COM 3057 Introduction to Digital Communication and Culture
CTRA: T&Th 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM, NVC 6-175

Rianne Subijanto (NVC 4-286)

[email protected]

Office Hours: Th 12:30-2:30 PM

 

Course Description & Goals

Digital media have become remarkable parts of our daily life changing the nature of interpersonal relationships, our senses of community, and the institutions of work and governance. This course introduces students to various approaches to understanding the role of digital media technologies in contemporary culture. The course is divided into five major themes: digital histories, digital individuals, digital authorities, digital economies, and digital communities, publics, and networks. These themes demonstrate the multifaceted nature of digital media culture and represent areas that are inextricably related with each other in defining the evolution that digital media are creating in our contemporary life. The course will equip students with both theoretical and methodological skills to produce research related to digital media while also engage in hands-on multimedia practices.

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

1. Identify as well as compare and contrast the distinctions between the key concepts and methods of inquiry to analyze digital media technologies and their roles in contemporary culture;
2. Develop analytical skills to produce analysis of digital media and culture;
3. Pose critical questions about digital media institutions, content, production, and consumption; and,
4. Adopt critical “power-user” skills.

Course materials

Required text: Adrian Athique, Digital Media and Society: An Introduction. London: Polity, 2013.

Additional readings: available on Blackboard and e-reserve. See the course schedule below.

Grading and assignments

I use the following grading scale for this course:

A	93.0-100.0	B-	80.0-82.9	D+	67.1-69.9
A-	90.0-92.9	C+	77.1-79.9	D	60.0-67.0
B+	87.1-89.9	C	73.0-77.0	F	Below 60.0
B	83.0-87.0	C-	70.0-72.9

Your final grade is based on your performance on the following:

Participation	10%	Exam I	15%
Class facilitation	5%	Exam II	15%
Blogging	35%	Group Multimedia Project	20%

• Participation (10%)

The success of this class depends on student participation. During class sessions we will engage with the course material through interactive lectures, small-group activities, and large-group discussions. I grade your participation based on the quality and quantity of your contributions in class activities and discussions. Quality means that you come to class prepared and having done the day’s readings; quantity means the frequency of your active contribution. If you are shy to speak in class, try to engage actively and voice your opinions in small-group discussions.

Attendance is a crucial component of your participation grade. You are allowed four absences without penalty. Each additional absence beyond that will lower your participation grade by one-fourth. Absences due to religious observation or participation excused by Baruch College will not count towards this limit; however, you must provide me with a written notice prior to your absence. Otherwise, I do not distinguish “excused” and “unexcused” absences, so there is no need to supply me with documentation from doctor’s visits, funerals, etc.

• Class facilitation (5%)

In each session, 1-2 students will be assigned to facilitate the class. They will provide a summary of the readings in the beginning of class and create a list of important terms from the readings. They are required to pose questions on the readings and to be the “on-call” experts who are responsible to address specialized jargon and other important terms, as well as helping the class to understand the main ideas and theories. Each student will facilitate a session one time during the semester.

• Blogging (7 x 5%)*

You are required to post seven reading reflections on our course blogs@Baruch over the course of the semester. This is an opportunity for you to organize your thoughts, play with new ideas, and come up with questions/topics that you think need to be discussed in class. Your reflection may be creative or conventional, but it must follow the following directions.

1. The reading reflection must respond to the prompt that I give prior to the deadline (see schedule). The prompt will be provided on the designated page of each of the reflections on the course blog.
2. Provide a synthesis and analysis (rather than summary) of the readings. In other words, you may challenge, tie together, add to, illustrate, or question the authors’ findings. But do not merely restate or summarize what the authors wrote. Your analysis should focus on the author’s argument, not their writing style.
3. Include one short quote (with page # when applicable) from at least two of the readings.
4. Include your own examples or illustrations when you pose agreement or disagreement and want to challenge the writers. In doing so, you are required to refer to outside sources and include at least 1 hyperlink text (news, opinion, articles, blogs, etc.) and 1 visual media (video or picture). If the videos and pictures are not yours, then you need to give information of the sources by either giving a hyperlink in your text or write “source:…”
5. End with at least two thoughtful questions about the theme.
6. Post your reflection to our course blog by 11:59pm on the due date; late reflections will NOT be graded.
7. You are also required to make two comments on your classmates’ blogposts. Your comments have to go beyond “I agree with you” or “I like your idea” and have to include the reasons why you agree or disagree with your friends’ ideas.
8. Your post will be graded according to these criteria:

• Blogposts are worth 3 points each; and, comments are worth 1 point each.
• Posts are graded 0-3
  • 0 = Not or inadequately completed
  • 1 = Fair, mostly completed
  • 2 = Good, fully completed
  • 3 = Excellent, fully completed and posed challenging questions and issues
• Comments are graded 0-2
• 0 = Not or inadequately completed
• 1 = Only make 1 substantial comment; or, one of the comments does not make a substantial point.
• 2 = Both comments make substantial points.

