Winter Session 2008

CSC/CMM 359     Technology, Communication and Society     

Welcome to CSC/CMM 359: Technology, Communication and Society. This handout contains important and essential information about the course. To ensure your success in the course, please make certain you understand all the requirements and obligations of this course as detailed below. 

Class times and location This course will meet from 9:00 AM until 4:30 PM in Hawkins xxx on the following dates:  Wednesday, January 2nd; Friday, January 4th; Monday, January 7th; Thursday, January 10th; Monday, January 14th; and Thursday, January 17th.There will be a one-hour break for lunch each day class is in session..

Instructors and Office Hours

Total credits 3 credits (This course meets the GE4 integration requirements under the Individual, Society and Responsibility category.)

Prerequisites (Jump to  list) 

Text You will be assigned regular readings from The New York Times. (Copies of The New York Times will be available to you on weekdays  at the College Store only through advance subscription. It will be your responsibility to obtain and read issues of the newspaper in a timely manner.)  Additional readings (given as handouts, or on the web) will also be assigned.

Other resources and web links We will all - instructors and students alike - contribute to an evolving wiki-style page to be filled with our own annotated bibliographical references that we believe will be of some interest and utility to members of the class. Instructors reserve the right to edit the page as they see fit, ensuring that material posted remains germane to the purpose of the course.

Course purpose and objectives Marshall McLuhan described all media as “active metaphors in their power to translate experience into new forms.” (Understanding Media, 1964)  What McLuhan was attempting to convey is just how all-encompassing technologies are, how they totally involve us personally and socially. In examining the converging universes of computing and mass media, we therefore need to understand and appreciate the technical underpinnings of both, the environments they foster, the contexts in which they operate, and the ways they affect our interactions with individuals and society in general. In order to conduct this examination, we shall explore the role and function of computers and communication media in current and historical frameworks. We shall also take an in-depth look at the characteristics of our rapidly changing convergent world and contemplate, as McLuhan did, how technology “shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.”  

The overall objectives of this course therefore are to:  

• Develop your understanding and appreciation of the roles of computing and communication technologies in society.

• Provide you with fresh perspectives on the influence of virtual and other media environments on social interactions.

• Demonstrate how convergent technologies and content are shaping our individual lives, our institutions, and society as a whole.

Course Content We plan to examine the ways the rapid amalgamation of computer technology with mass media is transforming culture globally, affecting political and economic life,  and enveloping social and personal ways of being.  We will also explore the relentless movement toward the adoption of digital technology, content and delivery by mass media industries worldwide, focusing on the ethical implications of this intertwining and offering a critical perspective on the moral effects of such convergence upon society and human thought. 

Course Format and Evaluation  To achieve the above-stated objectives, the course will depend on lecture, class discussion, team dialogues, case studies, and journaling. There will be seven types of ungraded and graded work product that you will be expected to furnish in fulfillment of the requirements of this course:

