COMM & TECH | SCHEDULE | ASSIGNMENTS | RESOURCES | HOMEWORK
Note - always subject to change
PART I EARLY: Weeks 1-4
PART II RECENT: Weeks 5-7
PART III PRESENT: Weeks 8-11
PART IV FUTURE: Weeks 12-14
WEEK 1: What Is Communication & Technology?
09/04 Tuesday
  • Class Introduction
  • Apple Macintosh 1984 AD
  • Some Key Terms
    • Technological Determinism
    • Social Constructivism
    • Humanism
  • Student Introductions
09/06 Thursday
Homework
  • READ - James Gleick's "The Information" pp.1-50 ("Prologue", Chapter 1 "Drums That Talk", & Chapter 2 "The Persistance of the Word"
  • POST - a short response to the reading (approx 300 - 400 words) on the class wordpress site. Your response should focus on the following question - "What does Communication & Technology mean to me?" Please post by 9pm Monday Sept 10. Be prepared to discuss your response in class next week.
WEEK 2: Evolution Ends & Technology Begins
09/11 Tuesday
  • Discussion - Share Reading Responses
09/12 Wednesday
Homework
  • READ - ­E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops”
  • READ - Sherry Turkle "Reclaiming Conversation" - The Case For Conversation pp. 1 - 56
  • EXERCISE - This Friday, for AT LEAST 8 straight waking hours, you are not allowed to use any electronic communications devices. This includes a phone, a computer, a television, a camera, a radio, or anything else that harnesses electricity to facilitate communication. During this time, eat at least one of your meals in the campus dining hall. Remember, NO phone, NO laptop! Keep a written journal of the entire experience. The journal should include a minimum of 5 entries (hour 0,2,4,6, & 8). Afterwards, take a few minutes to reflect on the experience. How did the absence of communication technologies affect (or not affect) your experience? Please post to the class page an image or your written journal along with a reflection (approx 300-400 words) that references both readings to your blog by 9pm Monday Sept 17.
WEEK 3: The Written Word
09/18 Tuesday
  • Discussion - Journals, Readings, & Detox Experience
  • Tech & Society - "Social Shaping" & "Domestication"
09/20 Thursday
  • Deep Dive Group #1
Homework
  • READ - David Deutsch's "The Beginning of Infinity" Chapter 6 - The Jump to Universality
  • LISTEN - 99% Invisible Podcast "Person In Lotus Position" (32 mins)
  • EXPLORE - Emojipedia Blog
  • EXERCISE - Create 3 "Original Emojis" that describe/represent/communicate an aspect of life in your "hometown". Share them with at least 2 hometown friends or family members. You can message them via text/app, send them in an email, post them on a web page, it's up to you. Document their responses and use this feedback to improve your "Conceptual Emojis". If possible, send the improved version to at least 2 different hometown friends or family members and document their responses. After you finish, share your methodology, process, responses, and updates as a single web post. Include whether you sent them with or without any explanation. Your post should include both versions of the emojis along with a written explanation of your process and the user responses. It should be a minimum of 1 page. (Due 9pm Monday Spet 24)
WEEK 4: The Original Information Age
09/25 Tuesday
09/27 Thursday
Homework
WEEK 5: Early Telecommunications
10/02 Tuesday
  • Discussion - Readings & Research Paper Ideas
  • FOR THURSDAY - READ "The Victorian Internet" Forward, Preface, & Chapter 1
10/04 Thursday
  • Discuss Semaphore Competition
  • IM Lab Tour + Costume Shop
  • Semaphore Workshop Time
Homework
  • READ - "The Victorian Internet" Chapter 2
  • READ - "The Information" Chapter 5: A Nervous System for the Earth
  • WORK - on Analysis Paper #1. First Draft due 9pm Monday 10/16.
  • EXERCISE - Working with a partner, create an original "semaphore system" that can communicate information from one person to another at a distance in line of sight.

    Your system should be able to "send" a single sentence across the Art Center Lobby. To test your system, both of you will be in fixed positions on opposite ends of the lobby. One team member will be handed a sentence on paper and they will be expected to transmit this sentence to their partner on the other end in a limited amount of time.

    The sentence you will transmit to your partner will be limited to 40 characters and will include only the 26 letters of the English alphabet (A-Z) as well as the numbers 0 - 9. Not all the letters or numbers will necessarily be used in the sentence, but those are the characters you may need to transmit. No punctuation or "irregular" characters will be used either.

    There will be a time limit on how long you have to transmit your message. And there will be a "hacker" who will attempt to intercept and "decrypt" your message, so do your best to secure your message.

