Professor:
Dr. Nancy Baym
Office Hours: 270D Regnier Hall, Thursdays 3-4; 402 Bailey Hall, by appointment
nbaym@ku.edu
864-9876
Mailbox: Communication Department Office, 102 Bailey
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to theoretical issues raised by the internet for communication. This course will focus on social and interpersonal topics including how the internet is understood, forms of online communication, impression formation and management in online contexts, relational development and maintenance, social networks, and the roles online communication in organizations, religion, healthcare, and politics. We will combine in-class lecture and discussion with required out of class online discussion.
BlackBoard
There is a blackboard for
this course, which can be located on the web via courseware.ku.edu. This course
will meet from 4:10-6:00. For the third hour, you are expected to spend at
least 1-2 hours/week writing in the class blog available on the blackboard site, either posting your own
entries or commenting on those of others.
Class handouts such as
assignments and study guides will be posted here. The Blackboard grade sheet
will be maintained but may not always be up to date. Please be patient when
waiting for grades to be posted.
Required Readings
The required book in this course is Thurlow. Lengel, and Tomic Computer-Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet (Sage Press). There are also required readings available online.
All readings from the textbook are indicated with CMC in the
reading assignments. All online readings that begin with CMCwebsite can be
accessed through the textbookÕs accompanying website at http://www.com.washington.edu/cmc/weblinks_intro.html
All other online readings can be acessed through the URLs in the course schedule that follows.
Assignments and Expectations
All students are expected to come to class having finished the assigned readings and prepared with questions, viewpoints, or examples to contribute to the discussion. Everyone should participate fully in discussions, neither dominating nor allowing others to carry the intellectual load.
Grading Scale:
>899 points = A; 800-899 = B; 700-799 = C; 600-699 = D; <600 = F
2 Tests (300 Points): Tests
will combine true/false, multiple choice, and short answer questions.
1 Final (200 Points): The final will have a take-home essay component and an in-class multiple-choice/short answer component. It will be cummulative.
Study guides will be provided for all tests.
Paper (240 Points). Throughout the semester you will be tracking one or more sites that are interesting to you. In this paper you should combine materials from reading and independent research to offer an analysis of the site. Papers must be turned in the day they are due on paper to me and electronically to turnitin.com
Draft (40 pts) A first draft of the paper is due November
Final Version (200 pts) The final paper should be a substantially revised version of the draft based upon the comments you received on the draft.
Class Blog Contributions
(260 Points)
Blog contributions will be
graded after every 3 blog assignments. There are three kinds of writing that
contribute toward your blogging grade:
There are 12
blog topics specified on the syllabus, These should be completed by the Monday
after class last met in order to give people to respond to one another before
the class meets again. Each one is worth 15 points, you are required to post
eight of them over the course of the semester. You can gain up to 10 points
extra credit for each additional one you complete (so if you did all 12, you
could get up to 40 points extra credit). You will be graded on the thought that
went into your contributions, as well as the skill with which you write for
your readers.
Responses to Each OthersÕ Blog
Entries
The comments section of the
class blog is the equivalent of in-class discussion. You should spend as much
time commenting on othersÕ blogs as you do posting your own. The goal here is
to take advantage of the extra time out of class to think and formulate your
thoughts so that we can develop interesting conversations through this process.
Grading on this is based on the quality of your contributions Ð are they
thoughtful responses to what was posted that take the discussion further than
it was before you posted? Posts that say things like ÒI agreeÓ or ÒI disagreeÓ
(or the equivalent in as many words) clutter up the blog and do not further the
interaction. You can earn up to 20 points for yor comments in each of the four
blog grading periods.
News Bytes
Once in each of the four blog
grading periods (i.e. once every three weeks), you should write about a news
story that is relevant to the topics we discuss in this class. Along with a
link to the article and a brief description of the story you should explain how
the article connects to the class material. Finally, you should pose a question
based on the article to which other students can respond in the comments.
Again, remember the goal is to stimulate interesting interaction. 15 Points
each.
Under
normal circumstances missed tests cannot be made up. If you know you will be
unable to make an exam in advance or encounter an extreme emergency, we may be
able to make alternative arrangements IF you contact me immediately. If you
contact me after missing an exam, I make no promises.
Late
papers lose 5% of the possible grade if they are turned in after class the day
they are due, and an additional 5% each additional day they are late. Early
papers are always accepted.
