50:209:101 Introduction to Digital Studies (Spring 2022)

The goal of the course is to help students develop critical vocabularies for analyzing digital objects and also to provide students with a space to tinker with those objects. The class examines contemporary issues surrounding digital media and some of the historical roots of those issues. We will address how our everyday encounters with computational tools sometimes obscure important dimensions of those tools, how these systems create and exacerbate inequalities, and how our understandings of digital media are too often shaped by a white, Western, and/or masculine perspective. In addition to discussing and analyzing digital media, the course features lab sessions that will involve working directly with digital artifacts. In these lab sessions, our goal is not mastery but instead exploration.

No technological expertise is required, and students will be encouraged to experiment with a variety of ideas and technologies.

Syllabus

Professor: Jim Brown
Synchronous Meetings: Wednesday, 9:35am-10:55am
Meeting Place: While Rutgers is doing remote learning, class meetings will happen on Zoom. When the university returns to in-person learning, we will meet in Armitage 113.

Prof. Brown's Office: Zoom (Jim's "personal meeting room" on Canvas)
Prof. Brown' Office Hours: Monday 11:00-12:30, or by appointment
Prof. Brown's Email: jim[dot]brown[at]rutgers[dot]edu

Course Website: http://courses.jamesjbrownjr.net/101_spring22

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this class, students will be able to:

  • demonstrate familiarity with the histories and cultures that influence and shape digital technologies
  • apply a critical vocabulary for analyzing digital technologies
  • analyze, summarize, and compare academic arguments about digital media and culture
  • experiment with the affordances and constraints of digital tools

Required Texts
Your Computer is on Fire, eds. Mar Hicks, Benjamin Peters, Thomas S. Mullaney, Kavita Philip

Course Work and Grades
Grades will be determined based on the following course work:

  • Lab Reports (20%)
  • Google Doc Reading Notes, checked weekly (20%)
  • Midterm Exam (30%)
  • Final Exam (30%)

Grades will be assigned on the following scale:

A 90-100
B+ 88-89
B 80-86
C+ 78-79
C 70-77
D 60-69
F 59 and below

Content Warnings
If we will be reading and discussing material that addresses sensitive topics, I will do my best to let you know in advance. If there are certain specific topics you would like me to provide warnings about, please let me know. I will do my best to flag content based on your requests.

Attendance
Attendance is crucial for your success in this class. If attendance at our meetings will be a problem, please let me know. During meetings, we will discuss readings and assignments, and some class meetings will be devoted to lab activities.

Technology Policy
We will use digital technology frequently in this class. Although I am assuming that you have some basic knowledge of computers, such as how to use a keyboard and mouse, and how to use the Web and check e-mail, most things will be explained in class. If you don’t understand what we are doing, please ask for help.

Canvas, Course Website, and Email
You should check your email daily, and you should regularly check our Canvs page. Class announcements and assignments may be distributed through email. The course website and our Canvas site will also have important information about assignments and policies. Pay close attention to the course calendar as we move through the semester. I reserve the right to move things around if necessary.

University policies and resources

Academic Integrity
My assumption is that any work you turn in for this course has been completed by you. If you ever have questions about proper attribution or citation, please don't hesitate to ask.

Code of Conduct
Rutgers University-Camden seeks a community that is free from violence, threats, and intimidation; that is respectful of the rights, opportunities, and welfare of students, faculty, staff, and guests of the University; and that does not threaten the physical or mental health or safety of members of the University community and includes classroom space. As a student at the University, you are expected adhere to Student Code of Conduct: https://deanofstudents.camden.rutgers.edu/student-conduct

RaptorCares
Rutgers-Camden has a wide range of resources to help you stay on track both personally and academically. The Raptor Cares Report (https://deanofstudents.camden.rutgers.edu/reporting) connects you to our Dean of Students Office and they can assist you with a variety of concerns: medical, financial, mental health, or any life issue that impacts your academic performance. You can share a concern for yourself, a classmate or a friend.

