Fordham University
Summer 2024
Privacy and Surveillance (DTEM4440) Syllabus
This online course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Spring 2024
Resistance & Global Activism (DTEM3500) Syllabus
This course is designed to generate a robust understanding of theories explaining the background to why and how groups mobilize to defend or resist power. Through the study of the theories and practices of past and present collective action, this course will offer the participant an understanding of the nature of these forms of political behavior. We will look at the major theories that sociologists and political scientists have created to explain the mobilization and outcomes of social movements. Following a rigorous grounding in social movement theory, the course will then move on to an analysis of recent protests around the globe in order to apply the theoretical frameworks to the action on the ground.
Digital Media Ethics (DTEM4430) Syllabus
This course comprehensively overviews our data-driven society’s current ethical and social implications. We start by learning some fundamental principles of ethics and technology and then explore the ethical responsibilities of being a data/information professional. We then look at ethical and social issues that emerge throughout the data lifecycle, including how data is collected, stored, shared, and analyzed. Finally, we will engage more deeply with various data-rich contexts’ ethical and social dimensions, including law enforcement, education, health care, and the workplace.
Digital Cultures (DTEM1402) Syllabus
Digital cultures (DC) consist of the cultures that are situated in, and supported by, the new digital media platforms and devices. The major differences between DC and pre-digital culture stem from the affordances and characteristics of the new media techniques, such as interactivity, simultaneousness, multitasking, convergence and immediacy. These devices and techniques and our adoption of them have altered the way people express cultural identity.
Fall 2023
As part of my Norwegian Fulbright at the University of Bergen I taught Dikult 106 Critical Approaches to Technology & Society Syllabus
Welcome to DiKult106, a course that explores the connection between technology and society. The basic underlying premise of a course such as this is that technology is not neutral. Technology shapes the ways in which we behave as individuals, groups, and societies. This does not mean technology forces us to behave in specific ways, but it does nudge our behaviors in certain directions. The accumulation of these ‘nudges’ creates countercultures, subcultures, and some may eventually form part of mainstream culture.
Spring 2023
Digital Media Ethics (DTEM4430) syllabus and resource page.
This course comprehensively overviews our data-driven society’s current ethical and social implications. We start by learning some fundamental principles of ethics and technology and then explore the ethical responsibilities of being a data/information professional. We then look at ethical and social issues that emerge throughout the data lifecycle, including how data is collected, stored, shared, and analyzed. Finally, we will engage more deeply with various data-rich contexts’ ethical and social dimensions, including law enforcement, education, health care, and the workplace.
Digital Cultures (DTEM1402) syllabus and resource page.
Digital cultures (DC) consist of the cultures that are situated in, and supported by, the new digital media platforms and devices. The major differences between DC and pre-digital culture stem from the affordances and characteristics of the new media techniques, such as interactivity, simultaneousness, multitasking, convergence and immediacy. These devices and techniques and our adoption of them have altered the way people express cultural identity.
Fall 2022
Introduction to Digital Technology & Emerging Media (DTEM1401) syllabus and resource page.
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
Digital Cultures (DTEM1402) syllabus and resource page.
Digital cultures (DC) consist of the cultures that are situated in, and supported by, the new digital media platforms and devices. The major differences between DC and pre-digital culture stem from the affordances and characteristics of the new media techniques, such as interactivity, simultaneousness, multitasking, convergence and immediacy. These devices and techniques and our adoption of them have altered the way people express cultural identity.
Privacy and Surveillance (DTEM4440) syllabus and resource page.
This online course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Spring 2022
Introduction to Digital Technology & Emerging Media (DTEM1401) Sections R01 & R02 syllabus and resource page.
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
Privacy and Surveillance (DTEM4440) Syllabus and resource page.
This online course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Fall 2021
Digital Culture (DTEM1402) syllabus and resource page
Digital cultures (DC) consist of the cultures that are situated in, and supported by, the new digital media platforms and devices. The major differences between DC and pre-digital culture stem from the affordances and characteristics of the new media techniques, such as interactivity, simultaneousness, multitasking, convergence and immediacy. These devices and techniques and our adoption of them have altered the way people express cultural identity.
