Information Age: Internet & Society
GSOC 5115/ Fall 2012
Prof. Eiko Ikegami
Wednesday, 6-8pm
Course Description:
The Internet has critically altered our ways of connecting with other people. This course
intends to explore how the ongoing development of communication and information
technologies is embedded in myriad social/cultural institutions and social processes. The
topics include; theories of networked society, internet and social capital, civil society and
democracy, cyber-economy and globalization, and 3D virtual worlds. The goal of this
seminar is to help students to create their own research projects in this
increasingly important site of sociological research.
Course Requirements
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Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions
Class presentations (2 per person)
Four memos on weekly topics, based on the readings for each session; they should
be submitted before the assigned class. (2 pages max)
A Final paper on Social Networking
Social Networking Analysis:
It is assumed that most students are already users of social networking sites (SNS) and
media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and the like. In order to capitalize on this
existing SNS familiarity, while also creating opportunities for productive sociological
analysis, students in this course are encouraged to join other SNS outlets, particularly
those that differ in form or function from sites you already belong to. For example, if
you are an avid Twitter user, creating a Tumblr account focused on images and video
may provide a different SNS experience. Suggestions for potential SNS resources are
listed below.
The goal of this exercise is to push students to develop the ability to critically engage
with social networking resources and behaviors that are becoming increasingly routine.
Students will be asked to submit a short (5-7 page) in-depth analysis of their experiences
with ONE SNS in light of the discussions and readings of the course. Students are
encouraged to keep a journal of their experiences to make this end-of-semester reflection
easier.
Important: All students are also expected to create personal accounts in Second Life.
SNS Suggestions/Examples:
Tumblr - General. Micro-blogging, RSS, Highly Customizable
deviantART – Art Community
Facebook – General
Flickr - Photo Sharing, Commenting, Photography Related Networking
Twitter - General. Micro-blogging, RSS
LinkedIn – Business and Professional Networking Similar to Facebook
Delicious - Social Bookmarking
Google Earth community
NOTE: In the interest of protecting students’ privacy and encouraging SNS exploration
that is personally relevant and stimulating, students will not be required to share SNS
content or information beyond what they are comfortable sharing. However, they will be
expected to share their experiences by way of reflection and analysis.
Readings and Class Schedule
Week 1, August 29 – First Class, Introductions
Week 2, September 5 – Open source and Wikipedia
Konieczny, P. 2009. “Wikipedia: Community or Social Movement?”. Interface: A
Journal for and about Social Movements 1(2):212–232.
Raymond, E. 2001. The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by
an Accidental Revolutionary.
Lovink, G. 2007. Zero Comments: Kernels of Critical Internet Culture. New York:
Routledge. “Introduction”
Suggested reading:
Torvalds, L. and Diamond, D. 2001. Just For Fun: The Story of an Accidental
Revolutionary. Haper Collins
Week 3, September 12 – Occupy movement and the Arab spring
Gladwell, M. 2010. “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted” The New
Yorker 86(30).
(http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentP
age=all).
Van Stekelenburg, J. 2012. “The occupy movement : product of this time” Development
Vol. 55(2): 224-231
Farrell, H. "The Consequences of the Internet for Politics" Annual Review of Political
Science Vol. 15: 35-52 (Volume publication date June 2012)
Morozov, E. 2009. “Iran: Downside to the ‘Twitter Revolution’.” Dissent 56(4):10–14.
Week 4, September 19 – Internet and Network Analysis
DiMaggio, P., et al. “Social implications of the Internet.” Annual Review of Sociology
(2001) vol. 27 pp. 307-336
Lin, N. “Building a Network Theory of Social Capital.” Connections. (1999) vol. 22 (1).
pp. 28-51
Pachucki and Breiger. “Cultural Holes: Beyond Relationality in Social Networks and
Culture.” Annual Review of Sociology (2010).
Week 5, September 26 (No class)
Week 6, October 3 – Internet and Social Change
Walder, Andrew. 2009. “Political Sociology and Social Movements.” Annual Review of
Sociology 35: Pp. 393-412.
Rolfe, B. “Building an Electronic Repertoire of Contention.” Social Movement Studies
(2005) vol. 4 (1) pp. 65-74.
Breindl, Y. “Critique of the Democratic Potentials of the Internet: A Review of Current
Theory and Practice.” tripleC-Cognition (2010) vol. 8 (1) pp. 43-59.
Kahn And Kellner. “New Media And Internet Activism: From The 'Battle Of Seattle' To
Blogging.” New Media & Society (2004) Vol. 6 (1) Pp. 87
Suggested Further Reading:
Van Laer and Van Aelst. “Cyber-protest and civil society: the Internet and action
repertoires in social movements.” In Yvonne Jewkes and Majid Yar (Eds.)
