POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
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Department of Political Science and Public Administration
POS 345-01: Mobiles and Mobilization/Global Digital Activism
Spring 2013
T 2:00-4:30
Instructor: Dr. David Faris
Office: AUD 757
Email: dfaris@roosevelt.edu
Office Phone: 312-322-7152
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or by appointment
Course Description:
What is digital activism? From the 2003-2004 Democratic primary campaign of Howard Dean,
to the Egyptian revolution of 2011, groups and individuals have leveraged the capabilities of the
Internet and social media to promote social and political change. But how successful have they
been? How do digital media technologies transform journalism, collective action, and
authoritarian political systems? One one side of this popular and academic debate, technoenthusiasts like Clay Shirky trumpet the liberating potential of new media technologies, while
skeptics like Malcolm Gladwell and Evgeny Morozov dismiss everything but grassroots
organizing as ephemeral or even counterproductive, warning that governments and
corporations are likely to use digital tools to enforce ever-greater social control. How can these
different perspectives on and facets of digital activism be reconciled? This course explores the
dynamics underlying digital activism, and seeks to place students at the center of this ongoing
scholarly and philosophical debate. We begin by exploring the evolution of the American
“blogosphere” and its role in the American media and political ecosystem. We will then explore
the role of the Internet in collective action, in authoritarian regimes, in foreign policy and in
humanitarian work.
Goals and Philosophy
The course is not designed to give you a crash course in hacking or surveillance. It is designed,
rather, to immerse you in the discourse surrounding digital activism, and to give you the
background and tools to participate in the conversation. The goal is, by the end of the class, for
you to be able to give an informed answer to the question, “Are digital tools inherently
liberating or constricting?” This syllabus serves as an invitation for you to join the conversations
that political scientists, communications scholars, and digital activists engage in with each
other, with scholars from other disciplines, with policymakers, and with other groups and
individuals in the world. This is not a lecture-only course. On the contrary, to help develop your
skills as critical thinkers, we will be engaging in a variety of collaborative and group activities in
POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
the classroom, designed to solve problems and offer answers to the toughest questions facing
those who consider questions of politics and policy.
Required Texts
The following texts are available for purchase in the university bookstore.
1. Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations.
Paperback. Penguin Books, 2009.
2. MacKinnon, Rebecca. Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle For Internet
Freedom. Basic Books, 2012.
3. Rosenberg, Scott. Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming and Why It
Matters. Three Rivers Press, 2010.
All other readings will be posted well in advance on Blackboard. Such readings are denoted by a
{BB} in the syllabus.
Attendance and Punctuality
Because of the frequency of interactive activities and presentations, your presence in class is
essential to the creation and maintenance of a collaborative learning environment. Two
absences are permitted, whatever the reason. Any further absences will be subtracted on a
percentage basis directly from your final grade, unless excused by a note. We meet 15 times, so
for example, if you miss three classes beyond your 1 permitted absence, you will be docked 1/5
of your final grade – 20 total points. So if you scored an 87 in the class but missed 4 classes,
your total grade will be reduced to a 74. The following chart illustrates the penalties associated
with the number of skips:
1: no penalty
4: 13 points
7: 34 points
2: no penalty
5: 20 points
8: automatic failure
3: 7 points
6: 27 points
Students who arrive after roll is taken will receive half-credit for that day’s attendance;
Students arriving more than 15 minutes late are welcome to stay, but will receive no credit for
that day’s attendance. Students who leave class early or for an extended period of time without
prior approval from the professor in writing will also be marked absent for the day. Students
engaging in distracting or inappropriate behavior (e.g., sleeping, doing homework for other
classes, etc.) will be asked to stop and/or leave the class. Students asked to leave the class
because of inappropriate behavior will also be marked absent for the day.
Crisis Policy
If you are experiencing difficulties with your health, personal life or any other crisis that is
affecting your ability to come to class and complete the work, it is imperative that you alert me
as soon as possible. The best path is to see someone at Roosevelt’s counseling center, who can
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POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
then (with your permission) alert all your professors that you are having trouble. I can work
together with the counseling center to find an appropriate course of action to help you make it
through the class. It is not acceptable to approach me at the end of the semester to tell me
you’ve been having problems since January with the expectation that this will change your
grade.
Academic Integrity
Committing plagiarism or other academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating) will result in a grade of 0
(zero) for the assignment in question, and will result in formal notification of the incident to
your major department chair, college dean, and the University’s Assistant V. P. for Student
Services. Further disciplinary action may be pursued depending on the circumstances of the
incident and may result in expulsion from the university. There are no exceptions to this policy.
It is your responsibility to know and follow the official Roosevelt University description of
academic integrity.
Assignments
Midterm Examination: There will be one midterm exam, administered in-class on March 5th. A
make-up exam will only be given under dire circumstances and only after presentation of all
appropriate documentation. Notification of dire circumstances must be made before the exam
is administered. Make-up exams must be completed within one week of the original exam
date. If the make-up is not completed within one week of the original exam date, the grade for
the exam will be recorded as a zero. Questions on make-up exams will differ from those on the
original exam but will cover the same material. You may take the exam on a computer;
however, you are responsible for sending the correct file to me before you leave the classroom.
