Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2023 - CMNS 446 D100

Communication, Science and Technology (4)

Class Number: 1133

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2023: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

    Oct 10, 2023: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Vancouver

  • Prerequisites:

    26 CMNS units with a minimum grade of C- or 60 units with a minimum CGPA of 2.00.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores the relationship between power, politics, and science; investigates stakeholders such as scientists, entrepreneurs, technologists, activists, policy-makers and their world-wide institutional contexts; compares global flows of science and technology through governmental, non-government, and transnational organizations; examines representations of science and technology in media systems and international development programs.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course explores the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) from a Communication perspective. We examine blockchain and Bitcoin as a space of convergence and explore how people, money, science, technologies, innovation culture, and power are shaping the space and social change. Similar to advances in the Internet and social media, blockchain innovations are rapidly impacting money, decentralized finance, gaming, governance, art and music, among many other fields and industries. In this course we will ask big questions about the role of communication, science, and technology in society. What problems are we trying to solve with science and technology, and what problems are we inadvertently exacerbating along with these developments? How do social and scientific controversies shape the development and diffusion of science and technology? Who in society benefits and who is harmed by rapid development of modern science and technology? At the heart of this course is the relationship between communication, science, and technology. Throughout this course we will address the relationship between these concepts and others, including the information society, gender, race, perspectives of the global south, and cultural anxieties and hopes about technology. These converging concepts detail both the promises and challenges of new technologies.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Achieve a command of foundational literature in Communication approaches, engagements, and collaborations with STS.
  • Achieve an understanding and command of blockchain concepts, technologies, and controversies.
  • Constructively engage with innovators and critics of the development and adoption of blockchain technologies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other projects and platforms.
  • Articulate differences and similarities between how STS and Communication scholars approach the study of communication technologies, digital media cultures, and blockchain.
  • Analyze how power, identity, and politics shape the development of new scientific facts, digital media, and communication technology.

Grading

  • Weekly posts 20%
  • Discussion leading 20%
  • Project Presentation 20%
  • Final Paper 40%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

A set of readings will be made available.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.