Sept. 15 - Communication, Rhetoric, and Community Building

Readings:

Joseph Petraglia-Bahri. A Brief Overview of Rhetoric.

 

Readings:

• Tracey LaQuey. (1994). The Internet Companion: A Beginner's Guide to Global Networking. Chapters 1 & 2 (others as needed for background).

• Bruce Sterling. (February 1993). Short History of the Internet. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

• Sara Kiesler et al. (June 1997). Homenet: a Field Trial of Residential Internet Use.

• Robert Kraut et al. (April 1997). Why People Use the Internet

• Searching and Evaluating World Wide Web Information

 

Browse:

• Robert H'obbes (1997). Hobbes' Internet Timeline v3.0. The MITRE Corporation.
• Howard Rheingold. (1993). Chapter 3, Visionaries and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net. In The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier.

 

Background Info (as needed):

• Life on the Internet: Beginner's Guide
• Links to other sites

Sept. 22 - Internet as Communication (Frameworks and Theories)
 

Readings:

• John E. Newhagen & Sheizaf Rafaeli. (1996). Why Communication Researchers Should Study the Internet: A Dialogue. In a special joint issue of Journal of Communication, 46 (1), & Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 1, (4).

• Merrill Morris and Christine Ogan. (1996). The Internet as Mass Medium. In a special joint issue of Journal of Communication, 46 (1), & Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 1, (4).

 

Additional Resources:

• John December. (1996). Units of Analysis for Internet Communication. In a special joint issue of Journal of Communication, 46 (1), & Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 1, (4).

Sept. 24 - Virtual Communities

Readings:

• David Belson. (1994). The Network Nation Revisited. Sections 5, 9, & 15.

• Amy Bruckman. (January 1996). Finding One’s Own in Cybersace. Technology Review.

• Michael Heim. (1995, January 1). The Nerd in the Noosphere. Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine, 2 (1).

 

Browse:

• Howard Rheingold. (1993). Chapters 1 & 2. In The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier

Sept. 29 - Communication and Culture in Virtual Communities

Readings:

• Roger Scime. (1994). <cyberville> and the Spirit of Community: Howard Rheingold-Meet Amitai Etzioni

• Jan Fernback & Brad Thompson. Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?

• Katie Hafner (May 1997). The Epic Saga of the Well. Wired, 5.05. Condensed version in CybersSoc Annotated Bibliography on Virtual Communities (Complete Version)

 

Additional Resources:

• Howard Rheingold. (1992). A Slice of Life in My Virtual Community.
• David R. Woolley. (1994) PLATO: The Emergence of On-Line Community.

 

Readings:

• What is USENET? (1992)

• Ronda Hauben (1996). The World of Usenet. In Netizens, an Anthology, Chapter 4.

• John December (1993) Characteristics of Oral Culture in Discourse on the Net. Paper presented at the twelth annual Penn State Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, University Park, Pennysylvania, July 8, 1993.

• Check out some discussion boards. There are many on popular tv shows, health concerns, current events, etc. Choose something you are interested in, put the topic and 'discussion board' or 'discussion group' in Yahoo! We will discuss finding other sites in class.

 

 Mailing Lists:

• LISZT: Searchable Directory of E-Mail Discussion Groups
• Publicly Accessible Mailing

 

Additional Resources:

• The USENET FAQ. (1994).
• Dear Emily Postnews: Advice on Usenet Etiquette.
• Richard MacKinnon. (1992). Searching for the Leviathan in Usenet.

Oct. 8 - Chatrooms, IRC, and Community

Readings:

• Elisabeth Byrne. (1994). Cyberfusion: The Formation of Relationships in Internet Relay Chat. Chapters 2 & 3.

• freeside. (1993, June 25). To be in Touch. A post to the FutureCulture mailing list.

• IRC Central - Newbies Page.

• CNET reviews - Words to the Wise.

