About the course
This course is described in the SILS catalog as: "Contemporary
topics of information science, information systems, information technology,
information design, and information management. Assessment of future impact
of new developments."
The overriding theme of this course will be the dichotomy between "loose"
and "controlled" methods of development, control, access, and
design. As the web matures, in some instances it is becoming more and
more controlled than it has been traditionally, and more restrictive than
with physical objects. There are, however, some areas of development that
are resisting controlling measures. Specifically, the growth of the blogging
community is forcing traditional journalism and media to rethink their
modus operandi; file-sharing is causing much heartache in the recording
and movie industries, and there's currently a struggle between open and
closed technology development models which will shape the architechture
of the internet for years to come.
By taking this course students will:
- Understand the many ways in which information can be created, communicated,
stored, retrieved, and/or transformed,
- Comprehend the value of information and information tools, and their
role in society and the economy, and
- Develop a sense of the role of information in society, including historical
and future roles.
As a means to work towards that goal, students will:
- Choose one topic or tool and focus on the strengths and weaknesses
of that subject throughout the entire semester. Students will verbally
argue for or against a given point, write a research paper on this subject,
and give a presentation on their findings to the class.
- Become more technology and issue literate, enabling an innovative
mindset for life after graduation.
- Gain an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of information
science research and practice.
Please also see my teaching philosophy. |
Schedule
Week |
Tuesday Readings /
Assignments |
Thursday Readings / Assignments |
| Jan 13 |
|
Introductions |
|
Jan 18 - 20
General: Blogs |
Technicalities
(=choose your topic)
Intellectual Property,Blogging, & Privacy Concerns
Doctorow Presentation*
|
The Media: Introduction
We the Media (Intro / Chapter 1)*
|
| Jan 25 & 27
General: Blogs |
The Media : Loose
vs. Controlled Journalism
We the Media (Chapters 2, 3)*
Justin
|
The Media :
Loose vs. Controlled Journalism
We the Media (Chapters 4, 5)*
Aaron |
|
Feb 1 & 3
Loose vs. Controlled Journalism |
The Media : Media
and Blogs
We the Media (Chapters 6, 7)*
Guest: Ruby Sinreich
|
The Media: Media
and Blogs
We the Media (Chapters 8, 9)*
Brent
|
|
Feb 8 & 10
Loose vs. Controlled Journalism
|
The Media: Media
and Blogs
We the Media (Chapters 10, 11)*
analysis 5
paper
proposal and references due
|
The Media: Conclusions:
We the Media (Chapter 12)*
analysis 6
|
| Feb 15 & 17
Loose vs. Controlled Technology |
Loose Vs. Controlled
Technology: Code and Architechture
Ferguson*
Chris / Sharlyne
|
Technology
Discussion: Open Source Development
Raymond*, Stallman#
Celine / Christie
feedback
|
|
Feb 22 & 24
Loose vs. Controlled Description |
Description
and Representation: Controlled Vocabularies
Fast*, Doctorow[2]*
Ryan |
Description and
Representation: Folksonomies
Rosenfeld,*
Shirky*
Christina / Brian
|
|
Mar 1 & 3
Loose vs. Controlled Ideas |
Intellectual Property
Issues: Artistic Works - Lessig
Lessig*
Anecia / Terrance
|
Intellectual Property
Issues: Artistic Works - Controlled
RIAA "Must Reads": Malcolm,*
MPAA: Anit-Piracy Campaign*
Anita / Peter |
| Mar 8 & 10
Artistic Works, Social Networks
|
Intellectual Property
Issues : Artistic Works - Discussion
Rosen*, Lessig*.