Office of Disability Services
The Office of Disability Services (ODS) provides students with confidential accommodation services in order to allow students with documented physical, mental, and learning disabilities to successfully complete their course of study at Rutgers University – Camden. ODS provides for the confidential documentation and verification of student accommodations, and communicates with faculty regarding disabilities and accommodations. The ODS provides accommodation services, which can include readers, interpreters, alternate text, special equipment, and note takers. The ODS also works with students, faculty, staff and administrators to enforce the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. https://learn.camden.rutgers.edu/disability-services

Office of Military and Veterans Affairs
The Office of Military and Veterans Affairs can assist our military and veteran students with benefits, deployment issues and much more. Contact: Fred Davis 856-225-2791 frdavis@camden.rutgers.edu

Support for Undocumented and Immigrant Students
In an ongoing effort to support all students on campus, Rutgers University has established two offices to support undocumented and immigrant students with questions or concerns related to immigration status. The Rutgers Immigrant Community Assistance Project (RICAP) provides free and confidential immigration legal consultations and direct representation to currently enrolled students. For more information or an appointment, contact Jason Hernandez, Esq., at 856-225-2302 or jason.c.hernandez@rutgers.edu. The Rutgers Office of Undocumented Student Services provides one-on-one case management to assist undocumented students and help them access campus resources including financial aid, career services, health services, etc.

Schedule

UNIT 1: WHEN DID THE FIRE START?

1/19
In Class: Syllabus review, course introduction

1/24
Read: Hicks - "When did the fire start?" (11-26)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

1/26
Read: "ELIZA" Wikipedia article
In Class: Lab Session, ELIZA

1/27
ELIZA lab report due

UNIT 2: IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK
1/31
Read: "Platforms are Infrastructures on Fire" (313-326)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

2/2
Read: "Platforms are Infrastructures on Fire" (326-336)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

2/7
Read: "Source Code Isn't" (273-286)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

2/9 no class meeting
Read: "Source Code Isn't" (286-295)
Watch: Lecture slides video on Canvas

2/14 no class meeting
Read: "Your AI is a Human" (51-67)
Extra Credit Exam Question Due by 5:00pm

2/16
Re-read: "Your AI is a Human" (51-67)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

2/21
Read: "Your Robot isn't Neutral" (199-212)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

2/23
Read: "You can't make games about much" (231-236)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

2/28
Read: "You can't make games about much" (236-249)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

3/2
Read: "Howling Dogs"
In Class: Lab session, Twine

3/3
Twine lab report due

3/7
MIDTERM REVIEW SESSION
Read: Your notes
In Class: Review session

3/9
MIDTERM EXAM

3/14-3/16. NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK

UNIT 3: GLOBAL DIGITAL STUDIES
3/21
Read: "The Internet will be Decolonized" (91-101)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

3/23
Read: "The Internet will be Decolonized" (101-115)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

3/28
Read: "Typing is Dead" (337-350)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

3/30
Read: "Typing is Dead" (350-360)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/4
No assigned reading
In Class: Lab Session - Taroko Gorge

4/6
Read: "Broken is Word" (213-230)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/7
Taroko Gorge lab report due

UNIT 4: DIGITAL INEQUALITY
4/11
Read: "Sexism is a feature, not a bug" (135-147)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/13
Read: "Sexism is a feature, not a bug" (147-158)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/18
Read: "Gender is a Corporate Tool" (159-170)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/20
Read: "Gender is a Corporate Tool" (170-178)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/25
Read: "Siri Disciplines" (179-197)
In Class: Lecture and reading discussion

4/27
Read: TBA
In Class: Lab Session, Joyce Weisbecker Paper Prototyping Lab

4/28
Joyce Weisbecker Paper Prototyping Lab Report Due

5/2
Read: Your notes
In Class: Final exam review and prep

5/11, 8:00am
FINAL EXAM

Assignments and Exams

Lab Reports (20%)

During the semester, you will complete four lab reports. Each report is worth five points, making lab reports worth 20% of your final grade.

During these lab sessions, you will work in groups to investigate some digital object or tool. Primarily, these sessions will be self directed. I will be able to answer questions, but your main task during labs is to explore and tinker. This will mean successes and failures - some confusion is inevitable. That's part of the assignment!

Each person will submit their own lab report, and these will be submitted on Canvas.