Please see the list of unacceptable excuses for emailing files to me below.
Position Papers: Each student will write three 1,500-2,000 word position papers on specific
questions as stated in the syllabus. Details for these assignments are posted to Blackboard and
will be distributed in class well in advance of the first due date.
Written assignments are due on the assigned due dates and promptly at the times specified
on the assignments. Late assignments will be penalized as follows:
 1 min – 12 hours past due: -5%
 12 hours to 24 hours past due: -10%
 24 hours to 36 hours past due: -20%
 36 hours to 48 hours past due: -30%
 48 hours past due: Assignments not accepted (zero credit earned)
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POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
You are responsible for sending the correct file in the correct format. Emails without
attachments, or emails containing files other than Word documents, will be regarded as not
fulfilling the assignment. You may not under any circumstances:
 Claim that you saved the email in draft form but simply forgot to send it
 Claim that you sent the email to the wrong address
 Claim that you wrote the paper but simply forgot to send it to me
 Claim that you emailed me but forgot to attach the assignment
 Claim that the Internet is down where you live
 Claim that your document was lost in a catastrophic computer crash
 Claim that your document was lost, stolen or otherwise corrupted
 Email me days later with a different file claiming the file you sent me the first time was
the wrong one. If you send the wrong file, you MUST realize and rectify the error within
the timeframe of the due date.
Exceptions to policies surrounding the turning in of assignments will only be granted in the
case of severe illness or emergency occurring within 24 hours of the due date, which must be
documented with written proof.
Presentations: Each class period, students will be asked to make presentations based on the
readings. Details for this component of the class will be distributed separately and posted to
Blackboard. A final schedule for presentations will be posted to Blackboard after our first class
meeting. Failure to show up for or make a presentation in good faith will result in a zero for this
component of the course.
Grading
Position Paper #1
Position Paper #2
Position Paper #3:
Midterm Examination:
Presentation:
Participation:
15%
20%
25%
25%
10%
5%
The grading scale is as follows. Grades will be rounded down below .5, and rounded up for .5.9 – i.e. an 89.4 is an 89, but an 89.5 is a 90.
92.5 – 100% : A
89.5 – 92.4%: A79.5 – 82.4%: B-
86.5 – 89.4%: B+
82.5 – 86.4%: B
69.5 – 72.4%: C-
76.5 – 79.4%: C+
72.5 – 76.4%: C
0 – 59.4%: F
66.5 – 69.4%: D+
59.5 – 66.4%: D
WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE – March 25th (must submit drop/add form)
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POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
LATE WITHDRAWAL POLICY
Approval to be given primarily for non-academic reasons. It requires completion of form,
including statement and rationale for request, explanation of why it was not requested by the
deadline, documentation to support the claim, and finally, signatures from the instructor, chair,
and dean. Such signatures do not guarantee approval of the petition (it will then be reviewed
by committee).
University Policy on Absence to Observe Religious Holidays:
Roosevelt University respects the rights of students to observe major religious holidays and will
make accommodations, upon request, for such observances. Students who wish to observe
religious holidays must inform their instructors in writing within the first two weeks of the
semester of their intent to observe the holiday so that alternative arrangements convenient to
both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity. See the student handbook
for further details.
Class Schedule
Week 1
Tuesday, January 15th
Introductions, logistics, course plan.
Week 2: The Evolution of Blogging and the New Media Environment
Tuesday, January 22nd
Read: Rosenberg, pp. 1-131, and pp. 269-300. Henry Farrell and Daniel Drezner, “The Power
and Politics of Blogs” Public Choice (2008): pp. 15-30. {BB}.
Week 3: Political Blogging, the Netroots and Digital Campaigns
Tuesday, January 29th
Read: Rosenberg, pp. 132-268. David Karpf, “Macaca Moments Revisited: Electoral Panopticon
or Netroots Mobilization?” {BB}.
Week 4: The Internet and Collective Action
Tuesday, February 5th
Read: Shirky 1-142; Bimber, Bruce, Flanagin, Andrew and Stohl, Cynthia. “Reconceptualizing
Collective Action in the Contemporary Media Environment.” (BB); Manuel Castells,
“Communication, Power and Counter-Power in the Network Society.” {BB}
Due: Position Paper #1
Option A: “Are blogs and blogging an inherently liberating and participatory media form, or
has the Internet merely been captured by a new elite?”
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POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
Option B: “Does the Internet perform a valuable function in American politics, or are these
new media forms flawed in some fundamental way?”