Digital Resistance: Political activism and protest online (Honors Program) syllabus and resource page
Summer 21
Privacy and Surveillance (DTEM4440) Syllabus and Additional materials.
This online course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Notes for Module 1, Module 2, Module 3, Module 4, and Module 5.
Digital Property: Rights, Policies, and Practice (DTEM2450) Syllabus and additional materials
This course will discuss the roots and rationale of property, focus on the development and practice of intellectual property. Through this understanding of copyright the course will also introduce the participants to various forms of copyright licensing, free and open source software, copyleft theories, and open access questions. This course is aimed to those who will work in the digital media environment and will provide a framework for understanding how intellectual property impacts this work. After the course the participants will have a grasp of the role of copyright in the digital environment, the role of technology in the regulation of property rights, and gain insights into the function and practices of intellectual property licensing.
Spring 21
Introduction to Digital Technology and Emerging Media DTEM1401 (both sections) Syllabus and additional materials
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
Privacy and Surveillance DTEM4440 Syllabus and additional materials
This online course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Fall 2020
Digital Resistance: Political activism and protest online (Honors Program, Fall 2020) Syllabus & Additional Materials
This course studies the proliferation, and implications, of digital technology in political resistance. The goal is to provide students with analytical tools and skills for understanding the strengths, weaknesses of contemporary digital resistance. The course’ perspective is on the resistance that is played out in the ‘everyday life’ of ‘ordinary’ people: a resistance that might be widespread and diffused, individual or small scale, implicitly political, disguised or even hidden. It brings to light how the ‘private’ or ‘personal’ can be political and explores the creativity of ‘cultural resistance’.
Introduction to Digital Technology and Emerging Media (DTEM1401, Fall 2020) Syllabus & Additional Materials
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
Summer 2020
Privacy and Surveillance (DTEM4440) ONLINE Syllabus & Additional Materials
This online course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Spring 2020
Digital Property: Rights, Policies, and Practice (DTEM2450) Spring 2020 – Syllabus & Additional Materials
This course will discuss the roots and rationale of property, focus on the development and practice of intellectual property. Through this understanding of copyright the course will also introduce the participants to various forms of copyright licensing, free and open source software, copyleft theories, and open access questions.
This course is aimed to those who will work in the digital media environment and will provide a framework for understanding how intellectual property impacts this work. After the course the participants will have a grasp of the role of copyright in the digital environment, the role of technology in the regulation of property rights, and gain insights into the function and practices of intellectual property licensing.
Fall 2019
Introduction to Digital Technology & Emerging Media (DTEM1401) Fall 2019 – Syllabus & Additional Materials
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
Digital Media & Advocacy (DTEM3475) Fall 2019 – Syllabus & Additional Materials
To better understand media use in movements, the course will explore both theoretical and empirical literature and look at core concepts and current research in areas like: social media; political mobilization; media framing; social movements; collective identity; tactical media; protest cycles; civil rights; democratic process; civil disobedience and more. The course will look at major social theory from the fields of media, sociology and political science
Summer 2019
Privacy & Surveillance (DTEM 4440) Summer 2019 – Syllabus & Additional Materials
The question of privacy is always connected to people’s ability to snoop. The discussion of privacy began to become serious with the development of cheap, portable cameras in the 1880s. Since then our ability to spy on each other has grown exponentially. And our privacy has inevitably declined. The purpose of this course is to explore and analyze what privacy is, and should be, in the age of everyday technology (such as, social media, smartphones, drones and cheap DNA tests). The course will explore the actions of governments, corporations and neighbors to deepen our knowledge in the rights we have, while opening up for the discussion about the rights we may need in the future.
Spring 2019
Introduction to Digital Technology & Emerging Media (DTEM 1401) Spring 2019 – Syllabus & additional materials
Using the show Black Mirror as a backdrop this course will explore the impact of emerging technology on our everyday lives. In order to familiarize the participants with a breadth of the impact of technology, the course aims to cover a wide array of topics including: Identity, participatory culture, privacy, selfies, digital memory, quantified self, platforms of control, media Influencers, and AstroTurfing. The participants are encouraged to analyze and discuss the intended and unintended consequences of the technologies we rely on.