• Exam I & II (2 x 15%)

The exams will consist of short-answer and essay questions. Exam I covers the first half of the semester, exam II will cover the other half. Absolutely no early exams will be given; make-up exams after the scheduled dates will be given only in cases of serious medical problems with written verification from a doctor or health service provider.

• Group Multimedia Project (20%)*

As the final project of the course, you will work in a group to create a multimedia essay presented in a form of a website that you create together on one of the issues we discuss in the course. Multimedia is a hybrid digital platform to communicate information with the aid of textual and (photo)graphic, and audio-visual technologies. The assignment requires you to bring together academic research skills and digital technology skills such as creating and posting on blogs, creating and embedding audio/visual materials to make a multimedia project. The overarching theme of the project will be “digital NYC” and each group will work together to decide what specific aspect of the theme they want to focus on. The group will then conduct research together, gather data, analyze, and present the findings collaboratively in their website. Make sure to attend the in-class workshops on multimedia literacy to become familiar with the craft. The groups will present their websites to the class at the end of the semester.

Digital spaces

We will be using several digital platforms for the class activities. We will go over how to access these sites and their topography during the first week of class. For further help, see below.

Blogs @ Baruch Help: If you need assistance with our class website, please contact Laurie Hurson ([email protected]) from the Center for Teaching and Learning at Baruch. You may also consult the FAQs page.

Blackboard Help: Blackboard can be accessed through the Baruch website at www.baruch.cuny.edu. If you have any questions about your Baruch email address or your password, or if you have any problems accessing the site please call the Baruch Help Desk at 646.312.1010.

E-Reserve Help: Students having difficulty accessing their course pages may contact [email protected] for assistance.

Course policies

Attendance: I will record attendance at the beginning of each session, so make sure you arrive on time each day. Each late arrival or early departure will be worth ½ of an absence. Like your attendance, you do not need to explain to me why you arrive late or leave the class early. Just enter or leave the class quietly so you do not disrupt the class. If you arrive after you have been marked absent, it is your responsibility to let me know after class to record your attendance.

Reading: This is a reading intensive course that is designed to be a discussion-driven interactive experience. To that end, you are expected to have read all assigned reading before each class begins. Please bring a digital or hard copy of the assigned readings with you to each class.

Safe space: Class discussions are absolutely crucial so you are expected to come to class prepared to share your views, listen intently to others’ opinions, and think critically about the material. I’m interested in what each of you think; so don’t be afraid to ask tough questions or share a potentially unpopular opinion. You are not graded on the content of your discussion. In other words, it doesn’t matter what your particular viewpoint is on a subject, what matters is that you have one. The success of this class depends on the learning environment we create together in the classroom so I encourage all of you to speak up, speak out, and be open minded during classroom discussions.

Electronic devices: I do not allow the use of mobile phones, smart phones and similar devices in class. Please leave the classroom if you need to use them. I do allow the use of laptops, tablets, and similar devices in class. However, I expect you to use these devices in ways that are relevant to course activity and not distracting to me and your fellow classmates (e.g., taking notes and accessing course readings, not looking at Facebook or Twitter or Reddit).

Academic integrity and plagiarism: I fully support Baruch College’s policy on Academic Honesty, which states, in part: “Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college’s educational mission and the students’ personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned. ” Academic sanctions in this class will range from an F on the assignment to an F in this course. A report of suspected academic dishonesty will be sent to the Office of the Dean of Students. Additional information and definitions can be found at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html.

 Religious observances: Every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance will be made. In this class, the instructor needs to be identified prior to any conflict resulting in the non-attendance of class so alternative arrangements can be made.

Accommodations for students with disabilities: Students with disabilities may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation to enable them to participate fully in courses at Baruch. If you feel you may be in need of an accommodation, please contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities at (646) 312-4590. For additional information: https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/facultyhandbook/DisabilitiesInformation.htm.

 Courtesy: Respect others by being polite, respect yourself by doing your work, and respect your environment by cleaning up after yourself at the end of the class. A better world we all struggle for begins with each one of us doing our part to realize it.

 

*adopted from Sarah Bishop’s and Ali Sengul’s syllabi.