Sample SyllabUS |
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Basic Concepts of New Media (Winter 2015 syllabus)
This class is a favorite of mine, not only because it connects to my research interests, but also because it allows me to help students make sense of contemporary debates about new media technologies. I've constructed the course in three sections: We begin with an overview of the history of computing and the history of the Internet, in which I highlight both the technical developments (e.g., packet switching) and the cultural developments (e.g., the "hacker ethic") that will be important for our discussions of contemporary issues later in the course. This section culminates with a field trip to Seattle's wonderful Living Computer Museum, where students can interact with computer history in a material, tangible way. The next section examines new media technologies from the perspective of interpersonal communication. In this section, students learn to analyze the affordances and constraints of media platforms, and to consider how these structures might affect our identities and communities. This section also provides students the opportunity to critically engage popular arguments about the interpersonal effects of new media (e.g., "Is Google is making us stupid?"). For the final section of the course, we move on to new media "current events" (e.g., the Snowden leaks, net neutrality, Bitcoin), and use the historical and theoretical perspectives developed in the earlier parts of the course to inform our analyses of these contemporary issues and debates. |
University of Washington, Department of Communication:
Teaching AssistantUniversity of Washington, Department of Communication:
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