Handbook of Internet Crime. London: Willan Publishing. (2010)
Earl. “Pursuing Social Change Online: The Use Of Four Protest Tactics On The
Internet.” Social Science Computer Review (2006) vol. 24 (3) pp. 362
Ducheneaut et al. “Virtual “Third Places”: A Case Study Of Sociability In Massively
Multiplayer Games.” Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) (2007)
vol. 16 (1) pp. 129-166
Walker. “Digital Design In Social Action Settings: A Review Through A Sociotechnical
Lens.” Paper presented at Prato CIRN 2008 Community Informatics Conference
(2008)
Carroll and Hackett. “Democratic Media Activism Through The Lens Of Social
Movement Theory.” Media, Culture & Society (2006) vol. 28 (1) pp. 83-104
Russell. “Myth And The Zapatista Movement: Exploring A Network Identity.” New
Media & Society (2005) Vol. 7 (4) Pp. 559
Neumayer and Raffl. “Facebook for Global Protest. The Potential and Limits of Social
Software for Grassroots Activism.” Paper presented at Prato CIRN 2008
Community Informatics Conference. (2008).
Underwood and Welser. “'The Internet is Here': Emergent Coordination and Innovation
of Protest Forms in Digital Culture.” Paper presented at iConferece 2011.
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~welser/Underwood.Welser.2011.pdf
Maynor, J. W. (2009). "Blogging for democracy: deliberation, autonomy, and reasonableness in
the blogosphere." Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
(CRISPP) 12(3): 443-468.
Blodgett. “And The Ringleaders Were Banned: An Examination Of Protest In Virtual
Worlds.” Proceedings Of The Fourth International Conference On Communities
And Technologies (2009) Pp. 135-144
Hollenbeck And Zinkhan. “Consumer Activism On The Internet: The Role Of AntiBrand Communities.” Advances In Consumer Research. Vol. 33. (2006)
Wall. “Social Movements And Email: Expressions Of Online Identity In The
Globalization Protests.” New Media & Society (2007) Vol. 9 (2) Pp. 258
Carty And Onyett. “Protest, Cyberactivism And New Social Movements: The
Reemergence Of The Peace Movement Post 9/11.” Social Movement Studies
(2006) Vol. 5 (3) Pp. 229-249
Clark And Themudo. “Linking The Web And The Street: Internet-Based.” World
Development (2006) Vol. 34 (1) Pp. 50-74
Stein. “Social Movement Web Use In Theory And Practice: A Content Analysis Of US
Movement Websites.” New Media & Society (2009) Vol. 11 (5) Pp. 749-771
Week 7, October 10 – Guest Speaker: Goubin Yang
Yang, Guobin. 2009. The Power of the Internet in China: Citizen Activism Online. New
York, NY: Columbia University Press
Week 8, October 17– MMORPGs and 3D Worlds: Beyond Gaming
Bray and Konsynski. “Virtual Worlds: Multi-Disciplinary Research Opportunities.” ACM
SIGMIS Database (2007) vol. 38 (4) pp. 25
Moore et al. “From 3D Space to Third Place: The Social Life of Small Virtual Spaces.”
Human Organization (2009) vol. 68 (2) pp. 230-240
Harris et al. “The Evolution Of Social Behavior Over Time In Second Life.” Presence:
Teleoperators and Virtual Environments (2009) vol. 18 (6) pp. 434-448
Stromer-Galley and Martey. “Visual Spaces, Norm Governed Places: The Influence Of
Spatial Context Online.” New Media & Society (2009) vol. 11 (6) pp. 1041
Suggested Further Reading:
Ducheneaut and Moore. “The Social Side Of Gaming: A Study Of Interaction Patterns In
A Massively Multiplayer Online Game.” Proceedings Of The 2004 ACM
Conference On Computer Supported Cooperative Work (2004) pp. 360-369
Steinkuehler. “The New Third Place: Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming In American
Youth Culture.” Tidskrift för lärarutbildning och forskning nr 3 2005 årgång 12
pp. 17
Bradley and Froomkin. “Virtual Worlds, Real Rules.” New York Law School Law Review
(2004) vol. 49 pp. 103
Lehdonvirta, V. (2010). "Online Spaces Have Material Culture: Goodbye To Digital
Postmaterialism And Hello To Virtual Consumption." Media, Culture & Society
32(6): 883–889
Week 9, October 24- Identity on the Internet and virtual worlds
Ikegami, E. 2011. “Visualizing the networked self” Social Research: An International
Quarterly Vol. 78(4): 1155-1184
T. Boellstorff. Coming of Age in Second Life. (selections)
Brown, J. J., Jr. (2008). "From Friday To Sunday: The Hacker Ethic And Shifting
Notions Of Labour, Leisure And Intellectual Property." Leisure Studies 27(4):
395-409.
