com-462_syllabus-fa11-07-11-11-21-22

Furthermore, the course aims to develop previous research strategy skills by engaging students to a close analysis of some aspect of new media texts.. Learning Outcomes By the end of the

Cyberspace by Candace Taylor Lange

COURSE: COM 462 New Media/Cyber Culture

SEMESTER: Fall 2011

INSTRUCTOR: Anna Feigenbaum

SCHEDULING: Tues 13:30.00-14.50 and Thur 13.30-14.50

LOCATION: Ken Briggs Hall 208

OFFICE HOURS: Ken: Tuesday 9.30-10.30; Hill: Friday 14:30-16:30 and

by appointment

CLASS WEBPAGE:Powercampus

RICHMOND THE AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL

UNIVERSITY

IN LONDON

Department of Humanities and Social

Sciences

Course Description

This course traces the development of new media, emphasizing the social, political and cultural contexts of emergent media technologies It

introduces a number of contemporary theoretical and practical approaches

to understanding the technological, economic and political transformations that come with the convergence and digitalization of media

Course Aims and Objectives

This course aims to develop an understanding of the technological,

economic and political structures of convergent media and the

consequences of digitalization on culture and communication It aims to familiarize students with the key issues, concepts and debates within media and cultural studies concerning new media and to engage students

in a close reading of some of the main academic texts dealing with digital cultures and new media Furthermore, the course aims to develop previous research strategy skills by engaging students to a close analysis of some aspect of new media texts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, successful students are expected to be able to:

 engage with the main debates related to digital cultures and new media

Threshold: For a threshold pass students must demonstrate some basic

understanding of the main arguments related to the new media

technologies and how their influence of economy, politics and culture Furthermore, students must attempt to develop some independent arguments

 conduct research on the Internet and find and evaluate

information relating to specific new media texts, phenomena,

products, institutions and organizations, and critically evaluate them

Threshold: Students need to carry some independent research on the

internet in order to find examples of new media texts, phenomena etc that will illustrate their theoretical arguments

 gain more confidence in expressing their ideas, asking

questions, and responding to others

Threshold: Students should have some minimum participation in class

discussions, demonstrating their ability to present rational, independent arguments

 become adept at giving ‘formal’ presentations;

Threshold: Students should give a class presentation, individually or in a

group The presentation should advance well supported arguments based

on critical thinking and some basic theoretical understanding

 reflect critically on the course material and its relevance for contemporary societies

Threshold: Students should be able to develop a clear research question

that will address in their coursework They should also demonstrate

adequate knowledge of research issues related to new media

Teaching Methods

The course combines formal lectures with interactive discussion and co-operative assessment The former introduces the main arguments related

to debate The latter are encouraged through presentations aiming to link the theoretical arguments with the analysis of new media texts and

practices All students are expected to be fully prepared to participate in classroom discussions

Written Work Requirements

Students will submit two formal written assignments as a midterm and final essay:

Conceptualizing New Media (midterm paper) week 5

PodCase Research Paper (final paper) week 13

Failing to submit any piece of coursework by the deadline, will result in the reduction of a third a letter grade per day late.

CLASS POLICIES

Laptops and mobile devices may only be used in the classroom for note-taking and class-related research Mobile phones should be switched to silent and only answered in cases of emergency

You may eat in class so long as it does not distrub others around you If you must arrive late or leave early, please arrange in advance with the instructor and do so in a way that respects both the instructor and your classmates

ATTENDANCE POLICY

A demonstrably regulated attendance policy is required both by UK

immigration law and by our accreditation bodies Attendance is also of key pedagogical importance Successful progress towards a degree

depends on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members Most courses at Richmond utilize lectures and classroom discussions, which means that regular attendance and active participation in classes are essential parts of the educational process

Attendance is required in all courses In any course, students who

accumulate more than the permitted number of absences, regardless of the reason, will receive an attendance failure (grade of F) unless they withdraw from the course

In courses that meet twice per week, students may not have more than four absences

Absences and Petitions

A demonstrably regulated attendance policy is required both by UK

immigration law and by our accreditation bodies Attendance is also of key pedagogical importance Successful progress towards a degree depends

on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members Most

courses at Richmond utilize lectures and classroom discussions, which means that regular attendance and active participation in classes are essential parts of the educational process

Attendance is required in all courses In any course, students who

accumulate more than the permitted number of absences, regardless of the reason, will receive an attendance failure (grade of F) unless they withdraw from the course

In courses that meet twice per week, students may not have more than four absences

In summer sessions, due to the intensive nature of the classes, students may not have more than two absences

Students in the Foundations Program who miss more than four class

sessions may be administratively withdrawn from all three courses in the Program

Absence Recording

Attendance is taken by instructors in on-line registers within the

university's student records system As the registers are constantly

updated as students add and drop courses, attendance in all courses is taken from the first day of the semester, including Add/Drop week

Students must be aware that the University is obliged to report to the UK Borders Agency any student who is in the UK on a student visa, but who is not attending classes Students who have been issued with attendance failures that take them below the level of a full-time student will be

reported to the UKBA It is the student's responsibility to report any

mitigating circumstances to Student Affairs Even if the actual absences from class are not excused as a result (see below), evidence of legitimate mitigating circumstances will be reported in the comments section of the UKBA reporting form.