Extensions
will be granted only when these three conditions are met: there is a serious
emergency, no additional class attendance is necessary to finish the course,
and the extension is cleared with me before the final class period.
The staff of Services for
Students with Disabilities (SSD), 135 Strong Hall, 785-864-2620 (v/tty),
coordinates accommodations and services for KU courses. If you have a disability for which you
may request accommodation in KU classes and have not contacted them, please do
as soon as possible. Please also see me privately in regard to this course.
Plagiarism and other
practices of academic dishonesty will
result in an "F" for the assignment and possibly the course, and will
be reported for possible disciplinary action at the college and university
levels. University Senate Rules and Regulations (USRR) 2.6.1 provides the
following definition of student academic misconduct: Academic misconduct by a student shall include, but not be
limited to, disruption of classes; threatening an instructor or fellow student
in an academic setting, giving or receiving of unauthorized aid on examinations
or in the preparation of notebooks, themes, reports or other assignments;
knowingly misrepresenting the source of any academic work; unauthorized change
of grades; unauthorized use of University approvals or forging of signatures;
falsification of research results, plagiarizing of another's work; violation of
regulations or ethical codes for the treatment of human and animal subjects; or
otherwise acting dishonestly in research.
Taping Class. Course materials prepared by the instructor,
together with the content of all lectures and review sessions presented by the
instructor are the property of the instructor. Video and audio recording of
lectures and review sessions without the consent of the instructor is
prohibited. On request, the instructor will usually grant permission for
students to audio tape lectures, on the condition that these audio tapes are
only used as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless
explicit permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures and
review sessions may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted
to any other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course.
Much
of the grade in this course is based on writing. I encourage you to take
advantage of KUÕs writing centers, known as the Writer's Roosts. These are
places for students to talk about their writing with trained peer consultants.
There is a roost in the Regents Center and there are several open across the
Lawrence campus; please check the website at www.writing.ku.edu for current
locations and hours. The Roosts welcome both drop-ins and appointments, and
there is no charge for their services. For more information, please call
864-2399 or send an e-mail to writing@ku.edu.
How
do you use the internet? What do you do online? What things that you do online
do you enjoy the most? Provide links to public sites if you write about them so
others can check them out.
CMC Introduction, 1:1, 1:2,
1:3, 1:6 (pages 74-77), 3:4, 3:5, 4:9
Browse the resources
described on the textÕs website: CMCwebsite http://www.com.washington.edu/cmc/resources_intro.html
Computer History Museum
Exhibit on Internet History: http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/internet_history/
Rheingold "Visionaries
and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net" : http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/3.html
CMCwebsite Fieldwork Task 5
Weblink 3: http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/kcdc/journal/vol1/dcnet/stream1/paper4/history.htm
ÒUsenet/What is?" http://www.landfield.com/faqs/usenet/what-is/
"An overview of the
World Wide Web": http://www.cio.com/WebMaster/sem2_home.html
"Basic Information
about MUDs and MUDding": http://www.lysator.liu.se/mud/faq/faq1.html
Blood, Rebecca.
"Weblogs: A History and Perspective", Rebecca's Pocket. 07 September 2000. 07 January 2005.
http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html
What
kinds of communication media (for example email vs IM vs telephone vs
face-to-face) you prefer for different kinds of interactions? Why do you think
this is?
CMC 2:1 (pages 82-88), 2: 4
(pages 121-123)
CMCwebsite Central Issues,
Unit 1, Weblink 1: Global Maps of Internet Use http://www.zooknic.com/
CMCwebsite Central Issues,
Unit 1, Weblink 4: Global Internet Use by Language http://www.glreach.com/globstats/
CMCwebsite Central Issues,
Unit 1, Weblink 18: Bridging the Digital Divide http://www.bridges.org/spanning/summary.html
Madden & Ranie. (2003)
America's Online Pursuits: The changing picture of who's online and what they
do. PDF download from: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/106/report_display.asp
CMC 3:1, 4:2
Choose
a site (or perhaps a set of related sites) that you are either already into or
that could sustain your interest for a course-long project. Make sure it is a site that has many
people actively participating. You might consider networking sites like
Facebook and MySpace, online games like World of Warcraft and Everquest, or fan
sites for tv shows, celebrities, bands, sports teams. Tell us about that site
and tell us why youÕve chosen it Ð whatÕs going on in the communication there
thatÕs interesting? Provide links!