Week 5: Digital Activism in Authoritarian Countries
Tuesday, February 12th
Read: Shirky, 143-232. Ethan Zuckerman, “The Cute Cat Theory of Digital Activism” {BB}. David
Faris and Patrick Meier, “Digital Activism in Authoritarian Countries” From the Routledge
Handbook of Participatory Culture {BB}. Gladwell, Malcolm. “Small Change: Why the Revolution
Will Not Be Tweeted.” The New Yorker, October 10, 2010. {BB}
Week 6: The Internet and the Egyptian Revolution
Tuesday, February 19th
Read: Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn, “Cyberactivism in the Egyptian Revolution: How
Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism Tilted the Balance.” Arab Media and Society Issue 14,
Summer 2011. {BB}. Radsch, Courtney, “Core to Commonplace: The Evolution of Egyptian
Blogging.” Arab Media and Society, Fall 2008. {BB} Faris, David. “We Are All Revolutionaries
Now” from Dissent and Revolution in a Digital Age: Social Media, Blogging and Activism in
Egypt. pp. 146-178. {BB}.
Week 7: The Internet and American Foreign Policy
Tuesday, February 26th
Read: Jared Cohen, “Rebutting the Skeptics: Digital Media Is America’s Ally.” Huffington Post,
December 24th, 2008 {BB}. Shirky, Clay. “The Political Power of Social Media.” Foreign Affairs,
Jan/Feb 2011 {BB}. Faris, David. “From the Age of Secrecy to the Age of Sharing: Social Media,
Diplomacy and Statecraft in the 21st Century.” Georgetown Institute for the Study of Diplomacy,
2013. {BB}.
Week 8: Midterm
Tuesday, March 5th
Midterm Examination
Week 9: Emerging Technologies: Crisis Mapping
Tuesday, March 12th
Read: Vericat, Jose. “Open Source Mapping as Liberation Technology.” Journal of International
Affairs (2010): 195-201. {BB}; Patrick Meier, “Applying Technology to Crisis Mapping and Early
Warning in Humanitarian Settings.” {BB}. Patrick Meier, “New Information Technologies and
their Impact on the Humanitarian Sector.” International Review of the Red Cross, December
2011. {BB}.
Due: Position Paper #2
Option A: “Should the United States do more to promote circumvention software and to
share it with digital activists in authoritarian countries? Or does this represent a danger to
U.S. national security?”
Option B: “Are social media tools leading contributors to dissent in authoritarian countries, or
are activists opening themselves up to surveillance and arrest?”
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POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
Week 10: Spring Break
No Class Tuesday, March 19th: Spring Break
Week 11: The Digital Commons and Internet Governance
Tuesday, March 26th
Read: MacKinnon, Consent of the Networked, 1-111.
Week 12: Emerging Forms of Digital Authoritarianism
Tuesday, April 2nd
Read: MacKinnon, 115-186; MacKinnon, Rebecca. “Flatter World, Thicker Walls: Blogs,
Censorship and Civic Discourse in China.” Public Choice (2008): 31-46. {BB}. Selections from
Evgeny Morozov’s The Net Delusion {BB}.
Week 13: The Digital Activism Arms Race
Tuesday, April 9th
Read: MacKinnon, 187-250. Carleen Maitland, et. al., “Internet censorship circumvention
technology use in human rights organizations: an exploratory analysis.” Journal of Information
Technology (2012): pp. 1-17. {BB}. Jillian York and William Youmans. “Social Media and the
Activist Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information Infrastructure of
Modern Social Movements.” Journal of Communication (2012): 315-329.
Week 14: The Ubiquitous City
Tuesday, April 16th
Read: Pamela Lacalzi O’Connor: “Korea’s High-Tech Utopia, Where Everything is Observed.”
New York Times, October 5th, 2005 {BB}; Selections from Adam Greenfield’s Everyware: The Rise
of Ubiquitous Computing. {BB}; Jean-Gabriel Ganascia, “The Generalized Sousveillance Society.”
Social Science Information (2010): 489-507. {BB}.
Week 15
Tuesday, April 23rd
Semester Wrap; Spillover Presentations
Due: Position Paper #3
Option A: “Who is winning the struggle over the Internet? Citizens and activists, or
authoritarian regimes and corporate interests?”
Option B: “Do corporations and governments have a legitimate interest in access to data, or
should individuals have greater rights to digital privacy?”
Important Notes:
*Students with disabilities may request special accommodations. Students must let me know
within the first two weeks of the semester if this is the case, and they also must contact Nancy
Litke in the Academic Success Center (312-384-3810).
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POS 345: Mobiles and Mobilization
*Cell phones, mp3 players and other personal electronic devices must be switched off during
class, put into airplane mode, or ritualistically demolished before entering the room. You may
use your laptop for notetaking, but students using their laptops for personal communication
during class will be forced to sign up for Ron Paul’s email list.
*There is no eating during class, at least not visible eating. You may quietly inject yourself with
HGH or Hoodia Extract if it quells your appetite. You may bring drinks with lids or caps.
*Enrolling in this course constitutes acceptance of these policies. I reserve the right to alter
scheduling on the syllabus and will give advance notice to students of any changes.
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