Westlake, E. J. (2008). "Friend Me if You Facebook: Generation Y and Performative
Surveillance." TDR: The Drama Review 52(20): 21-40.
Hardey, M. (2002). "Life Beyond The Screen: Embodiment And Identity Through The
Internet." The Sociological Review 50(4): 570-585.
Zhao, S., S. Grasmuck, et al. (2008). "Identity Construction on Facebook: Digital
Empowerment in Anchored Relationships." Computers in Human Behavior 24(5):
1816-1836.
Boyd, d. a. J. H. (2006). "Profiles as Conversation: Networked Identity Performance on
Friendster." Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on System
Sciences (Persistent Conversation Track,).
Suggested further reading
Bainbridge, W. S. The Warcraft Civilization (p. 1-79)
Week 10, October 31 – Inequality and the Internet
Susan Halford and Mike Savage. Reconceptualizing digital social inequality.
Information, Communication & Society, 13(7):937-955, 2010.
Selwyn. “Reconsidering Political and Popular Understandings of the Digital Divide.”
New Media & Society (2004) vol. 6 (3) pp. 341-362
van Deursen and van Dijk. “Internet Skills and the Digital Divide.” New Media & Society
(2010)
Rodino-Colocino. Laboring under the digital divide. New Media & Society (2006) vol. 8
(3) pp. 487
Sassi. “Cultural differentiation or social segregation? Four approaches to the digital
divide.” New Media & Society (2005) vol. 7 (5) pp. 684
Gunkel. “Second thoughts: toward a critique of the digital divide.” New Media & Society
(2003) vol. 5 (4) pp. 499
Week 11, November 7- Subcultures and Digital Cultures
Wilson and Atkinson. “Rave And Straightedge, The Virtual And The Real: Exploring
Online And Offline Experiences In Canadian Youth Subcultures.” Youth &
Society (2005) vol. 36 (3) pp. 276
McArthur, J. A. (2009). "Digital Subculture: A Geek Meaning of Style." Journal of
Communication Inquiry 33(1): 58-70.
Schultz, S. (2008). "Anonymous vs. Scientology: A Case Study of Digital Media." Idea
Lab: Community News for the Digital Age. Retrieved 11 December 2010, 2010,
from http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2008/02/anonymous-vs-scientology-a-casestudy-of-digital-media005.html
Singel, R. (2010) Pro-WikiLeaks Attacks Sputter After Counterattacks, Dissent Overt
Tactics. Wired Magazine (12 December, 2010). From:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/wikileaks-attacks-sputter/
Katayama, L. (2010). "Meet Hiroyuki Nishimura, the Bad Boy of the Japanese Internet."
Wired Magazine 16(6): 1-7. URL:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/1606/mf_hiroyuki?currentPage=all
Week 12, November 14 – The Internet in Local Contexts: Case Study of Japan and
East Asia
Ishii, K. (2006). "Implications of Mobility: The Uses of Personal Communication Media
in Everyday Life." 365.
Ishii, K. and M. Ogasahara (2007). "Links between Real and Virtual Networks: A
Comparative Study of Online Communities in Japan and Korea."
CyberPsychology & Behavior 10(2): 252-257.
Kobayashi, T. (2010). "Bridging Social Capital in Online Communities: Heterogeneity
and Social Tolerance of Online Game Players in Japan." Human Communication
Research 36(4): 546-569.
Chang, W.-Y. (2005). "Online Civic Participation, and Political Empowerment: Online
Media and Public Opinion Formation in Korea." Media, Culture & Society 27(6):
925-935.
Herz, J. (2002). "The bandwidth capital of the world." Wired Magazine 10(08).
Suggested further reading:
Takahashi, T. (2010). "MySpace or Mixi? Japanese engagement with SNS (social
networking sites) in the global age." New Media & Society 12(3): 453-475.
Ozawa-De Silva, C. (2010). "Shared Death: Self, Sociality and Internet Group Suicide in
Japan." Transcultural psychiatry.
Salzberg, C. (2008). "Caught in the Web." J@pan Inc.(82): 37-40.
Fulford, B. (2003). "Korea's Weird Wired World." Forbes 172(2): 92-94.
Jung, J.-Y., Y.-C. Kim, et al. (2005). "The Influence of Social Environment on Internet
Connectedness of Adolescents in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei." New Media &
Society 7(1): 64-88.
Chung, J. (2008). "Comparing Online Activities in China and South Korea: The Internet
and the Political Regime." Asian Survey 48(5)727-751.
Week 13, November 21 (Holiday, no class)
Week 14, November 28- Student presentations
Week 15, December 5- Student presentations
Week 16, December 12- No class: Final paper due