of the topics below to create an online project to present to the class for discussion during our final exam period.

1. Create a digital video version of one section of You Are Not a Gadget. Your aim is to produce an original and creative digital video version of any one piece of Lanier’s argument. Your group will then discuss and critically assess the argument at our final symposium. Your video version may make use of found video, screen captures, web cam, and/or video footage you shoot. Be creative. Be bold. The video should be no longer than 5 minutes. Post the video to YouTube, and embed copies on each of your group members' blogs.

2. Lanier argues that current internet technologies have stifled musical creativity (Chapter 9, especially pp. 126-132). Explain his argument as clearly and cogently as possible. Then find examples online that tend to either support or refute his claim. Be as specific as possible in your arguments and your use of examples. Your project should be presented online in a clear and creative manner online using more than just text. Think about ways to incorporate video, music, graphics and other elements into an online project blog your group designs and creates for this project. Links to the final project blog should be posted on each group member's own class blog.

3. Come up with a topic of your own from Lanier’s book. Think broadly and creatively about possible topics that might make use of his book (our inner troll p. 60, ways to be more human online p. 21, etc.) and possible creative ways to explore the topic using online media and content. Pitch your idea to me in class before you pursue it.

Groups:
1. Tanner T., Kelly T., Matt M., Nicholas D.
2. Courtney R., Shay S., Jack G., Olivia Y.
3. Tina R., Kelly C., Zach K., Nat M.
4. Chappell R., Meredith A., Anderson F., Charlie M.
5. Johnathon M., Allison T., Todd D.
6. Kelly J., Chris T., Gray C.

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