JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY COURSE CODE: "COM 311-1" COURSE NAME: "Digital Media Culture" SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2014

SYLLABUS INSTRUCTOR: Lorenzo Coretti EMAIL: [email protected] HOURS: MW 1:30 PM 2:45 PM TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45 CREDITS: 3 PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: COM 220 OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course aims at providing an overview of the impact of the advent of digitalmedia on society and its cultural, social, economic and political implications.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT: The increased power and speed of the Internet, in terms of its capacity to deliverand manipulate content, has enabled a new culture to emerge, the culture of convergence whereby individuals can deliver content and news with the samecapacity as traditional centralized information producers. Furthermore, thedecentralized production leads to processes with rapid interactive feedbacksresulting in changes in the social behaviour when the information is consumed,repackaged and recombined with other sources. According to Manuel Castells and other scholars, digital communication networksare transforming society as a whole. The ‘network’ is becoming the predominantform of organization in advanced societies. This is evident in business, in patternsof work, in identity and community, in politics and social movements. But whatexactly is a ‘Network Society’? And do we live in one?The course will critically engage with these developments and introduce someof the key debates and theoretical approaches concerning interactive digitalapplications and tools.We will investigate the implications of social technologies and new models ofcontent production, discussing issues of identity, community, production andconsumption, as well as campaigning and activism.The course will be organized around lectures, screenings, presentations of audio-visual material, and class discussions.No textbook required. Students will be provided of articles and book chapters.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the course students will be able to: 1. Critically assess the relationship between traditional and digital media 2. Understand how digital media help creating new forms of socializationand influence identity processes both at individual and collective levels 3. Recognize the influences that digital media is expressing in the culturalsphere 4. Learn the following critical terms: convergence, wikinomics, networksociety, digitization, hacking, hypertextuality, interactivity, and collective intelligence.

TEXTBOOK: NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING: NONE RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING: NONE

GRADING POLICY -ASSESSMENT METHODS: Assignment Guidelines Weight Attendance and Participation   20% Mid-Term Exam The exam may include short essays and open-ended questions 40% Group project Students are required to carry out a group project on issues concerning the use of digital media and its implications within society. Methods of data-gathering could entail focus-groups, interviews, surveys, and observation. The assignment consists in a group presentation (50%) and an in-class individual report (50%). 40% -ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cours BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments. CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings. DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail. FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant. -ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:  In accordance to University guidelines.

ACADEMIC HONESTY As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Lecture 1 Introduction to the Course   Lecture 2 Information Society Webster, F. (2006). The Information Society Revisited. Handbook of New Media (pp. 443-457). Lecture 3 Birth and Development of Media and Technology Winston, B. (1995). How Are Media Born and Developed. Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction (2 ed., pp. 54-74). (Available in the Library) Lecture 4 Convergence in the Network Society Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: NYU Press. Introduction. Lecture 5 Code Lessig, L. (2006). Code 2.0. New York: Perseus Books. Chapter 1: Code is Law (pp. 1-9). Lecture 6  Making Sense of New Media Manovich, L. (2006). How Media Became New. Communication in History: Technology, Culture, Society (5th Edition) (5 ed., pp. 319-322). Lecture 7 Film Screening: "RIP! A Remix Manifesto"  Lessig, L. (2008).Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy  (pp. 1-33). Lecture 8 Remix Culture Gasser, U. and Ernst, S. (2006). From Shakespeare to DJ Danger Mouse: A Quick Look at Copyright and User Creativity in the Digital Age. Berkman Center ResearchPublication No. 2006-05. Lecture 9 Copyright Benkler, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks. Introduction + Chapter 1 Lecture 10 Place and Mobility Turkle, S. (2008) ‘Always-on/Always-on-you: The Tethered Self’ in J. Katz (ed.) Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 121-138 Lecture 11 Privacy Boyd, D. (2008). Facebook's Privacy Trainwreck: Exposure, Invasion, and Social Convergence. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New MediaTechnologies, 14 (1), 13-20.boyd, d. (2010). Lecture 12 Review Session Lecture 13 A journey into privacy: personal experiences of the new global power exchange. Part 1 Guest Lecturer: Simon Davies. Tue 25th February -11:30AM - Aula Magna Lecture 14 A journey into privacy: personal experiences of the new global power exchange. Part 2 Guest Lecturer: Simon Davies. Thu 27th February -11:30AM - Aula Magna Lecture 15 Mid-Term Exam Lecture 16 Journalism 2.0 Fenton, N. (2010), ‘Chapter 50: News in the Digital Age’ in S. Allan (ed.) The Routledge Companion to News and Journalism, London: Routledge, pp. 557-642. Lecture 17 Digital Divide Norris, P. (2001). The Digital Divide. Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide (pp. 3-14). New York: Cambridge University Press. Lecture 18 The New Life of Television Changing the Channel (May 1, 2010). The Economist, pp. 3-16. Lecture 19 The Future of the Web Anderson, C., and Wolff, M. (2010) The Web is dead, Long live the Internet. Wired Magazine, August 2010. Available at http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/08/ff_webrip/ Lecture 20 Screening Homo Interneticus, BBC Virtual Revolution Lecture 21 The Internet and your Brain Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us Stupid? The Atlantic Magazine. July/August 2008. (Available Online) Lecture 22 The Internet and Political Communication Dahlgren, P. (2005). The Internet, Public Spheres, and Political Communication: Dispersion and Deliberation. Political Communication, 22:147–162. Lecture 23 The Internet and Social Change Sunstein, C. (2011) Republic 2.0. The Daily Me Lecture 24 Online Social Movements  Kavada, A. (2010), ‘Activism Transforms Digital: The Social Movement Perspective’ in M. Joyce (ed.) Digital Activism Decoded: The New Mechanics of Change, New York & Amsterdam: International debate education association, pp.101-118. Lecture 25 Screening The Cost of Free, BBC Virtual Revolution Lecture 26 Online Business Models  Benkler, Y. (2006), The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. New Haven: Yale University Press. ‘Chapter 4: The Economics of Social Production’ and ‘Chapter 6: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom’. Rappa, M. (2006) Business Models on the Web. (Available Online) Lecture 27 Presentations (1) Lecture 28 Presentations (2) Final Exam Final Exam