Part One: The Information Age
Week 1) Making Sense of the On Demand World
Sessions:
- Tuesday, January 9 (Mandatory First Day Attendance Policy)
- Thursday, January 11
Questions:
- What is this class about, and why does it matter? How is constant access to information changing our lives, our minds, and the way we think? What does it mean to live in a world where sharks are trying to eat the internet?
Readings:
- The Course Syllabus, Outline, and Assignment descriptions. Please note that conduct of the course, including grading, will proceed the rest of the semester assuming you have carefully read, understand, and agree to adhere to all the requirements in all of these documents.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
Week 2) Group Exploration 1
Sessions:
- Tuesday, January 16
- Thursday, January 18
Questions:
- TBD!
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
- In-Class Group Exploration (5%).
Week 3) Unlimited Access to Funny Pictures of Cats
Sessions:
- Tuesday, January 23
- Thursday, January 25
Questions:
- Is Google making us stupid? If this is the information age, why doesn't anyone know anything? We have unlimited access to all the world's knowledge through amazing devices small enough to fit in our pockets, so why do we use them for looking at funny pictures of cats?
Readings:
- Carr 2008. Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/ - McGuire 2015. Why Can't We Read Anymore? Or, Can Books Save Us From What Digital Does to Our Brains?
https://medium.com/@hughmcguire/why-can-t-we-read-anymore-503c38c131fe - Rumsey 2016. The Risk of Digital Oblivion. What Knowledge Should We Save?
https://www-chronicle-com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/article/The-Risk-of-Digital-Oblivion/236342 - Somers 2017. Torching the Modern-Day Library of Alexandria. Somewhere at Google There is a Database Containing 25 Million Books and Nobody is Allowed to Read Them.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/the-tragedy-of-google-books/523320/
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
- Topic Statement (5%). Due Sunday, January 28. Please submit your assignment to Canvas.
Week 4) Group Exploration 2
Sessions:
- Tuesday, January 30
- Thursday, February 1
Questions:
- TBD!
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
- In-Class Group Exploration (5%).
Part Two: The Surveillance Society
Week 5) Surviving the Big Data Deluge
Sessions:
- Tuesday, February 6
- Thursday, February 8
Questions:
- You are being watched. There is a machine that spies on you every hour of every day. What does it mean to live in a world where everyone knows everything you do, everywhere you go, everything you buy, and everything you say?
Readings:
- Duhigg 2012. How Companies Learn Your Secrets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html - Kuang 2015. Disney's $1 Billion Bet on a Magical Wristband.
http://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/ - Mineo 2017. On Internet Privacy, Be Very Afraid: Surveillance is the Business Model of the Internet.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/08/when-it-comes-to-internet-privacy-be-very-afraid-analyst-suggests/ - John, Kim, Barasz 2017. Ads That Don't Overstep.
https://hbr.org/2018/01/ads-that-dont-overstep
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
- Peer Review of Topic Statement (5%). Due Sunday, February 11. Please submit your assignment to Canvas.
Week 6) Group Exploration 3
Sessions:
- Tuesday, February 13
- Thursday, February 15
Questions:
- TBD!
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
- In-Class Group Exploration (5%).
Week 7) You Wouldn't Download a Car, Would You?
Sessions:
- Tuesday, February 20
- Thursday, February 22
Questions:
- What does it mean to own something in a world where physical objects have been replaced with digital representations? How are new information technologies reshaping our concepts of property, privacy, and ethics? Where is the line, and what happens when we cross it?
Readings:
- Wiens 2015. We Can't Let John Deere Destroy the Very Idea of Ownership.
http://www.wired.com/2015/04/dmca-ownership-john-deere/ - Wiens 2017. The Supreme Court Just Bolstered Your Right to Repair Stuff.
https://www.wired.com/2017/06/impression-v-lexmark/ - Fairfield 2017. The Internet of Things is Sending Us Back to the Middle Ages.
https://theconversation.com/the-internet-of-things-is-sending-us-back-to-the-middle-ages-81435 - Economist 2017. New Technology is Eroding Your Right to Tinker with Things You Own: The End of Ownership in the Digital Era.
https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21723679-digital-technology-eroding-peoples-right-tinker-things-they-own-end-ownership
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
- Annotated Bibliography (10%). Due Sunday, February 25. Please submit your assignment to Canvas.
Week 8) Group Exploration 4
Sessions:
- Tuesday, February 27
- Thursday, March 1
Questions:
- TBD!