    You are not allowed to use the following:

    • Your voices
    • Electricity
    • Other humans
    • Any telescopic or enhanced vision device - i.e. binoculars, telescope, etc

    Everyone will be expected to demo their semaphore systems in a competition next Tuesday the 9th. Judges will be on hand and prizes will be awarded on Thursday the 11th in class. Teams will be judged on the following criteria:

    • Is the system reliable? (i.e. repeatable, confirmation of accurate receipt)
    • Is the system secure? (i.e. susceptible to hacks or interception)
    • Is the system efficient? (i.e. fast or slow)
    • Is the system creative? (i.e. original, artistic)

    Please document your methodology, process, design, and output as a blog post. Also, please include at least one photo from the actual competition. (Due 9pm Wednesday Oct 10)

WEEK 6: The Victorian Internet
10/09 Tuesday
  • Semaphore Competition!!!
10/11 Thursday
Homework
  • READ - "The Victorian Internet" Chapters 8 - 12, Epilogue, and Afterword
  • WRITE - Analysis Paper #1 Draft Due 9pm Monday 10/15 (Please email me the draft in .pdf or .docx format)
  • BRING - a printed version of your draft to class on Tuesday. You will need it for the Writing Workshop
WEEK 7: Instant Broadcast Media
10/16 Tuesday
10/18 Thursday
  • Special Guest - Clay Shirky
Homework
---FALL BREAK---
WEEK 8: The Medium Matters
10/30 Tuesday
  • Discussion - Readings, Radio, & Fake News
  • McLuhan v Williams
  • Discuss Radio Assignment
11/01 Thursday
  • Group #2 Deep Dive Lesson
Homework
  • READ - “Mass Media” Essay by John Durham Peters
  • READ - Raymond Williams "The Technology & The Society"
  • EXERCISE - Create a 3-5 minute radio “broadcast” of a famous historical event of your choosing. The sound piece should feel as if you were reporting live from the event and your voice(s) should serve as the primary reporter(s) and eye witnesses. You will be working in your Deep Dive groups. You can use any sound effects or music pieces to help augment the broadcast. Your group will be expected to perform it live on the NYUAD radio during class on Thursday Nov 8. Please post your final "radio script" to your blog as a group blog post by end of day Thursday Nov 8.
WEEK 9: Hello World
11/06
11/08 Thursday
  • Perform Radio Broadcasts
  • Discuss Homework Exercise
Homework
  • READ - "The Information" Chapter 14: After the Flood & Chapter 15: New News Every Day
  • EXERCISE - Sign up for and engage in a Stack Exchange Site you have never used before. Before you begin, read through their specific "help" page. Try out the different features of the site, which include but are not limited to posting a question, answering a question, making comments (if possible), and gaining points. See how much credit/points/status you can accumulate. Document your approach, process, experience, and insights in a single-page blog post (Due 9pm Monday Nov 12)
  • BONUS - Come to Open Studios Monday Nov 12
WEEK 10: Quality vs Quantity
11/13 Tuesday
11/15 Thursday
  • Group #3 Deep Dive Lesson
Homework
  • READ - Ethan Zuckerman's "Rewire" Introduction + Chapters 1,3, & 8
  • EXERCISE - Run a "rewire" experiment on yourself. How might you rewire your own communication habits and networks to expose yourself to alternative points of view? Can you "tweak" your digital connections to expose potential biases and nurture "serendipity"? Can you monitor and disrupt your own regular consumption habits to encourage (or discourage) certain behaviors and patterns? Create a plan to implement this experiment. A simple example would be to avoid using Google and switch to DuckDuckGo. Your experiment should run anywhere from 24 - 48 hours. Make a blog post to share your experience. (Due Monday 11/19)
WEEK 11: A Participatory Medium
11/20 Tuesday
11/22 Thursday
Homework
  • READ - Zeynep Tufecki Twitter & Teargas - Introduction & Ch. 5 "Technology & People" (Note - the Preface, Ch.6. Ch.7, and the Epilogue are also great!)
  • READ - Bruce Schneier "Data & Goliath" Excerpt (for more on Schneier see his site "Schneier on Security"
  • WATCH "Citizenfour" Documentary Film by Laura Poitras
  • START - thinking about your Analysis Paper #2 Topic & Final Group Project idea.
WEEK 12: What's Really Going On?
11/27 Tuesday
11/29 Thursday
  • Group #4 Deep Dive Lesson
Homework
  • READ - Kevin Kelly "The Inevitable" Intro, Ch.1, Ch. 2
  • READ - Jaron Lanier's "You Are Not A Gadget" Chapters 1 & 2
  • READ - Bruce Sterling's "The Origins of Futurism"
  • WRITE - an introductory paragraph to your final paper. Post to the blog Monday night
  • WORK - with your group on your Final Project
WEEK 13: Hyper-Reality
12/04 Tuesday
12/06 Thursday
  • Share Group Project Ideas
  • Group Workshop for Final Projects
Homework
  • SHARE - Final Group Project In Class Tuesday Dec 11
  • PRESENT - Final Project at the IM End-of-Semester Showcase Thursday Dec 13
WEEK 14: Singularity or Bust???
12/11 Tuesday
  • Share Final Group Projects
12/13 Thursday
  • Course In-Review
  • Course Evaluations
  • "IM End-of-Semester Showcase" 6pm-8pm Rm.006
Homework
  • WRITE - Analysis Paper #2 Due 9pm Sunday Dec 16