This course serves as the foundation introduction to the “Communication and Technology” area of the Communication department and the “Human Systems” track of Information Science.

COURSE OVERVIEW

This course addresses three approaches to understanding technology and its role in human behavior and society. The course will begin by discussing the factors that inform and shape the design of everyday objects and our virtual world, considering research in human-computer interactions that reflects and reveals communication practices and contexts. Next, the course will examine the psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication and virtual collaboration, including impression relations, group dynamics and social networks. Finally, the course will explore the ways in which human communication is altering social and institutional structures, such as the creation of public goods, new means of social protest, and the infiltration of surveillance into daily life.

COURSE GOALS

The overall goal for the course is to introduce students to the three main lenses we use to understand communication and technology: design, psychological, and societal. There are multiple objectives intended for a wide variety of student backgrounds and goals including: · Mastering theoretical concepts: Students will learn main concepts and principles that are the basis for upper level coursework in Communication and Information Science. · Applying theory to novel technologies and innovations: Students will practice, and become skilled in, analyzing both current and new technologies in terms of empirically established theories and models of human behavior. · Evaluating theories of communication technologies critically: Students will appreciate how humans adapt to technology and use it for social purposes. · Understanding of research methods for communication technologies: Students will form an awareness of research methods that are used to study social behavior related to new communication technology.