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
- In-Class Group Exploration (5%).
Interlude
Week 09) Interlude
Sessions:
- Tuesday, March 6 -- Special Guest Speaker, Prof. Kathy Burnett on Information Ethics!
- Thursday, March 8 -- No class.
Questions:
- TBD.
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
SPRING BREAK -- No Class on March 13 or March 15
Part Three: The Service Economy
Week 10) If You Aren't Paying For It, You're the Product
Sessions:
- Tuesday, March 20
- Thursday, March 22
Questions:
- Many companies offer you free services because they can make more money selling information about you to others, than by selling products directly to you. How much are you willing to give up in exchange for convenience? What price do you put on your privacy?
Readings:
- Newman 2011. You're Not Google's Customer -- You're the Product.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-newman/youre-not-googles-custome_b_841599.html - Madrigal 2014. How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/how-netflix-reverse-engineered-hollywood/282679/ - Lanchester 2017. You Are The Product.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n16/john-lanchester/you-are-the-product - Economist 2017. Regulating the Internet Giants: The World's Most Valuable Resource is No Longer Oil, but Data.
https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21721656-data-economy-demands-new-approach-antitrust-rules-worlds-most-valuable-resource
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
- Draft of Final Paper (15%). Due Sunday, March 25. Please submit your assignment to Canvas.
Week 11) Group Exploration 5
Sessions:
- Tuesday, March 27
- Thursday, March 29
Questions:
- TBD!
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
- In-Class Group Exploration (5%).
Week 12) The Dark Side of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Sessions:
- Tuesday, April 3
- Thursday, April 5
Questions:
- We are constantly pushing the envelope, but who is keeping an eye on the possible drawbacks of the latest trend? Is our emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship leading to a new kind of freedom, or are we creating a world where everyone is online and working 24/7?
Readings:
- Timberg 2013. Jaron Lanier: The Internet Destroyed the Middle Class.
https://www.salon.com/2013/05/12/jaron_lanier_the_internet_destroyed_the_middle_class/ - Smiley 2015. The Shut-In Economy: What's the Future of Work?
https://medium.com/the-wtf-economy/the-shut-in-economy-ec3ec1294816 - Menegus 2017. Amazon's Last Mile.
https://gizmodo.com/amazons-last-mile-1820451224 - Heller 2017. Is the Gig Economy Working?
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/is-the-gig-economy-working
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
- Peer Review of Draft Paper (5%). Due Sunday, April 8. Please submit your assignment to Canvas.
Week 13) Group Exploration 6
Sessions:
- Tuesday, April 10
- Thursday, April 12
Questions:
- TBD!
Readings:
- None.
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (1%).
- In-Class Group Exploration (5%).
Part Four: The Connected World
Week 14) Shaping the Future of a Connected Humanity
Sessions:
- Tuesday, April 17
- Thursday, April 19
Questions:
- What is the future of humanity in an instantly-connected, fully-networked, and always-on world? Once there are sensors everywhere, connecting every object to every other object, what will the world look like, and where will we find peace?
Readings:
- Harris 2017. How Technology Hijacks People's Minds.
http://www.tristanharris.com/2016/05/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds%E2%80%8A-%E2%80%8Afrom-a-magician-and-googles-design-ethicist/ - Lewis 2017. Our minds can be hijacked: The Tech Insiders Who Fear a Smartphone Dystopia.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia - Twenge 2017. Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/ - Samuel 2017. Yes, Smartphones are Destroying a Generation, but Not of Kids.
https://daily.jstor.org/yes-smartphones-are-destroying-a-generation-but-not-of-kids/
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
Week 15) Who Needs Humans, Anyway?
Sessions:
- Tuesday, April 24
- Thursday, April 26
Questions:
- Where are we going, and what are we doing? What are we risking, and what is it worth? For what purpose are we changing the world with information technology? When we look back at ourselves, 50 years from now, will we like what we see?
Readings:
- Carr 2013. All Can Be Lost: The Risk of Putting Our Knowledge in the Hands of Machines.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/the-great-forgetting/309516/ - Ceglowski 2014. Web Design: The First 100 Years.
http://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm - Byrne 2017. Eliminating the Human.
http://davidbyrne.com/journal/eliminating-the-human - Upchurch 2017. Why is it So Hard to Ditch Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook?
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/scott-galloway-the-four-book-review
Assignments:
- In-Class Participation (2 @ 1%).
- Final Paper (20%). Due Sunday, April 29. Please submit your assignment to Canvas.