1 - 10 of 13 results for: COMM

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace, are used as platforms to share information about oneself and others. These new media provide a variety of novel ways to share information (e.g. 'Like', 'Re-tweet', 'Share', etc.) and change the way individuals maintain and create relationships. The goal of this course is to understand emotional and motivational aspects of social media use and examine its potential consequences on individuals' opinions and preferences. In the first half of the course, students will be introduced to theories in communication and psychology to have the foundation for understanding the mechanisms underlying media use. In the second half of the course, students will develop original research ideas and have group discussions to further explore and refine those ideas. At the end of the course, students will demonstrate their knowledge of psychological and emotional processes underlying media use and be able to evaluate the individual/social implications of social media use.

This class is designed to interrogate the spatial metaphors often used to describe the Internet. What is "cyberspace" and where do we go when we go "offline"? What is gained through thinking of the Internet as a space and what opportunities are missed? What does this have to do with our physical bodies, capitalism, and the government? During this course we will use historical and contemporary academic writing and literature to interrogate the Internet as a space and a communication technology, and think through the meaning of digital spaces in American culture, business and government.

Technological change has always been surrounded by two competing narratives: that of opportunity and human flourishing, versus that of displacement and alienation. This course explores the idea that machines themselves are media in terms of which people - to use the words of James Carey - represent, maintain, adapt, and share their hopes and fears about the world. By the end of the course, students will have developed a vocabulary for thinking about technology's role in the ways that people have made sense of utopia and dystopia. Readings will include a mix of theory and historical case studies. From the first category, possible authors include Jacques Ellul, Leo Marx, Norman O. Brown, Martin Heidegger, Walter Benjamin, and Jessica Riskin. From the second category, possible topics include 18th-century automata, the English and French Luddite movements, the American Machine Breakers movement, Taylorism and technocracy. Note: preparation and participation in discussion are the primary course requirements. Enrollment at 3 units requires a short final paper, while a more substantial paper is required at 4 units.

Qualifies students to conduct communication research. Student must apply for department honors thesis program during Spring Quarter of junior year.