 

Chat Links:

• Yahoo Chat.
• IRC Yahoo! Computers and Internet:Internet:Chat:IRC:Channels (short list)

 

Additional Resources:

• Elizabeth Reid. (1991). Electropolis: Communications and Community on Internet Relay Chat.
• The IRC Etiquette FAQ.
• IRC Commands.

Oct. 13 - MUDs, MUSEs, MOOs, and More!

Readings:

• Sherry Turkle. Virtuality and Its Discontents: Searching for Community in Cyberspace.

• Jen Clodius. Creating A Community of Interest.

 

Links to MUDs & MOOs:

• Links to MUDs.
• Diversity University.
• Lingua MOO Homepage.

 

Additional Resources:

• Basic Information about MUDs and MUDding.
• Beginners Guide To MOOing.
• Michael S. Rosenberg. (1992). Virtual Reality: Reflections of Life, Dream and Technology - An Ethnography of a Computer Society.
• The Journal of MUD Research (JOMR).
• Another collection of papers on MUDs.
• MOO/MU* Document Library.

Oct. 15 - Identity

Readings:

• Herb Brody. (February/March 1996). Session with the Cybershrink: An Interview with Sherry Turkle. Technology Review.

• James DiGiovanna. (1995). Losing Your Voice on the Internet.

• Sherry Turkle. Who Am We?

 

Additional Resources:

• Shannon McRae. (1995). Coming Apart at the Seams: The Erotics of Virtual Embodiment
• L. Detweiler. (1993). Identity, Privacy, Anonymity
• Howard Rheingold. Mind to Mind with Sherry Turkle

Oct. 20 - Gender, Women, and the Net

Readings:

• Elizabeth Lane Lawley. (April 1993). Computers and the Communication of Gender.

• Gladys We. (1994, July 26). Cross-Gender Communication in Cyberspace The Arachnet Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture, 2 (3).

• Amy S. Bruckman. (1993). Gender Swapping on the Internet .

• Victor Savicki, Dawn Lingenfelter, & Merle Kelley. (December 1996). Gender Language Style and Group Composition in Internet Discussion Groups. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2, (3).

 

Additional Resources:

• Nancy Kaplan & Eva Farrell. (1994). Weavers of Webs: A Portrait of Young Women on the Internet. The Arachnet Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture, 2 (3).
• Susan Herring. (1994). Gender Differences in CMC: Bringing Familiar Baggage to the New Frontier.
• Diane F. Witmer & Sandra Lee Katzman. (June 1997). On-Line Smiles: Does Gender Make a Difference in the Use of Graphic Accents? Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2, (4).
• Josie Arnold. (1996). Colonizing Cyberspace: The politics of Cyberfeminism and writing for Interactive Multi-Media in the IMMaterial world.

Oct. 22 - Reading Day

Oct. 27 - Relationships, Socialization, and the Impact on the Individual

Readings:

• Andrew S. Patrick & Alex Black. (1997). Losing Sleep and Watching Less TV but Socializing More: Personal and Social Impacts of Using the National Capital FreeNet.

• Malcolm R. Parks & Kory Floyd. (1996). Making Friends in Cyberspace. In a special joint issue of Journal of Communication, 46, (1), and Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 1, (4).

 

Additional Resources:

• Romance and the Internet. (1994, July 26). A collection of very short articles from The Arachnet Electronic Journal on Virtual Culture, 2 (3).

Oct. 29 - Legality and Censorship:  Dissent, Hate, and Pornography

Readings:

• HateWatch. Organization exposing hate on the web. Check out a few of the hate groups.

• John Perry Barlow. (1996). Cyberspace Declaration of Independence.

• Gerard Van Der Leun. (1993). This Is A Naked Lady.

• Pornography, Obscenity, Censorship and the Communications Decency Act.

 

Additional Resources:

• The Cyberporn Debate.
• THE CYBERPORN REPORT.
• Blue Ribbon Campaign for online freedom of speech, press, and association.

Nov. 3 - Social Norms, Crime, and Punishment on the Web

Readings:

• Anna DuVal Smith. (1997). Problems of Conflict Management in Virtual Communities.

