Fall 2024 - CMNS 253W E100
Introduction to Information Technology: The New Media (3)
Class Number: 7555
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
-
Course Times + Location:
Sep 4 – Dec 3, 2024: Thu, 4:30–6:20 p.m.
Burnaby
-
Instructor:
Dylan Chandler
dchandle@sfu.ca
-
Prerequisites:
Nine CMNS units with a minimum grade of C-.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
An introduction to new communication/information technologies, seen as new media of communication: the technologies, their uses, and the social issues arising from them. Students with credit for CMNS 253 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course introduces the critical study of technology and society using new media as its focus.
New media is rooted in the intersection of personal computing, telephony, and digital communication. The greatest catalyst of new media has been Internet technology. Early on, the Internet carried with it emancipatory promise of utopian social imaginaries influenced by mid 20th century counterculture. As the Internet matured, and enabled new media forms beyond the world wide web, it proved a powerful instrument of values opposing those early ideals through: the commodification of data, platform capitalism, and generative A.I.; algorithmic culture, surveillance, and censorship; and proliferation of hate speech, disinformation, and propaganda.
Simultaneously, new media has increasingly pervaded facets of our daily lives through the networking of appliances as smart devices, wearables, the internet of things, and software as a service monetized through data platforms and APIs. Where the world wide web and Internet were once effectively synonymous and bound to computers, the Internet has developed into a nearly necessary and ubiquitous utility of contemporary connected life.
With an historic interest in the development of new media, and the Internet’s role in its rise to prominence, how it has come to and continues to shape and impact our lives, cultures, and social activity will be considered and discussed.
In this writing-intensive (W) course we will emphasize making sense of what living in such a highly networked and technologized world means by writing about it. This will be in the form of two short papers and one longer multi-stage research project, including a proposal, presentation, and research paper.
Grading
- Short Paper #1 15%
- Short Paper #2 15%
- Research Proposal 25%
- Presentation 15%
- Research Paper 30%
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
All readings will be listed on the course syllabus and accessible through Canvas or the SFU Library.
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 term 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.