1. Ongoing team blog

2. Electronic, personal class journal

3. Class dialogues and exercises

4. New York Times daily readings and news analyses

5. Take home assignments

6. Case study

7. Final Project

Schedule, assignments and readings

Course Requirements

• Blogs and journals: You will be required, as part of a team, to maintain a blog about your observations on topics related to the the various themes covered during each class session. You will be provided blogging time toward the end of each day we meet. We encourage you to continue your blogs outside of formal class hours. The instructors will furnish further information about the construction and maintenance of your blogs on the first day of class. We will review your blogs on a periodic basis. You will also individually keep an electronic journal of your reflections about the course content. We will periodically monitor your journal during the course and review it fully at the end of the course. Blogs and journals are graded for completeness and seriousness, each counting five percent of your final grade for this course. You must complete blog and journal entries on a timely basis in order to receive credit for them.
• Take-home assignments: These are exercises designed to help you to make intellectual connections among the issues and concerns discussed in the day's class and to provoke your thinking about material to be considered in the following class meeting. These assignments are ungraded and worth 10 percent of your final grade for the course. You must complete take-home exercises in a timely manner in order to receive credit for them.
• In-class dialogues and exercises: Throughout this course, we will engage in open, critical dialogues and activities focusing on current events in the world of computing and media. Relying on print and virtual news items from the press, trade and scholarly publications, these dialogues and exercises will help to advance our understanding of converging technologies and content. The purpose of these dialogues is to stimulate thoughtful reflection and critical analysis of significant developments in the blurring line between computing and communication media. You will receive a letter grade for dialogues and exercises based on our evaluation of your commitment to and participation in these activities. The dialogues and exercises count 10 percent toward your final grade in this course.
• News review and analysis: You will be scouring your personal copy of the week day edition of The New York Times for news and information relevant to the subject of this course. We will set aside time during each class meeting to converse about the articles you have identified as pertinent to the themes of the course. We will end each class session with a set of instructions to guide you in perusing the content of the newspaper. This activity will be graded for completeness and seriousness and is worth 15 percent of your overall course grade. You must complete your reading and analysis in a timely fashion, as well as participate in group discussion around such reading, in order to receive full credit for this activity. 
• Team case study: In class, you will be carrying out one in-depth case study in this course. The case will focus on a current or recent event dealing with convergence. This activity will be ungraded and count five percent to your final grade. You must actively participate in the case study in order to receive full credit for it.
• Final project: The final project is a thought experiment in convergence, based on your contemplation of the latest trends in computing and communication. A well-researched, studied analysis, the final project will be assigned during the third class session. A précis of your project will be due prior to the fourth class session. Final projects will be due at class time on the last day this course meets. Further details will be made available at time of assignment. You will receive a letter grade for this requirement. The final project is worth 50 percent of your final grade for this course.

Attendance and Participation To be successful in this class, you need to attend all class meetings, arrive on time and participate positively in class dialogues and discussions. In addition to regular attendance, we look forward to your timely completion of readings and assignments. You are responsible for all material presented,  readings and handouts, announcements, and changes in scheduling which are made whether you are in class or not. Attendance will be taken in this class. Please show respect for your fellow students and the instructors by arriving on time. Unexcused absences are not permitted and will contribute negatively and proportionately to your course grade. If an unavoidable emergency comes up and you must miss a class, you must, when possible, contact an instructor by class time (by either telephone or email).

Accessibility and Additional Help So we may be able to answer your questions and respond to your concerns about course content and assignments, we invite you to talk with us before and after class and during breaks. Feel free, too, to send us e-mails or call.  

Academic Honesty Policy (from the college catalogue) Academic honesty is essential to the intellectual health of the university and the ideals of education. SUNY Plattsburgh expects students to be honest and to conduct themselves with integrity in all aspects of their relationship with the college (e.g., application, transfer evaluation, academic progress review, and credit and non-credit bearing experiences, including regular course work, independent studies, internships, practica, student teaching, and interactions with faculty, staff, and students). Academic dishonesty adversely affects the educational function of the college and undermines the integrity of its programs. Dishonest conduct includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, forgery, and alteration of records, along with any lying, deceit, bribery, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of influencing a grade or for any other academic gain.  

Action against a student determined to have violated the academic honesty policy can range from a reduction of the grade on an assignment, through failure of a course, to suspension or even dismissal from the academic program, the department, or the college. A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be afforded due process through the College Judicial System. (See Proceduresfor Addressing Suspected Academic Dishonesty, available at deans' offices and at www.plattsburgh.edu/offices/academic/provost/.)

Honor Code Pledge It is expected that all students enrolled in this class support the letter and the spirit of the Academic Honesty Policy as stated in the college catalog.

Prerequisites Any one of the following courses (or permission of the instructors): 

ANT102, Comparative Cultures
ANT366, Technology, Culture, and Society
CMM 118, Mass Media and Society
CMM 226, Human Communication
CMM 288, Fundamentals of Broadcasting
CMM 301, Communication and Culture
CSC121, Introduction to Computing and the Web
CSC221, Introduction to Programming
ENG 255, Literature and Science
HIS 315, Corporate Impact on America
INT 300, Information: Policy and Politics
JOU 204, U.S. Press History
MGM 260, Business and Society
PHI102, Introduction to Philosophy
PHI104, Moral Problems
PHI 313, Metaphysics
SOC101, Introduction to Sociology

This page last modified on 02/27/2008 .