Privacy & Surveillance (DTEM 4440) Spring 2019 – Syllabus & additional materials
This course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Fall 2018
Introduction to Digital Technology & Emerging Media (DTEM 1401) Fall 2018 – Syllabus & additional materials
Marco Verch Black USB plug CC BY
The course Introduction to Digital Technology and Emerging Media offers a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of communication in a digital world. Through a series of readings, lectures and assignments, students study the rhetoric, history, theory, and practice of new media. This course will also rely heavily on episodes of the Black Mirror television show as a starting point for many of the discussions and explorations into the uses and abuses of new media.
Summer 2018
Privacy & Surveillance (DTEM 4440) Summer 2018 – Syllabus & additional materials
Welcome to the surveillance society! The closest surveillance camera is probably not far from you, the device on which you are reading this is monitored on many levels, not to mention most of the apps you use daily. It’s not an exaggeration to say that you are part of the most surveilled generation. This course looks at the theories and practices of surveillance. It explores the philosophical and practical sides of privacy. Using examples from media, popular culture, and the city around us we will create a better understanding of who is watching, why they are watching, what it means to be watched, and the counter-strategies that exist to counteract surveillance and preserve privacy. Can you imagine a better way to begin the summer?
Spring 2018
Social Media & Civic Engagement (PMMA 5201) Spring 2018 – Syllabus & additional materials
The goal of this course is to explore the impact of new technology and emerging media on civic engagement. Through an exploration of social movements, technology, and a focus on case studies the course will explore the role of social media in the political process and engagement in civic life. The course will also provide the participants with the opportunity to analyze the impact of technologically mediated engagement. The course will be a mix of theoretical exploration and practical analysis. The former through seminars and readings and the latter through a practical application of theory on internet based campaigns and social movements.
Privacy & Surveillance (DTEM 4440) Spring 2018 – Syllabus & additional materials
This course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication. Through the study, analysis and application of privacy & surveillance theory the participant will develop a firmer understanding of the role of surveillance on society and its impact on privacy.
Fall 2017
Digital Cultures (DTEM 1402) Fall 2017 – Syllabus & additional materials
Digital cultures (DC) consist of the cultures that are situated in, and supported by, the new digital media platforms and devices. The major differences between DC and pre-digital culture stem from the affordances and characteristics of the new media techniques,
such as interactivity, simultaneousness, multitasking, convergence and immediacy. These devices and techniques and our adoption of them have altered the way people express cultural identity.
Culture is a complex and difficult concept and digital likewise. The culmination of the two gives for a problematic theoretical concept that is hard to describe, let alone definitively define. The study of DC explores the consequences and meaning of technical innovations in social media, economics, politics, social life and more through the observation of the artifacts and rituals connected with digital technologies and new media.
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
Introduction to Digital Technology and Emerging Media (DTEM 1401) Fall 2017 – Syllabus & additional materials
The course Introduction to Digital Technology and Emerging Media offers a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of communication in a digital world. Through a series of readings, lectures and assignments, students study the rhetoric, history, theory, and practice of new media.
As the digital media landscape is constantly evolving, this course will take a specific interest in understanding the evolution of media technologies and investigate the emergence of older forms of “new” media, from the original internet to big data, from graphical user interfaces to social media platforms. As we do so, we will focus on how we use digital media, and how that use impacts individual identities, connections between people, our knowledge levels, relationships of power, and so on.
UMASS BOSTON
Spring 2017
Communication & Social Mobilization (Comm 340) Spring 2017 – Syllabus
Social Movements are collective, organized, sustained, and non-institutional challenges to authorities, power-holders, or cultural beliefs and practices. The focus of this course is on social movements as a collective challenge to authority, whose aim is to change society or institute structural changes in an existing state or organization. The purpose of this course is to explore the role of communication and media in social movements. Therefore, while reading about many aspects of social movements the course participants will maintain a communication lens. This course will allow participants to collaboratively explore frameworks, methods, and tools for understanding networked social movements in the digital media ecology. To better understand media use in movements, the course will explore both theoretical and empirical literature and look at core concepts and current research in areas like: social media; political mobilization; media framing; social movements; collective identity; tactical media; protest cycles; civil rights; democratic process; civil disobedience and more. The course will look at major social theory from the fields of media, sociology and political science Through the introduction of theoretical works and case studies on a range of current and historical social movements in both democratic and nondemocratic state settings. The aim is to give participants a solid foundation of communication & media theory in relation to social movements. Upon completion, participants will be able to contextualize and analyze social movements and understand the critical role of media & communication to their development and growth.
