Democracy, Governance, and the Digital Network

Due to a necessary rescheduling of the EMAC capstone presentations we will have to cancel class tomorrow. The capstones were scheduled for today but were cancelled and the only day that they could be rescheduled for (for the undergrads was tomorrow at 7:00). Graduate capstones are currently being rescheduled for next Wed.

So we will not have time to talk about the final text. Instead I will be in my office from 4:00 until about 6:45 if you would like to talk about the book or have questions about your final paper.

Re: Final Papers. Papers are due May 11th at noon. My office. You can email me a copy as a .pdf in lieu of turning in a hard copy.?

The final class we will be talking about Access Controlled. Read the intro to page 108. Then read one region overview section (your choice) and two specific countries (your choice).

Thursday March 28th we will be talking about Lessig ‘s Code 2.0. Focus your reading on the introduction (Chapters 1 & 2), Part III (9-13), and the responses (Chapters 16-18).

There will be no class this Thursday, April 14th. We will talk about Sunstein’s Republic 2.0 next Thursday. I will email you my thoughts on your paper by Thursday. If you haven’t received an email from me by Thursday send me a note as perhpas the email was missent.

UPDATE: Take the class poll to decide what we should do about the cancelled class.

UPDATE 2: I have emailed everyone, feedback on paper proposals. If you have not received an email feel free to send me a note and I will resend it. (All feedback went to UTD email accounts.) If you have any questions on my comments please email me and I can explain more.

Twice in one week, how will you handle the excitement. On Monday at 7:00 (same room) we will talk about The Exploit (you only need to attend the first half of class) on Thursday we will talk about Evgeny Morozov’s The Net Delusion (you can follow the author on twitter as @evgenymorozov). Morozov and Shirky consistently debate the effects of the net on democracy. For context also check out this talk by Shirky, and this debate between the two.

Note: April 15th Bernard Stiegler will be on campus giving a talk. He is one of the most prominent philosophers of technology. He will be talking in the ATEC conference room at 3:00. If you have the time you should consider attending, and read "Pharmacology of Attention and Relational Ecology," which will serve as the basis for his address.

For Thursday’s class, read Networks and States by Milton Mueller. Reminder that next Monday (the 4th of April) we will meet to discuss The Exploit. With the following Thursday (the 7th) will be The Net Delusion.

There is no class this Thursday, or next (which is Spring Break). For our next meeting on March 24th we will start talking about networks. Begin by reading Christakis and Fowler’s Connected. Next read "Human Mobility" and "Predictably Unpredicatable" by Barbasi. And finally read "Why Networks Matter" by Manuel Castells.

With the extra time between now and when next me meet this might be a good time to focus on your research blog/project.

Before there was mediation there was pre-mediation. Okay not exactly, but for Thrusday’s class read Grusin’s (@rgrusin) Premediation.

For the next two weeks we will be focusing on the role of media in relation to democracy. Frist up: Digital Media and Democracy. Read the Introduction, all of Part 1, Chapter 10 and Chapter 15. Remember to update your blogs ‘About’ page by Sunday.

This Thursday, February 17th, we will be looking at some theoretical claims which seem to call into question Habermas’s claims about the relation of a Public Sphere to democratic formations. Read:

• “Cyberdemocracy.” -Mark Poster
• Selections from Digitize this Book. Gary Hall, “HyperCyberDemocracy.” (eReserve)
• Selections from Armory text on the limits of civic engagement.

Also you should begin to develop your blog’s focus, determining what you are going to want to focus on and start refining your blog accordingly.