Course Objectives

This course provides students with critical stances with which to view our society's preoccupation with "information" and "technology." We begin with the premise that we cannot understand our current and future "information societies" unless we have some understanding of how information has been accumulated and disseminated in the past and how information technologies correspond with specific social and political forms. We will look at specific social science models that allow us to conceptualize how "information" and "technology" affect social change, as well as specific theories, such as Sproull and Kiesler's (1993) theory which focuses on first-level and second-level perspectives on the effects of information technology.

As well as examining some of the history, models and theories pertaining to "information" and "technology" we look at the major issues that emerge when computers are used to manage information -- issues of ethics, control, privacy, censorship, freedom, social inequality, copyright, the workplace and the relations of citizens to each other and the state. These topical discussions and readings will be united by a common focus: to sustain an intellectually informed curiosity about the changing nature of our social, economic and political systems.

Critical Skills Goals

As part of the Foundations program, this course will provide students with an opportunity to work on key critical skills relating to such areas as (1) writing, (2) understanding and comparing arguments from the course readings, (3) managing research tasks effectively and (4) communicating the results of their analyses and research. Regular short writing assignments, seminar presentations and research tasks will form the basis of this part of the curriculum. Since this is a 9-credit course, students need to be mindful that more work is required than in a 6-credit course—think of it as equivalent to one 6-credit course and one 3-credit course.

Marking Scheme

Regular attendance at seminars is expected and attendance will be kept. There will be a number of small in-class informal assignments (both oral and written) and small in-class quizzes occurring frequently throughout the year; some of these will be on a pass/fail basis, others marked from F to A+ - this will constitute 25% of our overall grade. Further details about inclass work will be distributed separately, but note that the work is expected on the day of the seminar; if you miss a small assignment you will get 0.

There will be NO extensions for late work except for medical reasons (and a doctor’s note must be provided); the penalty for submitting work late will be 1 mark per day past the deadline. Formal assignments must be turned in during seminars or after lectures or in the course drop box (located opposite the main Social Science office -- 7th floor South Ross) on the day announced. The seminar leader will be responsible for announcing details of where and when the assignments are due during the week. Work will not be accepted by the course director.

We will be discussing the ethical and legal reasons for penalizing plagiarism within the university setting. Specifically in this course, if you are found guilty of plagiarism during any of the first term assignments, you will be allowed to rewrite the essay (or take a zero as a mark); if you are found guilty of plagiarism during the second-term written assignment you will automatically receive a zero for the assignment, and a notation will be put in your file which will prevent you from dropping the course at a later stage should you fail the course. Students may be required to submit their assignments to turnitin.com -- a computer program designed to compare students’ work with other students’ work and with online sources to aid in the detection of plagiarism.

Course Reading Material:

Troyka, L. 1998. Quick Access. Reference for Writers. 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall.

Sosc2080/2089 Course Kit - available at York Bookstore - York Lanes.

NOTE: Students are also required to print out various online articles on the Internet and bring them to seminars and lectures as needed; these articles will constitute course material. You are also expected to read, on a regular basis, a Canadian newspaper to keep track of current technological developments and how they are reported.

Course Web Site:

http://www.yorku.ca/mlc/sosc2080

All course information will be posted there; overviews of lectures will be periodically posted on the web. This will not be done before the lectures, and these notes do not replace attending lectures. Announcements about changes to lectures, seminars, etc. will also be made online, so please bookmark the course web page and consult it regularly.

Computer Accounts:

Students must have an email account. Email addresses will be circulated within seminars for ease of communication; these addresses will ONLY be used for Sosc2080/89 business. Seminar leaders may set up a listserv to facilitate communication within each seminar.

Periodically we will be holding some seminars in computer labs: we will use two labs on campus, the Calumet computer lab -- 108 Calumet College, and the Computer-Assisted Writing Centre, 530 Scott Library. You will be notified which lab your seminar will attend and when.

• For students using the Calumet Lab, login accounts will be created for all registered students in the seminars without charge. If you wish to use the lab outside of course times, you can apply for a Marlok key to give you 24 hour access to the lab. (Apply at the Calumet College Main Office, 235 Calumet; the cost is 30$ with $10 refundable at the end of the year.)
• Students using the Writing Centre must apply through Passport York (formally MAYA) for a Laurence account which will give them access to the lab on the 5th floor of Scott Library. You are free to use that lab for all other course-related materials, and are not charged -- except, of course, for printing.