CMC 1:4, CMC 1:5
Now
that youÕre familiar with cues-filtered out theories, revisit which media you
said you preferred for which kinds of interactions. How does your experience
support or challenge this kind of theory?
CMC 1:6 Contextualizing CMC
(69-73), Box 4.10, 2:4
CMCwebsite Central Issues
Unit 4 Weblink 11: http://www.netlingo.com/
What
communication conventions are there on the site(s) youÕre following that a new
person trying to get into the site would have to learn? Give us specific examples,
ideally with links.
CMC 1:4, 2:2, 3:6
ÒWho Am We?Ó An interview
with Sherry Turkle http://www.wired.com/wired/archive//4.01/turkle.html?person=sherry_turkle&topic_set=wiredpeople
Where
are you represented on the internet? Look at your own online presence as though
you were a potential employer, professor, parent, or even yourself in five
years. What would those people learn about you and how might your presence be
changed to better manage the impressions you make?
Now
that you have been in this class for several weeks thinking about these issues,
tell us about two or three particularly interesting communication phenomena you
see in the sites you that you have not aready written about.
Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse. Privacy in Cyberspace:
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs18-cyb.htm
Read through recent topics
in digital surveillance at: http://www.cotse.net/privacy/surveillance.htm
CMC 2:5, 2:7 Antisocial Behavior (pages 143-146)
Introduce
us to some of the key personalities on your site(s). What are your impressions
of them and how does their communication behavior lead to those
impressions?
http://www.tolerance.org/hate_internet/index.jsp
How
are different genders, races, and ethnicities visible in your site(s)? How are
they socially constructed by participants in the groups?
CMC 1:4, 2:6
Chenault, "Developing
Personal and Emotional Relationships Via Computer-Mediated Communication" http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1998/may/chenault.html
Baker, Cyberspace Couples
Finding Romance Online Then Meeting for the First Time in Real Life. http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1998/jul/baker.html
How
do you use the internet socially? Who are the people you communicate most with
online? Are there limits to what you will and wonÕt do socially via the
internet?
McKenna, Green, &.
Gleason (2002), "Relationship formation on the Internet: What's the big
attraction?" (available online http://homepages.nyu.edu/~kym1/relationship_formation.pdf)
What
kind of relational activity do you see in the site(s) youÕre following? What
kinds of relationships are being conducted there? How do you think those
relationships fit into the rest of the participantsÕ lives?
CMC 1:5, 2:4, 4:5
Steinkuehler, C. A., and
Williams, D. (2006). Where everybody knows your (screen) name: Online games as
"third places." Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(4),
article 1. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue4/steinkuehler.html
Fernback & Thompson,
" Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure? "
http://www.well.com/user/hlr/texts/VCcivil.html
Dibell, J. ÒA Rape in
CyberspaceÓ http://www.juliandibbell.com/texts/bungle.html
Do
you think your site(s) is a community? What about the communication that you
see there makes you say yes or no?
CMC 2:7
Wellman, B., Quan-Haase,
A. Q., Boase, J., Chen, W., Hampton, K., de Diaz, I. I., et al. (2003). The
social affordances of the Internet for networked individualism. Journal of
Computer-Mediated Communication, 8. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol8/issue3/wellman.html
What
social networking sites (facebook, myspace, last,fm, etc)
if any do you use? What sort of social network do you think youÕve built
through those sites. How connected is it to your face-to-face and telephone
networks? How connected are they to each other? If you donÕt use any of them,
tell us your impression of them and why youÕve chosen not to use them.
Hoover, Clark, and Rainie.
Faith Online. PDF document download from: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/126/report_display.asp
CMC 2:1 (pages 88-91)
Lutfy (2003). Use of
Information and Communication Technology by Social Movements. http://www.socialrights.org/spip/article273.html
Rainie, Fox & Fallows (2003).
The Internet and the Iraq War. PDF download from http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/87/report_display.asp
Horrigan, Garrett, &
Resnick (2004). The Internet and Democratic Debate. PFD download from:
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/141/report_display.asp
Choose
a social movement that you care about. Locate some specific sites and/or
organizations that are using the internet to work for this cause. How are they
using the internet? Give us links!
CMC 4:3
Fallows (2002) Email at
work. PDF download from http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/79/report_display.asp
CMC 4:4 Health
Communication
Fox & Fallows (2003).
Health Information Online. PDF download from: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/95/report_display.asp