The reading and surfing list follows, and largely functions as an interactive coursepak and bibliography. Since so much is available online, only the bulleted titles below need to be purchased at the Textbook Store in the Bryan Center. Others as indicated will be placed on reserve at Perkins Library.*

The Readings (cites, bibliography, real world, atoms) are separated into: Required Texts, Recommended Texts, and Relevant Periodicals. The list probably seems formidable, but in actuality we'll only read selections from these texts, some of which are visual and experiential rather than verbal (film and CD-ROM games). Ethical concerns, like the Net, cut across the disciplines, which means that the resources we have to draw on are varied and rich. We'll work together to get past the "boggle."

The Surfings (sites, bookmarks, cyberspace, bits) are separated into: Ethical, Legal and Civic, Techno-Cultural Media, and Voices. Rather than being comprehensive, the selected sites are intended to help us get started and to illustrate the range of issues and materials. Students making Web Projects will want to look through the lists for ethical topics of interest. I've bulleted those pointers that might be most generally useful for the class. We'll build on this foundation as we discover more gems and establish our expertise in the field. Please note that the links on these pages are badly in need of updating that I plan to get to later on in the semester.

The search engines below and at the bottom of subsequent pages are provided by web taxi and Thunderstone who have been generous enough to customize their application for E&I. Use them to search within the syllabus and to find related sites on the Net. I'll provide pointers on their specific functions at the beginning of the semester.

The weekly readings and surfings are posted on the Week-by-Week page and are supplemented by the list of Technoprophets. Generally I'll expect you to read the readings and skim or surf the surfings, although some blurring of boundaries is to be expected. We'll discuss this further in class.

Keep in mind that, except for the required texts, the lists of readings and surfings are subject to change.

Required Texts

(listed by author -- purchase or borrow the bulleted titles)

 

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Barlow, John Perry

John Perry Barlow Library (1960s - present)

Baudrillard, Jean

• Simulations (1983), trans. by Paul Foss, Paul Patton, and Philip Beitchman

Branscomb, Anne Wells

• Who Owns Information? From Privacy to Public Access (1994)

Brook, James and Iain A. Boal, eds.

• Resisting the Virtual Life: The Culture and Politics of Information (1995)

Cavazos, Edward A. and Gavino Morin

• Cyberspace and the Law: Your Rights and Duties in the Online World (1994)

Gibson, William

• Neuromancer (1984)

Kahin, Brian and James Keller, eds.

Public Access to the Internet (1995) [reserve]

McLuhan, Marshall

Understanding McLuhan (1996), CD-ROM anthology [reserve]

Miller, Robyn and Rand

Myst (1994), hypermedia CD-ROM game [reserve]

Negroponte, Nicholas

Being Digital (1995) [reserve] -- see Negroponte's monthly column in Wired

Rheingold, Howard

The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (1993) [reserve] -- see Rheingold's hyperlinked list of readings on Virtual Communities

Stork, David G.

Hal's Legacy: 2001's Compuer As Dream and Reality (1997) [reserve]

Turkle, Sherry

Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet (1995) [reserve]

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*Many of the readings and surfings require Web access and the most recent version of Netscape or MSIE. If you are in this class and anticipate trouble with acessing the texts and sites, let me know so we can devise a workaround at the beginning of the semester.

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Readings | Required Texts | Recommended Texts | Relevant Periodicals
Surfings | Ethical | Legal and Civic | Techno-Cultural Media | Voices