Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A study of the social theory of information technologies, examining issues affecting computer-mediated communication.

COURSE DETAILS:

The apparently simple statement that ‘technology affects society’ is one of the most difficult foundational questions for studying media and communication. It is profoundly unclear whether, or how, technology (social media) can shape social phenomena (atomisation, polarisation), under what circumstances. The very idea of ‘technology’, often imagined as a coherent and autonomous force, is argued to be highly misleading and even dangerous in our debates around AI, climate change, or free speech. How notions like ‘objectivity’ or ‘agency’ come to be defined has profound implications for academic, policy, and public understandings of specific technological situations. It turns out that when we say ‘technology affects society’, deep philosophical and practical questions rear their heads behind each and every one of those words.

Accordingly, this course examines some key debates and approaches in recent decades when it comes to thinking technology and the social. We go to the source and dive into landmark works, some of which have come to define entire fields (Bruno Latour & actor-network theory, for instance), and others which encapsulate a particular object or approach (Katherine Hayles & cybernetics; Lorraine Daston & objectivity). The goal is to equip you with a diverse toolkit that you can choose to draw upon for future research and teaching, whether this involves social media and algorithmic cultures, facial recognition and marginalised populations, artificial intelligence and machine learning, EdTech, surveillance, microwork…

This course is designed to encourage you to work hands-on with these ideas and try them on for size. Our 3-hour seminars will proceed in blocks of two. First, we spend a week reviewing the readings in a more or less normal class. In the second week, we each bring a new reading of our own – one that we think helps extend, challenge, or apply this approach to technology and society in an interesting way. This will also provide a space for discussing and developing your research/dissertation interests.

At the end of the semester, you will be tasked with a ‘take-home’ assignment involving short, critical essays that identify the main arguments, limitations, and stakes of some of the approaches we had covered in class. For CMNS students, this is very similar to, and provides a dry run, for your comprehensive exam.

I am happy to chat about any aspect of the course, and to consider any assignment adjustments that would be more useful for your research – let me know: sun_ha@sfu.ca

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

REQUIRED READING NOTES: