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Introduction

· Read 2/16/2021

  • Gaming is the canary in the coal mine for culture

    • Live-streaming
    • Gamergate: Practice run for alt-right
  • TL's books

    • Latest: watchmeplay.cc
    • Can ask for free PDFs
  • AOIR.org, 4s (STS conference)
  • This class is basically “Internet and society”, “critical Internet studies.” Not just communities, but also governance and policy.
  • Sociology is quite behind in technology stuff. Many 90s sociology PhDs have ended up in communications departments.
  • Monograph (book) is an important form of scholarly communication. All books we read are ethnographically, qualitatively deep. This year we’ll also be reading Data & Society, Shorenstein Center, etc reports.
  • Get to a mindset where the stuff we read is material to work with in preparation for our conversations

    • Come in with collectively lots to discuss
    • The preparation pays off
    • Seminar class; we’d be sitting at a long oval table in person
  • “I am a very slow reader, so I know I gotta bake in some extra time and I like to notate with my pen”
  • If we miss a class, lean on classmates, not just professor
  • Hope is that we’re connected with each other by the end of the course
  • Discussion

    • Looking at gallery view feels like being a security guard
    • Separate conversation happening in chat during class can be cool
    • But let's set some conventions around it: collectively manage and moderate; bring up things aloud if relevant
    • Chat is a game changer for big lectures
    • Glimpse into the thought processes of the most engaged students
    • Multiple partial attentions… eh, not really
    • Audio: Mic on feels more engaged, but I get worried about making noise
  • Happy to give extensions w/ S^3 note, for religious holiday in advance, etc.
  • WCC

    • Pre-book in advance
    • We’re not “we want to make your paper better,” it’s “we want to make your writing better”
  • Grading

    • Participation: 25%
    • Book review (1000 words): 30%. Last sem one of the students got theirs published in a major venue. We’ll all be reviewing the same book: Phillips, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
    • Research paper (3000 words): 30%. Could be primary research (more for grad students) or just an extensive lit review
    • Final presentation: 15%
  • ~5 grad students, ~10 undergrads
  • PDF proxy: no way to retain annotations
  • Course preview

    • Thursday: dip our toes into Internet history
    • Next week: heaviest theory/conceptual week. Technological <> social is a circuit
    • Trolling
    • Disinfo, QAnon, dark participation, Will Partin (UNC, Data & Society) visit
    • Moderation, TBD visit (possibly Twitch lawyer)
    • Youth and social media, especially Black youth
    • Week 13: TBD
  • We'll watch some documentaries, like Feels Good Man about the Pepe meme