 

Recommended with a Warning:

• Julian Dibbell. (1993, December 21). A Rape in Cyberspace, or, How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database Into a Society. The Village Voice, 30, 36-42.. Warning: This is widely read and discussed becaused it raises fundamental issues regarding policing communities, but it is VERY graphic. Use your own discretion in reading.

• Richard MacKinnon. (June 1997). Virtual Rape. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 2, (4).

 

Additional Resources:

• J. P. Barlow. (1990, July 21). Crime and Puzzlement 2. The Electronic Freedom Foundation.

• Kraettli L. Epperson. (1994). Patterns of Social Behavior.

Nov. 5 - Social Action

Readings:

• Howard Rheingold.(1998). Virtual Communities, Phony Civil Society?

• Ed Schwartz. NetActivism: How Citizens Use the Internet.

• Harry Cleaver. (1996). The Zapatistas and the Electronic Fabric of Struggle.

• Langdon Winner. (May/June 1995). Peter Pan in Cyberspace: The Political Vision of Wired. Educom, 30 (3).

• Howard Frederick. (1992). Computer Networks and the Emergence of Global Civil Society: The Case of the Association for Progressive Communications.

 

Political Action Links:

• MN e-Democracy.
• Neighborhoods Online .
• HandsNet.
• Association for Progressive Communications.

 

Additional Resources:

• Howard Rheingold. (1992). Electronic Frontiers and Online Activists. Chapter 9. In The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier.
• Jon Katz (1997). Birth of a Digital Nation. Wired, 5.04.
• Howard Rheingold. (1994). Electronic Democracy Toolkit.
• Audrie Krause. (1997). The Online Activist: Tools for Organizing in Cyberspace. Part One.
• What's Working: Advocacy on the 'Net'. A list of links by the Benton Foundation.

Nov. 10 - Access and Global Community

Readings

• Arthur Kroker & Michael A. Weinstein. (1994). The Theory of the Virtual Class: Not a Wired Culture but a Culture is Wired Shut.

• Rand Corporation. Universal Access to E-Mail: Feasibility and Societal Implications.

• U.S. Department of Commerce. (1995). FALLING THROUGH THE NET: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural and Urban America.

• Anne Larson & Anthony Wilhelm. (1994). Latinos and the Information Superhighway.

 

Additional Resources:

• The Benton Foundation. Large collection of papers on the issue of "universal service."

• Brennon M. Martin. (1996). Universal Service and Information Poverty: a new look at an old problem.

• Brennon Martin. Who Controls the Internet? Part I and Part II.

• Jonathan Lillie. (1997). Possible Roles for Electronic Community Networks and Participatory Development Strategies in Access Programs for Poor Neighborhoods.

Nov. 12 - Future

Readings:

• Jeff Johnson. (1995). The Information Highway from Hell: A Worst-Case Scenario.

• Peter Deutsch. (1993). Preserving and Promoting the Internet Culture.

• Peter Childers & Paul Delany. (1994). Wired World, Virtual Campus: Universities and the Political Economy of Cyberspace.

 

Additional Resources:

• Michell Kapor. Where is the Digital Highway Really Heading? The Case for a Jeffersonian Information Policy.

Nov. 17 - The Great Debate: Views on CyberSociety

Readings (Pro):

• John Perry Barlow. (1995). Is There a There in Cyberspace? Utne Reader.

• Dialog on Virtual Communities. FEED Magazine.

• Michael Hauben. (1995). The Netizens and Community Networks.

Readings (Con):

• Critical Art Ensemble. Utopian Promises—Net Realities.

• Neil Postman. (1990). Informing Ourselves to Death. Paper presented at a meeting of the German Informatics Society on October 11, 1990.

 

Additional Resources:

•  Critical Views of the Internet

Nov. 19--Paper Discussion

                Drafts of papers due.
 

Dec. 1--Goup Day
 

Dec. 3--Group Presentations
 

Dec. 8--Group Presentations
 

Dec. 10--Group Presentations
 

Dec. 15--Final Papers Due