Reports will have three sections:

Part A: Initial questions (no word limit)
List the initial questions you have about the tool or object we are analyzing. You will write these down during the first 10 or 15 minutes of our lab session. The questions should be as specific as possible. In this section, we want to set up an agenda for your group's lab session. What are you most interested in? What do you want to learn?

Part B: Lab Narrative (250 words maximum)
Provide a description of your group's interaction with the object. What did you try? What worked? What didn't work? Why? What strategies did you use to investigate this tool or object? How did your group collaborate?

Part C: Conclusions (250 words maximum)
Describe a potential project that would either use or examine this object/tool. You might describe a project that would use this tool/object in some way to answer a research question. Alternately, you might describe a project that would attempt to analyze or examine this tool or object--this would involve conducting some kind of critical analysis of the tool or object. Your proposed project could take a number of forms. Here's a list of possibilities, but this list is not exhaustive: a historical analysis, a "remix" of this tool or object that changes its functionality, an analysis of its design, a proposed redesign of this technology, a research paper about the creator(s) of this tool or object, etc. No matter what, you should take this section to describe the potential project you have in mind. Remember that you don't have to actually complete the project. You only need to describe it, but you should be as specific as possible. In these 250 words, you should begin to describe what the proposed project is, how you would approach such a project, and what you think it might accomplish.


Each lab report is worth five points. Here are the grade criteria I will use when evaluating lab reports. If your report falls in between these descriptions, your grade will reflect that. For instance, if you fall between the description of a "5" and a "3-4" you could receive a grade of 4.5

5
The lab report offers a detailed and extensive list of initial questions that go beyond surface level concerns, demonstrating that the student is thinking carefully about how to best explore and understand the tool or object. The lab narrative provides a detailed account of the group's activities, describing the collaborative and exploratory strategies used by the group. The conclusions section demonstrates careful thinking about a potential project and shows an understanding of what the tool or object can do and what it can't do. This lab report is carefully written, free of grammatical errors, and observes the word limits described above.

3-4
The lab report offers a partial list of questions that is moderately detailed. There is some evidence that the student has considered the best ways to explore this tool or object. The lab narrative offers a general, rather than specific, description of the group's activities. The conclusions section begins to describe a potential project, though that project is not fully articulated and may not demonstrate an understanding of the how the object works, what it can do, and what it can't do. The report may have benefited from more revision to attend to the clarity of writing, has grammatical errors, and/or may not observe the word limits.

0-2
The lab report offers few questions and the questions it does offer are too general. There is little or no evidence that the student has carefully considered what they want to learn about the tool or object. The lab narrative is incomplete or too general and does not fully account for the group's activities. The conclusions section does not offer enough detail and does not demonstrate an understanding of the tool/object's affordances and constraints. The report may have significant issues with clarity and grammatical errors, which prevent the reader from understanding the content of the report. The lab report does not observe word limits.

Google Doc Reading Notes (20%)

We will do a good bit of reading in this class, and I will ask you to take notes on those readings. Each student will maintain a Google document for reading notes. These documents will serve multiple purposes. First, they provide you with a space to take notes on the readings and mark places where you have questions to ask during class. Second, these documents will demonstrate to me that you are keeping up with and engaging with the readings. Finally, you will be able to use a printed version of this document during the midterm and final exams. For all of these reasons, it is to your benefit to take detailed reading notes.

Every Friday at 9:00am, I will check in on your Google doc to ensure that you have taken notes on that week's reading.

Each of these weekly "check ins" is worth 1.5 points, and they cannot be made up at a later date.

I am not grading you on the quality of your notes, but I am checking to see that you've made a good faith effort to take detailed notes on each chapter. Again, these check ins are primarily to make sure that you are keeping up with the reading, and the grading is credit/no credit. However, keep in mind that it is to your benefit to keep detailed reading notes as this will help you immensely on the exams.

Midterm Exam (30%)

The midterm exam will take place March 2 and will cover all material that we've read and discussed to that point in the course. During the exam, you are allowed to use your reading notes. To use those notes, you must print out your Google document and bring it to the exam.

Final Exam (30%)

The midterm exam will take place May 11 at 8:00am and will cover all material that we've read and discussed from March 9 through May 2. During the exam, you are allowed to use your reading notes. To use those notes, you must print out your Google document and bring it to the exam.