Democracy, Governance, and the Digital Network » Assignments

Twice in One Week

dave — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:18:09 +0000

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.

Nations and Networks

dave — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:24:31 +0000

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.

Next Class: Connectivity

dave — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 17:20:22 +0000

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

dave — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 15:35:17 +0000

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

The Role of Media

dave — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:40:20 +0000

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.

Limits of Habermas

dave — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:18:49 +0000

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.

Foucault

dave — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:01:38 +0000

After reading Habermas it is time to tackle a substantially different perspective: Foucault. Two Essays to read. Start with “Discipline and Punish” this is an excerpt from his book of the same name. Then, read on “Governmentality” a lecture Foucault gave that reflects his later thinking on the matter of governing. Also here is an updated .ompl file of student blogs, the prior list did not contain Ben’s blog, you can download this one, or just add his blog to your reader. Check back here for the Twitter list once Alex has created it.

Enter Habermas

dave — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:22:11 +0000

As mentioned in class, next week we will be reading Habermas’s The Structurual Transformation of the Public Sphere. Although difficult, it is important that we have an understanding of this text, Habermas’s view of the public sphere, as it is foundational to how we understand public opinion and by extension, democracies to operate.

In class we will be focusing on Parts I, II, III, & V, so focus your reading efforts on these. If you are struggling with the reading, you might try consulting the Spark Notes on the book, they are actually not bad and can give you a good sense of the direction Habermas is taking, be careful though as all summaries do, they miss some crucial points.

Post to your blogs by Wednesday at noon.

Update: You can download the opml file which contains links for all the blogs for this class. This file can be imported into most RSS readers. There are three categories of blogs here. 1. Blogs for this class. 2. Blogs for EMAC6300 (Intro Class) 3. Blogs I tend to read that cover Emerging Media and Democracy. You don’t need to read all of these, or even any outside the ones for this class but I thought it might be worth giving you all of these.

Blown to Bits

dave — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 02:53:42 +0000

For next class, January 20th, you should read Blown to Bits. As I mentioned in class you should read the appendix, especially if you are not familiar with internet architecture. You also need to set up your research blog which you will be using for the semester. Pick whatever blogging platform you prefer. No need to have a fully polished one by next week, but it should be up and you should post your first two pieces to it by Wednesday at noon. Finally once your blog is set up post a link here in the comment section along with your twitter handle.

Update: Regarding your blogs, you should write two posts this week, which together total 800 words. One post should directly address the reading. That is for one post pick one issue raised in Blown to Bits and discuss what makes that important, interesting, etc. Expand their point rather than just summarize, i.e. show how it is more complicate or there is an additional dimension the reading does not discuss. For the second post write about one specific thing that relates to the subject of this class. Find something that addresses what you are specifically interested in. For example if you are interested in democracy in foreign countries, Tunisia might be a good example, or if you are interested in local civic engagement something about how local communities are using the net to foster engagement.

First Day Assignment

dave — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 23:37:45 +0000

I realize we have yet to meet, but with a limited number of meetings throughout the semester we need to take advantage of every meeting. So in preparation for our first meeting you should read the following articles:

Two Pieces from Democracy and New Media-both are available on eReserve. If you did not get the eReserve password already in an email, email me to find it out.
“The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” (Again email me if you did not receive a link via email.)
John Perry Barlow, “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace.”?

See you on Thursday.