(Older version: Fall 2015 syllabus)
New Media Society (Comm 200) Spring 2017 – Syllabus
The purpose of this course is to study how “new media” such as digital devices, social networking, social media, mobility lead to new practices that influence all facets of community, social relationships, and public and private spaces.
Fall 2016
Privacy (Comm 480) Fall 2016 – Syllabus
Privacy has always been connected to the ability to snoop, and for most of history the power and technology to snoop has been in the hands of governments. However, the past two decades has seen a radical technological shift that has taken the power to snoop and put it in the hands of everyday people. At the same time, governments have also employed technology and their ability to snoop has radically increased. One effect of all this surveillance is a lack of understanding or energy to deal with its effects. This course will explore the effects of surveillance technologies from the everyday devices to the most sophisticated. It will analyze the effects of technology on society, culture and law. Students will gain insights into the impact of surveillance and technological empowerment on communication.
(Older version of course Spring 2016)
Hate Speech & Propaganda (Comm 380) Fall 2016 – Syllabus
It is a comfortable error to associate propaganda with war and hate speech with bigots, and by doing this make them less relevant to our everyday lives. However, this is to underappreciate the instances of propaganda and hate speech in everyday life. The goal of this course is to better understand the concepts of propaganda and hate speech. By learning the concepts, and studying the practices, of propaganda the participant will become more aware of the ways in which propaganda is everywhere and permeates almost everything. By studying hate speech and propaganda this course will connect these tools to the ways in which groups are alienated and used in larger political goals. We will interrogate what ideology is, how it can be identified, where it is created and maintained in politics and popular culture. By looking more deeply we will see propagandistic rhetoric in a wide array of contexts, spanning from war, elections, activism, marketing and embedded within popular culture. The course will leave the participant with a greater appreciation between the interplay between communication, ideology, and propaganda from an historical and theoretical perspective, and provide valuable skills to interpret and respond to propaganda and hate speech.
Media & Society (PCSCOR350) Fall 2016 (together with Dr. Gregg) – Syllabus
We live in an age where the media dominate our social, political, and interpersonal interactions. In this age of “mediocracy,” it is vital for us to become active, critical consumers of media. The purpose of this course is to provide you with knowledge and skills to critically analyze media contents and institutions. Topics examined in the course include, but are not limited to, media economics, media and political regulations, media representations of the real world, media audiences, and globalization and media.
Spring 2016
News Media and Political Power (Comm 365) Spring 2016 – Syllabus
The news media are sometimes called the fourth branch of government—and for good reason. Much of our exposure to politics comes not from direct experience but from mediated stories. This course is designed to help you think about this relationship between the news media and politics. We will explore how news organizations decide what is news, how they report it, how those reports have an impact on viewers or readers, and ultimately, the political system.
Fall 2015
Political Communication (Comm 350) Fall 2015 – Syllabus
Political communication is an interdisciplinary field found at the intersections of communication, media and journalism studies, political science and sociology. Its theoretical foundations and empirical approaches are diverse, drawn as they are from those different fields. And as one of the field of communication’s primary subfields, it is characterized with its focus on developing and answering research questions rather than the development of unified intellectual traditions. Given this, the course is designed to introduce students to major works and topics in this interdisciplinary field. Its reading list is designed to include both ‘classics’ in the field and state-of-the-field work. Political communication’s breadth and diversity makes it difficult to claim comprehensiveness in such a survey, and the choices made here necessarily reflect the interests and expertise of the instructor. The course’s overarching structure follows three major themes: the role of media in society, with particular focus on journalism and news media, how their work is done, and relationships to citizens; the media effects tradition, and what it has contributed to our understanding of media’s impacts on public opinion; and the place of political communications in civic life, with particular concern for media’s role in larger social structures, political communication outside of the media, and the future of citizenship and civic engagement in new media.
Civic Media (Comm 371) Syllabus
Communication Ethics (Comm 201) Syllabus