Prof. Carole
Meyers
Woodruff Library 226, Cubicle 35
7-4755
cmeyers@emory.edu
Office hours: by appointment
In this course, we will examine how identity, community, and knowledge are conceptualized and constituted on the Internet. We will analyze methods of self-representation in virtual spaces and investigate how people communicate using electronic means. In turn, we will look at electronic communities and compare them to their real life correlatives. Finally, we will examine the implications for knowledge of what has been called the "information revoluation" and consider how education will change as a result of technological alterations.
1. Participation. Much of our work will be done in a workshop format and your active participation is essential. More than three unexcused absences will result in the reduction of your grade by one level (e.g., from B to B-). Each subsequent unexcused absence will result in another reduction. Please be on time.
2. LearnLink Postings. Usually, you will be asked to write a 200-word posting on that day's reading. These postings must be dated by midnight of the day prior to class so that I have time to read them before class. These postings are required and will comprise part of your participation grade. No late postings will be accepted.
3. Graded Papers. You will write three graded papers. In addition, we will spend the last portion of the class revising your earlier writing into a WebFolio. Students should expect to use the computers in the classrooms regularly and to learn new software for the Web portion of the assignment. Graded papers are due at the start of class and are considered late after that time. You are permitted one, no questions asked, two-day extension for a paper. After that time period, late papers will be docked one letter grade per day, weekends included.
Participation: 30%
Paper 1: 15%
Paper 2: 20%
Paper 3: 20%
WebFolio: 15%
Required text: Richard Holeton, Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age
| August 27 | Introductions. Assignment: Write a one-page (250
words) description of yourself to post to LL. Due midnight on Sunday the
29th. Background assignment: Write a 300 word summary of the history of the Internet. See the Meyers101-Assignments conference on LearnLink for more detail. |
| August 30 | Assignment: Interview classmate. Begin writing one-page description of classmate. Due 8/31, midnight. |
| September 1 | In class writing on your initial and subsequent uses of the internet. What does the internet mean to you? What does it mean to your parents? |
| September 3 | "New Windows on the Self." Read Turkle. Write a 200-word LL posting on Turkle. You may use the questions at the end of the article as starting points. |
| September 8 | "Mind and Body." Read Johnny Mnemonic and Lakoff. Write a 200-word LL posting on the reading. First paper discussed. |
| September 10 | "Gender Online." Read Spender, Kornbluth, Ehrenreich. LL posting due. MOO chat in class. |
| September 13 | "Who's Not Online?" Read Martin. LL posting. |
| September 15 | TBA |
| September 17 | First Paper draft due. |
| September 20 | No class (Yom Kippur) |
| September 22 | First paper due. In class writing on What is Community? p. 150 |
| September 24 | "Virtual Communities." Read Rheingold and Barlow. LL posting on p. 197, #1 |
| September 27 | "Community and Place." Read Orion articles (handout). LL posting. |
| September 29 | "Threats to Community." Read Dibbell. LL posting. --change to one of the online city articles? . |
| October 1 | "Electronic Democracy." Read Grossman and Katz. LL posting. |
| October 4 | Library visit. |
| October 6 | The LearnLink SGA voting project. Guest visit by Gary Falcon. |
| October 8 | Read Rude. LL posting. |
| October 11 | Fall break |
| October 13 | Second paper draft due. Peer Review. |
| October 15 | Second paper due. |
| October 18 | Barry & Birkerts |
| October 20 | Reddy & Laurel |
| October 22 | Who Owns Digital Works? |
| October 25 | Chief Knowledge Officers |
| October 27 | No class |
| October 29 | No class |
| November 1 | Schools: Wallis & Stoll |
| November 3 | Zito and Neill |
| November 5 | TBA |
| November 8 | Burning Chrome |
| November 10 | Third paper draft due. Peer Review. |
| November 12 | Third paper due. |
| November 15 | Introduction to Dreamweaver |
| November 17 | Work on WebFolio |
| November 19 | " " |
| November 22 | " " |
| November 24 | No class |
| November 29 | Work on WebFolio |
| December 1 | " " |
| December 3 | " " |
| December 6 | WebFolios due. |