421 Summer 2011

SPCM 421 – Communication in Online Communities Summer, 2011 Instructor: Jonny Gray Class: 1020 Comm. Bldg. Office: 2240 Comm. Bldg. Phone: 3-7570 E-mail: [email protected] Office Hours: 10:40-12 M-Th & by appointment Course Description: Disrupted, empowered, transformed, or something altogether unanticipated – clearly our new media forms of communication affect our sense of community. From technophobes to techno-utopian s, critics tend to agree that there is something more to social media and new media than the technology alone can explain. That is, there is a distinctly human element to our online communication. What we do with these new technologies is at least as important (if not more so) than their intended technological capabilities. In this course, we will explore some of those human dimensions as we examine myriad ways people are using social media in their daily lives. We will examine social media and interpersonal communication as social networks and “tethering” devices to such affect our relationshi ps. We will examine political and rhetorical communication as new media provide both roadblocks to and enhanced participation in so-called “digital democracy.” And finally, we will examine social media as a rich and emerging site for performance and aesthetic communication. To augment our sense of these types of on-line communication and community, we will participate in “blended” learning as we combine in-class and on-line engagement of this material. We will also maintain a public blog for the course, contributing some of our observations to a broader networked set of communities and encouraging their dialogue with us. Texts: Hindman, Matthew. The Myth of Digital Democracy. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2009. Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other . New York: Basic Books, 2011. A collection of PDFs and Web Linked Articles available on-line at the course Blackboard site. Graded Assignments: Blog Post 20% Project Proposal 10% Term Paper 30% Presentation 20% Blackboard/Blog Participation 20% Assignment Description: Blog Post: A 750 word (or so) contribution to our public class blog that works through ideas of interest to you in response to course content and readings. We will be using a Blogger account for this blog. You are strongly encouraged to augment your writing with visual content and hyperlinks. Remember, you are

Documents

421 Summer 2011