Goals

1. We'll work to define the role of the individual in society in terms of the Internet (see computer ethics). Ethical concerns generally mediate the metaphysical and the legal. When we talk about ethics, we're talking about human values and moral codes. In terms of cyberculture, ethics fall somewhere in the "grey area" between the disembodied world of individuals online, stripped perhaps to an e-mail address or URL along a digital network, and the material world of right and wrong and the policies that society has established to ensure normative conduct.

   But the norms, like the times, are changing. The emerging Net technologies pose challenges to our values and laws that haven't yet been satisfactorily addressed either by cultural consensus or more formal public policy. Should the laws be different for cyberspace?
   

2. Our class Assignments and Discussion will encourage Critical Thinking. We'll develop our ability to evaluate this new online world and make decisions about how we, as a group and as individuals, envision cyberspace and cyberculture. To what extent are the same old problems of the "real" world being revisited? To what extent can we start over and create a better, more informed, more egalitarian virtual society? If so, what would this pluralist society be like and why? What does every cybercitizen need to know? While our initial reactions to the Net may be to find aspects of it "cool" or "scary," there is much more to discover and consider.
   
   
3. As can be seen from the Schedule, we'll immerse ourselves in Readings and Surfings, in paper and online. Over the past few years, a great deal has been written about cyberculture, and we'll look at a range of materials. The reading gets heavier as the semester progresses. We'll start out slowly so that those at introductory skills levels have a chance to catch up with some of the more advanced Net navigators. If it turns out that we can move more quickly, we will. As is fitting for a course that explores the cultural aspects of the Digital Age, the overall goal for the semester is to touch on the various technologies and issues that are shaping and problematizing the future of our society.

Requirements [top]

1. All students contribute to the oral and online class Discussion.
   
   
2. All students write a Critical Essay on Neuromancer and/or 2001. These aren't entertainment reviews or research papers in the usual sense, but critical analyses. These 4-6 page essays should show thoughtful consideration of what the content of the text tells us, the audience, and the implications of the associated technology and how it's being used. (Put in old fashioned terms, a good essay should explore the relationship and tension between form and content.) The essays must be written in your own words and reflect your own interests and area of expertise. They must be submitted on time, written clearly and concisely, and have been carefully proofread.
   
   
3. All students will take a midterm exam. Details will be announced.
   
   
4. In the second half of the semster, students have a choice between writing on one of the Technoprophets (Option A) or making a Web Project (Option B), discussed separately.
   
   
5. The final exam will follow from the above. This take-home exam will draw on the class discussion and readings, as well as independent searching online through different applications and media.