Absences are recorded within the attendance monitoring system as

"excused" or "unexcused" It is entirely at the individual instructor's

discretion whether or not to accept an excuse on the part of a student regarding an absence The instructor’s decision is final

Students should note in particular that illness does not automatically excuse an absence from class, as the policies detailed above are designed with expectations as to material to be covered in the course, and in

consideration of the connection between contact hours and credit awarded (for further information, see under “Student Status”) In other words, if absence due to illness means that, in the instructor’s judgment, course work cannot be satisfactorily completed, the absence(s) will not be

excused If the number of unexcused absences exceeds that detailed above, regardless of the reason, an attendance failure should be issued Any absence from a class session does not exempt a student from the completion of all required work for a course The student is responsible for making up any missed work, and for covering the material covered in any missed class session

Students with a disability must provide the Office of Student Affairs with the appropriate documentation in accordance with the instructions

outlined at:

http://www.richmond.ac.uk/content/student-affairs/students-with-disabilities.aspx Student Affairs will then inform the Registrar’s Office, who will liaise with instructors Reasonable accommodation will be made for students with disabilities with regard to attendance (for instance

if a hospital appointment cannot be rescheduled), but the points above concerning material to be covered in class must be observed by all

students

It should also be emphasized that if a student is late for a class session, and enters after attendance has been taken (and an absence has been registered), it is his or her responsibility to alert the instructor to this

immediately after class Changing an attendance entry from “absent” to

“late” is entirely at the discretion of the instructor, and such a change will not be considered at any other time than the actual date of the late entry Students must make themselves aware of any additional policies regarding lateness that an instructor may specify in the course syllabus, and adhere

to these

What do the letter grades mean?

The requirements for each piece of assessed work are clearly specified in the assignment details However, the following general criteria apply to all work:

Grade A applies only to the exceptional piece of work which:

• has continued beyond the B grade band to develop a more advanced analytical and integrative command of the material and issues

• gives evidence of very wide reading and extensive knowledge of

relevant theory and recent research

• is very well structured, putting forward cogent arguments which are well supported by carefully evaluated evidence

• superior (A-) or outstanding (A)

Grade B applies to work which:

• goes beyond the foundation level to develop a more questioning and analytical approach

• goes beyond the basic required reading, to study and discusses

recommended texts and articles

• indicates an increasing ability to appreciate an extensive body of

knowledge and to conceptualize the key theories, issues, debates and criticisms

• demonstrates the skills to present a balanced and comprehensive

discussion

• has been completed with a thoroughness aimed to get the most

learning out of the exercise

• good quality (B-), very good (B), or excellent (B+)

Grade C applies to work which:

• is basically competent, although undeveloped

• fulfils the requirements of the assignment at a foundation level,

involving:

- adequate coverage of the essential information specified, and

- the skill to present that material coherently

• selects relevant named references and quotations

• just below average (C-) average (C), or showing signs of reaching

above average (C+)

Grade D applies to work which:

• has been done without proper understanding of the requirements

• is too short, or long and unedited or lacks structure

• relies on superficial, subjective statements

• uses unreliable and inappropriate sources, such as Wikipedia

• uses incorrect, or confused information

• fails to make proper use of named references and quotations

• unsatisfactory work (D-), very poor work (D) and work which is weak (D+)

Grade F, a fail, applies to:

• non-submission of work or work which is illegible

• late work after one extension has been given

• work which may be competent, but is either:

- irrelevant (i.e does not address the requirements of the

assignment), or

- uses un-attributed material (plagiarism)

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty is any action by which a student seeks to claim credit for the intellectual or artistic work of another person or uses

unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic

exercise.

Academic dishonesty includes receiving or giving assistance in tests

and examinations; intentionally impeding or damaging the academic work

of others; submitting another person’s work as your own, or providing work for this purpose; submitting work purchased from an essay mill or a ghost scholar service or an e-tutor; submitting work of your own that has been substantially edited and revised by another person, or providing an editing service for others; submitting material from a source (books,

articles, internet sites) without proper citation and bibliographic reference; paraphrasing material from a source without appropriate reference and citation; submitting substantially the same piece of work in more than one course without the explicit consent of all of the instructors concerned; assisting other students in any of the above acts

Students who are academically dishonest will receive a penalty for the work in question or the course as a whole or to their degree classification, depending on the importance of the work to the overall course grade and the judgment of the instructor and the Academic Standards Committee

Assessment Policy

Work will be evaluated on the basis of content, carefulness and

thoroughness of presentation according to the assignment Detailed

assignment sheets will be handed out in class and posted to blackboard 2 weeks prior to the due date of the assignment Work which demonstrates the principles of academic writing and research discussed in class will be rewarded In-class contributions are evaluated in terms of theoretical engagement, clarity and appropriateness to the point in question

Assessment Criteria

Critical Reading Presentation & Discussion 20% Conceptualizing New Media (midterm) 20% PodCase Individual Research Paper (final) 30%

