The University of Western Ontario
Faculty of Information and Media Studies
MIT 2374F – A Brief History of Social Networking – Fall 2012
Instructor Information
Dr. Kane X. Faucher
Office: TBA
Office Hours: TBA
E: kfauche@uwo.ca
Course Information
Lectures: Tues, 1:30 am - 4:30 TC-341
Prerequisites
None
Course Syllabus
With the widespread prominence of recent social networking online sites such as Twitter and
Facebook, certain questions arise as to how virtual selves are constructed, how social networking
actually “works” as a social venue in what is called “digital participatory culture,” and the
limitations inherent to this fusion of Internet technology and the public sphere. With each
progressive development in information technology, new and arguably more inclusive methods
of social interaction come to the fore. From “pen pal” clubs, right up to online dating sites and
Peer-to-Peer networking, the focus has been on the formation of new social and service-based
bonds. This course will survey the history of social networking and consider its impact, as well
as its multitude of alternate uses, as a professional, social and corporate platform.
The act of social networking tells us very little about its sociological, historical and
psychological contexts. This course will ask the key questions of what is a social network? What
is it made of? How is it maintained? What are the social and ethical issues involved in social
networking?
Course Materials
The course is primarily lecture-based.
Course Itinerary:
L
Topics
Theme
1 Introduction; overview, customs, beliefs,
hierarchy of needs
2 Social Network Analysis (SNA): The Basics, SNA, ANT, Nodocentrism
From Nodes to Networks.
3 Pederasty / Ancient Greeks, Roman Bathing, Ancient Networking, Dyadic Mentorships,
Middle Ages, chivalry, rise of towns, taverns, History of offline networks
expansion of commerce, booze, coffee.
4 Religion and secret societies, terrorism, mafia The Dark Side of Social Networks
5 BOTS, BOTnet, MIP, influence. The Mystic Social Software
Algorithm.
6 Online communities, UGC, comment pits.
Comment Culture
Forums to Facebook
7 Liking, Rating, Ranking. Microblogging
Interactive Environments
(Twitter)
8 Surveillance and Selection, cyberullying,
Monitoring and Management, Private v.
libel
Public
9 Friend or follow: digital narcissism, addiction Cyberpsychology
10 Social Media Literacy - Key Issues
Critical Internet Studies, Immaterial Labour,
Prosumerism
11 For Profit? Goldfarming, online commerce, Social Capital, the anti-social network
data-mining
12 “Webschmerz,” The Great Unplugged, social The Future of Social Media
media and oil
Lectures are two hours followed by a one hour group work session in class.
Evaluation
10% - Detox Diary September 25
15% Diary Report October 9
25% - Precis/Proposal of Final Paper (500 words excluding bibliography) November 6
40% - Final Research Paper (1500-2000 words) December 4
10% - Participation
*All assignments are due in class with the exception of the diary entries, which are to be
submitted to me via email.
*Note: Assignment details and digital syllabus are available on a password protected page:
kanexfaucher.weebly.com/teaching.html
password: courses
Policies
PED Policy
Apart from the ease and facility of taking notes during class, students are required to use their
digital devices (most notably laptops) for course purposes ONLY. Texting, Facebook, Twitter,
and any other use of these devices that is not course-related is highly distracting and
disrespectful to me and your classmates. If students feel absolutely compelled to use their
devices for other purposes, they may be asked to leave and also may forfeit their participation
mark for the course. The lecture is 3 hours in duration, but there is a break halfway through
which can serve as an opportune time to check email, Facebook, stock market fluctuations, etc.
Communication/Consultation
I make every effort to be as flexible as possible in accommodating student requests for
consultation. My office hours are posted at the top of this syllabus (which will also be made
available in digital format on WebCT). During peak times (generally prior to when an
assignment comes due), it may be more difficult to see me during my office hours. This is not
because I don a cloak of invisibility, but on account of panicked students wanting to meet with
me at those times. I make no guarantees that I will host “extended hours”, but have in the past.
You may wish to “beat the rush”, which means beginning your assignments earlier and coming
to me with issues as they arise. If your issue can be handled via email, then this might be
preferable to in-person consultation.
My policy concerning email is that I endeavour to respond within 24 hours, and at
reasonable times. That means you should not expect a reply to your email delivered at 2 am or on
weekends until the usual working week and daylight hours. If you do not receive a response
within 24 hours, this may mean your email was sucked up into one of the Internet’s black holes
or I require a gentle reminder. In either case, please resend. NB: If I need to get in contact with
you about an urgent matter, please do make a habit of keeping sufficient space on your account
so the email does not bounce.
Late Paper Policy
Late papers will receive a penalty of 10% per diem, excluding weekends. If extenuating circumstances
prevent the timely submission of an assignment or paper, documentation is required (see Academic
Accommodation below). All assignments must be submitted by the end of class on the due date;
otherwise, students will be responsible for submitting their work to the FIMS office so that it can be
verified with a date stamp.
Electronic Submission
Unless extenuating circumstances prevents you from being present to hand in your assignment, I will
not accept assignments over email. This is not because I am averse to marking work on-screen, but
technical problems always seem to emerge around peak submission times (or my inbox capacity is not
large enough to absorb that many submissions).
Fine Print Stuff:
MIT Grading Policy
No longer applies for non-required courses. However, students should avail themselves of what grades mean in MIT; i.e, that
an A-range mark is very difficult to achieve. Although the grading policy for this course has been lifted, I am still in principle
beholden to the continuing struggle against grade inflation which does harm to the credibility of the program, and ultimately
dilutes the value of grades received. Lobbying for grades on the basis of future plans or any other reason that has
nothing to do with suspected grading malpractice or compassionate grounds as per the Accommodation Policy is not
acceptable grounds for appeal (please see the relevant section in the Academic Calendar)
Academic Accommodation
Accommodation Policy
For UWO Policy on Accommodation For Medical Illness, see: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/medical.pdf
(downloadable Student Medical Certificate (SMC): https:llstudentservices.uwo.ca under the Medical Documentation
heading)
Students seeking academic accommodation on medical grounds for any missed tests, exams, participation
components and/or assignments worth 10% or more of their final grade must apply to the Academic Counselling office of
their home Faculty and provide documentation. It will be the Dean's Office that will determine if accommodation is
warranted.
For work worth less than 10% of the final grade, the instructor will consider requests for academic accommodation
on medical grounds made in a timely manner in writing or by appointment in office hours. Such requests need not be
accompanied by documentation. The instructor may, however, decide to require documentation be submitted to the
appropriate Academic Counselling office.
If the accommodation is being sought on non-medical grounds (compassionate or religious), students should consult
in the first instance with their instructor, who may elect to make a decision on the request directly, or refer the student to the
Academic Counselling office of their home Faculty.
Students should also note that individual instructors are not permitted to receive documentation directly from a
student, whether in support of an application for accommodation on medical grounds, or for other reasons. All documentation
must be submitted to the Academic Counselling office of a student's home Faculty.
Statement on Academic Offences
Scholastic offences are taken seriously and students are directed to read the appropriate policy, specifically, the definition of
what constitutes a Scholastic Offence, at the following
Web site: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf .
Plagiarism: Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea,
or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by
proper referencing such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence.
Support Services
Office of the Registrar: www.registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Centre: www.sdc.uwo.ca
Career Centre at Western: career.uwo.ca
Writing Support Centre: www.sdc.uwo.ca/writing
Indigenous Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca/Indigenous
International and Exchange Student Centre: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/int
Learning Skills Services: www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning
Psychological Services: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/psych
Services for Students with Disabilities: www.sdc.uwo.ca/ssd