SOCI221 –Sociology of Cyberspace
Meeting 5: October 6, 2014
From Social Dynamics to Midsemester
Social Networks
Logistics
- Contributions Self-Assessement due October 13
- Active learning
- Rarely modified
- Peer-ratings
- Midterm on October 20
- Doing sociology with Internet
- Talk after break
Past Week
Social Dynamics
Activity: Digital Inclusion
- Relevant factors?
- Experiences?
- Diversity of perspectives?
Required Texts
- Latour, Bruno. “Networks, Societies, Spheres: Reflections of an Actor-network Theorist.” International Journal of Communication 5 (2011): 796–810. http://lar.me/2-o
- Kreiss, D., M. Finn, and F. Turner. “The Limits of Peer Production: Some Reminders from Max Weber for the Network Society.” New Media & Society 13, no. 2 (October 12, 2010): 243–259. doi:10.1177/1461444810370951. http://lar.me/2-p
Latour
Latour, Bruno. “Networks, Societies, Spheres: Reflections of an Actor-network Theorist.” International Journal of Communication 5 (2011): 796–810. http://lar.me/2-o
- Network society?
- Classical sociology?
- Agency?
Kreiss et al.
Kreiss, D., M. Finn, and F. Turner. “The Limits of Peer Production: Some Reminders from Max Weber for the Network Society.” New Media & Society 13, no. 2 (October 12, 2010): 243–259. doi:10.1177/1461444810370951. http://lar.me/2-p
- Bureaucracy
- Peer production vs. prosumption
- Dialogue
Coming Up…
Midsemester
Activity: Network Graph
- Make a list of ten people with whom you interact on a regular basis (friends, family, coworkers…)
- Give an initial to each of these people.
- Separately, list or map out the relationships between these people. Who knows whom?
- What can you say about this social graph? Is it a dense network? Are you the only person connecting this group?
- Post a brief thought about this graph.
Contributions
- Grade on 10 and quick explanation
- Extra mile? Made a difference?
- Not attendance or expected work.
- Not really assignment.
- May change grade if really out of whack.
Midterm
- Short answers (a sentence or two): two points each, probably four out of six
- Open questions (a paragraph): three points each, probably four out of six
- Apply concepts (e.g. “prosumption” on Facebook?)
- Show you really understand: explain to somebody else
- Broader issues, topics, concepts on doing sociology with the Internet
After Midterm
Social Inequalities
Required Texts
Van Dijk, Jan AGM. “Inequalities in the Network Society.” In Digital Sociology: Critical Perspectives, edited by Kate Orton-Johnson and Nick Prior, 105–124. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
Kendall, Lori. “Meaning and Identity in ‘Cyberspace’: The Performance of Gender, Class, and Race Online.” Symbolic Interaction 21, no. 2 (May 1998): 129–153. doi:10.1525/si.1998.21.2.129.
Van Dijk
Van Dijk, Jan AGM. “Inequalities in the Network Society.” In Digital Sociology: Critical Perspectives, edited by Kate Orton-Johnson and Nick Prior, 105–124. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
- Digital Democracy
- Social Network Analysis
Kendall
Kendall, Lori. “Meaning and Identity in ‘Cyberspace’: The Performance of Gender, Class, and Race Online.” Symbolic Interaction 21, no. 2 (May 1998): 129–153. doi:10.1525/si.1998.21.2.129.
- MUDs
- Generic categories
- Privilege (“Invisible Knapsack”)
- Identity play