SOCI221/2AA
Sociology of Cyberspace
Meeting 1: September 8, 2014
SOCI221/2AA
Sociology of Cyberspace
Meeting 1: September 8, 2014
Today
Getting acquainted
Knowing what to expect
Exercises
Prepare for next week
Getting to Know One Another
Building Connections
“Raised-Hand Polls”
How Many of You…
Are in their first year at Concordia?
Are in their first year of university studies?
Have taken or are taking other sociology courses?
Have no sociology background?
Define themselves as “technical”?
Have looked at the coursepack?
Introductions
Pair up
Introduce yourselves to one another
Why is the Internet important in your lives?
Will ask some
Discussion
What can sociology provide in the study of Internet?
Exercise
Online History
Try to remember your first time online.
What did you do, then?
What has changed, since then?
Pair up and discuss
Quick post
Call Me Alex
Alex’s Info
Alex@Ethnographer.ca
http://Enkerli.com
Office H-1125-28
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00–2:30p
Alex’s “Cyberspace” Biography
Twenty Years Online
Pre-1993: Dabbling
Since 1993: Intense
Social media involvement
Geek ethnographer
Social Web course
Community manager
Alex’s Teaching
Diversified teaching
Constructivism
Applied work: participatory action research
Emphasis on appropriation
Active Learning
Gym Analogy
Own project
Effort, practice, and improvement
Personal trainer, not coach, drill sergeant, or employer
Ask questions
Peer Learning
Mutual help
Culture of sharing (“gift economy”)
Diigo
Interactions
Peer assessment
Forums
Teaching as Community Management
Building learning environment together
Community?
Enabling action
Learning network
This Course
Sociology of Cyberspace
What Do We Mean by “Cyberspace”?
Social dimensions
Geek Culture
Digital divide
Inequality
Class
Gender
Race
Democracy
“Digital Natives”
Social dimensions
Education
Digital literacy
Diversity
Digital ethnography
Posthumanism
Appropriation
Communities
Social identity
This Semester
Somewhat hands-on
Exercises
No need for technical skills
Critical thinking
Coursepack
All texts available online
Diverse
Deep sociology
Average of two texts per week
Study smart: skim then focus
Texts as toolbox
Find something to share, to discuss
Course Policies
Contributions
Regular attendance expected
Online submissions before class
Late penalty
No extra credit
Contributions
What do you bring to the course, apart from what’s expected?
Active
Not necessarily “vocal”
Not necessarily in-class
Partly self-assessed (October 13)
Reflection Posts
Sociological insight
Active reading: toolbox, conversation starters
Making links
Outside sources (including videos, tweets, pictures…)
Aggregate grade (on 20) by Alex, at the end
Ok if miss one
Qualitative peer-assessment
Excellent: ~90%
Very Good: ~80%
Good: ~70%
Average: ~60%
Not Good Enough: ~50%
Disappointing: ~40%
Activities/Exercises
Some start in class
More hands-on, informal
Also qualitative peer-assessment
Aggregate grade (on 10) by Alex, at the end
Ok if miss one
Exams
Essay-type questions, but shorter
Compare and contrast, support argument…
In-class midterm (October 20)
University-scheduled final
Coming Up
Context Is Key
Required Texts
Vannevar Bush (1945)
As We May Think
Leiner et al. (1997–2012)
Brief History of the Internet
Vannevar Bush
As We May Think
Pre-Internet
From destruction to knowledge
Technology and the mind
Prospective
Memex
Partial inspiration for the Internet
Leiner et al.
Brief History of the Internet
Historical Background
Time depth
Technological details
Plumbing analogy
Skip sections
Focus on sections 6 (The Role of Documentation) through 9 (History of the Future)
Explicit issues: key people, communication between humans, defense, fits and starts, adoption patterns…
Between the Lines
Where did it happen?
Who made decisions?
Society shapes technology or technology causes social change?
Social dimensions