STS 316: Investigating Cyberculture - Fall 2009

Weeks 3 & 4: Self and Identity Online

Weinberger (2003) Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web;

Web Review: Read and report on one of the articles found on The Virtual Muser 's website,
http://www.greenlloyd.com/bodyincyberspace.htm

Recommended: Reymers (2002) Identity and the Internet, available at
http://sociology.morrisville.edu/infospace/identity.html

Weeks 5 & 6: Community in Cyberspace

Mulgan, 1997, Connexity: How to Live in a Connected World, Chapter 1: The Age of Connexity (PDF format; ~4MB)

Web Review: Rheingold, The Virtual Community, Chapter 1

Recommended: Reymers (2004) Communitarianism on the Internet, Chps 1 & 2 - http://sociology.morrisville.edu/diss/index.htm
[Accompanying Powerpoint file: Communitarianism on the Internet (.ppt 660KB) - (html version)]

Weeks 7 & 8: Cyberpower and Democracy in Cyberspace

Jordan, 1998, Cyberpower, Chapter 7 (PDF format; ~3MB)

Web Review: Barlow (1996), A Declaration of Cyberspace
Independence http://www.eff.org/Misc/Publications/John_Perry_Barlow/barlow_0296.declaration.txt

Week 9: Intellectual Property

Web Review: Electronic Frontier Foundation P2P website, http://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property

Weeks 10 & 11: Religion and Computers

Techgnosis: Myth, Magic and Mysticism in the Age of Information (PDF format; ~8MB)

Web Review: Pew Internet report, How Americans Pursue Religion Online (2001), http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/53/report_display.asp

Week 12: Education and Computers

High-Tech Heretic, Cliff Stoll (PDF format; ~6 MB)

Web Review: NY Times, 4/5/2000, Interview with Cliff Stoll;
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/education/05education.html

Week 13: Slumming it in Second Life
Making Virtual Worlds: Second Life and Linden Labs, Chapter 2, Malaby (PDF format; ~15MB)

Week 14: Slumming it in Second Life (& Fall Break)

Week 15: Critiques of Cyberspace

Introduction from Slouka (1995) War of the Worlds: Cyberspace and the High-Tech Assault on Reality (PDF format; ~3 MB)

Web Review: Reilly(1996), A Critique of Barlow’s “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace” http://home.comcast.net/~reillyjones/critique.html

Class Powerpoints