PodCase Project

Everyone is responsible for one of the core class readings On your

presentation day you will facilitate the class discussion of the texts by offering:

(1) a contextualization of the article or chapter

(2) a summary and discussion of its key arguments

(3) two to three critical questions for discussion

For your presentation day you are also required to create a 500 word write

up to handout to every student in the course that contains elements 1-3 above You are also required to facilitate a class discussion of at least 15 minutes

Conceptualizing New Media Paper 20%

Your first paper will explore new media as a concept You must offer an overview of definitions of new media from both academic and

non-academic perspectives (i.e industry, policy, government) Then you must take a position or sketch out what you think is the best way to

conceptualize new media Use examples to illustrate your claims Words: 1,250-1,500

PodCase Research Paper (including proposal 5%)

30%

Each student will develop and write an individual research paper based on the background research done for the PodCase project (1250-1500 words)

Throughout the course of the term we will work together to develop a

podcast on the topic of Social Media and Social Change The project will

develop in three stages:

1 Every student will prepare a 'pitch' that responds to the topic

assignment given out in the beginning of term The class will

collectively vote on the top pitches These top pitches will be

developed into class podcasts Students will be divided into

programme teams of 3-5 students.The student who pitched the podcast will become the team leader for the project (or s/he can delegate this role to another member) Detailed proposals for these podcasts will then be developed by the entire team

2 Podcast proposals are due at half term Each student team will follow the proposal guidelines to develop a professional proposal for your programme This proposal will be assessed and given feedback before you enter the production stage after break

3 Programme production will begin after break Each team will work together to finalise research, script their programme, and finally, record and edit their podcast for public broadcast

ASSISTANCE

The University Writing Center and Mathematics Workshop are available to all students who need help with academic writing and/or mathematics Venues and times are posted towards the end of the first week of the semester

The Term Paper Assistance service is operated by the library staff If you need help with research and/or accessing information, book either 15 or

30 minutes with a librarian There is also an electronic service that can be accessed by emailing reference@richmond.ac.uk

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

A student with a diagnosed learning disability must provide the Office of Student Affairs with the appropriate documentation and a disability self-declaration form at the point of admission to the University, or as soon as possible after enrolment For those conditions diagnosed after enrolment, declaration to Student Affairs should be made immediately upon

diagnosis The University will make all reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, but students must report their requirements in a timely fashion in order for what can be quite complex arrangements to be made Please see:

http://www.richmond.ac.uk/content/student-affairs/students-with-disabilities.aspx

Required Reading

COM 462 Coursepack

Powercampus digital texts

Extended Reading

 Bell, D and Kennedy, B, (eds.) (2000), The Cyber-Cultures Reader,

London and New York: Routledge

 Burnett, R and Marshall, D (2003) Web Theory: An Introduction,

London and New York: Routledge

 Castells, M (2001), The Internet Galaxy, New York: Oxford University

Press

 Creeber, G and Royston, M Digital Cultures: Understanding New Media Maidenhead: Open University Press.

 Livingstone, S and Lievrouw, L (eds.) (2002), Handbook for New Media, London: Sage

 Lister, M et al, (2003) New Media: A Critical Introduction, London:

Routledge

Course Schedule – Spring 2010

Week 1: Introduction

 Go over syllabus and course requirements

 'New Media Mind Map' & ‘What is New Media’ handout from Digital Cultures

Week 2: What's New About New Media?

 Lisa Gitelman and Geoffrey Pingree, "What's New About New

Media?" Introductory essay to New Media, 1740-1915 (Cambridge:

MIT Press, 2003) available at

http://web.mit.edu/transition/subs/newmediaintro.html

 Lev Manovich, “How Media Became New” version available at

www.manovich.net/DOCS/new_media_users_guide.doc Published in The Language of New Media (2001) Cambridge, Massachusetts and

London: The MIT Press

Week 3: The Early New Media

• Carey, J.W (1989) ‘Technology and Ideology: The Case of the

Telegraph’, pp 201-230 in James Carey Communication as Culture Essays on Media and Society Boston: Unwin Hyman

Week 4: The Rise of Mechanical Reproduction

 Walter Benjamin (2008) “The Work of Art in the Age of its

Technological Reproducibility” from The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility and other writings on media, Jennings,

et al (eds.) Cambridge & London: Harvard UP, read X-XIX

 Joshua M Greenberg (2008) “Videophiles and Betamania: Hacking

the VCR” in From Betamax to Blockbuster: Videostores and the Invention of Movies on Video, Cambridge & London: MIT Press, pp

17-40

Week 5: The Origins of the Internet

 Oliver Burkeman “Forty years of the internet: how the world

changed forever” Guardian 23 October 2009 available at

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/23/internet-40-history-arpanet

 PAPER DUE THURSDAY: Conceptualizing New Media (midterm

paper)

Week 6: Digitization

 Viktor Mayer-Schonberger (2009) “The Demise of Forgetting—And

it’s Drivers” in Delete: the Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age

Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, pp 50-91

Week 7: Web 2.0

• Charles Leadbeater (2009) “You are What You Share” in We-Think Croydon: Profile Books, pp 1-26 Available online at