EFF: Future of Innovation Discussion*
Lori / Brandon
|
Social Networks: Traditional / Digital
Gladwell[2]*
Dana / Tammy
outline
of paper, bibliography due
|
Mar 15 & 17 |
Spring
Break
|
| Mar 22 & 24
Smartmobs.com |
Social Networks
& Internet Society
Rheingold: intro:
analysis 15 |
Internet Society
Rheingold 1 :
analysis 16 |
| Mar 29 & 31
Smartmobs.com |
Internet Society
Rheingold 2:
|
Internet Society
Rheingold 3:
Last Day to Turn in Rough Draft and
Get Feedback From Me!!! |
| April 5 & 7 |
Internet Society |
NO CLASS |
| April 12 & 14 |
Class Presentations
(Lori, Christine, Justin) |
Class Presentations
(Anita, Tammy, Brent) |
|
April 19 & 21 |
Class Presentations
(Dana, Chris, Brian) |
Class Presentations
(Peter, Christina, Ryan)
|
| April 26 & 28 |
Class Presenations
(Anecia, Sharlyne, Brandon) |
Class Presentations
(Celine, Terrance, Aaron) |
May 2 |
Papers
Due |
|
Assignments
This is a seminar. This means that participation is an important part
of the class. The class will only be as interesting as you, the students,
make it. There are a number of ways to participate:
- Blog entries: I have set up a blog for this class.
We'll spend class time in the first two classess setting you up and
teaching you how to post to the blog. I would like each student in the
class to submit at least one entry per week on the subject we're talking
about that week (listed in red under the dates in the schedule). (20
pts)
- Class Participation: (20
pts) Please also see the
art of participation for a more complete view of my expectations.
The upshot of the participation grade is that it is only possible to
have a successful / interesting class if everyone takes part. Also, I'm
hoping that you will take pity on your classmates. Take heed! Because
every student will be responsible for leading discussion for a part of
one class, it'll be a pretty painful experience for everyone
if no one talks.
Major Project: 60 pts = 60%
I want you to explore an emerging issue deeply and thoroughly in this
class. Towards that end, there will be one major project, which will have
three pieces. The first is an in-class analysis of related readings. The
second is a 3000 word paper, and the third is a presentation on the paper.
More details below.
-
Each student is responsible for leading discussion for a set of readings.
This is not a straight presentation of the readings, as you should assume
that everyone in the class has already read them. (!!!) The goal of
this task to to get the class to critically discuss the readings, and
not to make a presentation.
The student's job is to argue for or against viewpoints presented in
the homework assignment. The day before your scheduled analysis session,
please send five discussion questions to the class listserv by
noon, which will be the basis of our discussion the next day.
I am here to help, so if you'd like to vet your questions with me before
sending them to the list - please feel free to do so.
To reiterate - do not spend time making a presentation - focus on preparing
critical points with which to lead discussion.
-
Paper / Presentation = 42 pts / 42% (Paper
& Presentation Grading
Rubric)
Your paper will be a logical extension of your analysis project. It
can be a historical account of a major movement (blogging, online political
activism) or theorist (Larry Lessig, Philip Agre, John Perry Barlow,
Esther Dyson, etc.); or an interpretation of a set of problems from
a critical standpoint (intellectual property, internet culture, blogs,
etc.).
There will be a number of opportunities to get grades / feedback on
the paper:
- On Tuesday February 8 please give me (via email
attachment) a proposal (200-400 words) for a paper and a draft list
of references. (5
pts)
- On Thursday March 10, please give me (via email
attachment) an outline of the paper with amended bibliography. (5
pts)
- In the last month of the semester, you will be expected to present
a working draft of your paper to the class, and will be given 20
minutes for your presentation and 10 minutes for questions and discussion.
Please send a revised, extended abstract (but not more than 500
words) of your paper to the class discussion list the day
before your presentation. (12
pts)
- The final paper is due Monday May 2. Please
send your paper to me as an attachment to an email. (20
pts)
The paper should be around 3000 words in length (not including bibliography)
and should follow a standard citation format (like Chicago, APA, MLA -
I don't care which, as long as you use it consistently). You might
also want to look at the UNC Libraries' collection of Citation
& Writing Guides and consult the Writing
Center.
We are operating under the Honor Code in this class.
Specifically, the honor code says, "It shall be the responsibility
of every student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to
obey and to support the enforcement of the Honor Code, which prohibits
lying, cheating, or stealing when these actions involve academic processes
or University, student, or academic personnel acting in an official capacity."
You must pledge that you have abided by the rules of the honor code when
you turn in the final paper. Simply write "pledged" on a piece
of paper, sign your name, and deliver that piece of paper to my mailbox
in the main SILS office. Papers for which I do not have a pledge will
not be graded.
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