• New Media Culture
    • COMM 4622
      • Section 01: TF 9:50 am - 11:30 am
      • Section 02: TF 1:35 pm - 3:15 pm
      • Joseph Reagle, Ph.D.
        • <email address>
        • +1 (617) 373-4855
        • Office hours: TU 3:30pm - 4:30pm or by appointment
        • Comm Studies, 215 Holmes Hall (Tip: Enter at 41A Leon St. (Earth and Environmental Sciences), take the left door and go up two flights of stairs; my office is then the second door on the right.)
    • Policy
      • Course objectives
        • This course will touch on elements of new media's history, production, and the interesting issues that arise from its use (e.g., media convergence and privacy). However, our primary focus will be on understanding the varied cultures of online communities' culture. Consequently, this course will give you:
        • an understanding of culture and related concepts.
        • an understanding of how culture relates to behavior, community, identity and language.
        • an opportunity to engage in cultural analysis.
        • an introduction to contemporary issues and concerns of new media.
        • experience with using a simple markup language (i.e., Markdown via pandoc).
      • Course requirements
        • Attendance: Your attendance and participation in discussion are expected; this entails coming to class on time, with the readings or any other assignments completed.
          • Best practice: Balance in discussion
        • Reading: Thorough coverage of the week’s required reading in advance of class is of utmost importance. If it becomes clear that students have not done the required reading, they may be asked to leave that class. Because I prefer to focus class time on discussing what is novel or confusing to the class, I do not spend a lot of time summarizing the reading. You will have already read and summarized the reading and should be prepared to offer insights, questions, critiques, and examples. Also, I do not assign an excessive amount of reading so if you're unfamiliar with basic background information, use a reference work -- Wikipedia is often handy! And feel free to ask for clarification in class. All questions are welcome and a really good question is one of the best contributions you can make.
        • Reading response
          • The per-class response (~200 words) is a mandatory assignment. You are required to submit your response before 8 AM of the day of the class. Your response should contribute to your understanding in that it prompts you to make sense of the texts and to add your own critical insights to what you’ve read. These responses also contribute to a much richer and more interesting class discussion. You should see this as an opportunity to practice your writing skills, so do not treat your response as you would an e-mail to your friends.
            • Best practice: Writing a response
          • While I ask that you use markdown, I recommend you compose your responses in a word processor -- for easier spell checking. Responses must be sent as plain text with a subject of 'nmc' + section + description, (e.g., "nmc02: Breaking up is hard to do -- online!").
          • In order to receive credit for a response, it must be complete, thoughtful, and on time. You may draw upon your own experience, but only if it highlights a thorough understanding of the text.
          • Five "freebies" are given on the responses: those lowest grades, including absences, will be dropped from the grade. Use these wisely. Even if you don't prepare a written response, you will still be expected to participate in class. Also, even if you know you will be absent from class, you may still send your response.
        • Exam: There will be one short in class exam near the beginning of the semester.
        • Papers: A short paper (5 pages) and a final paper (10 pages) are required. All papers should demonstrate a close reading of the required texts and exhibit a method of critical analysis.
        • Absence and late policy: In order to accommodate the inevitable cold or subway jam three "freebies" are given in attendance. Other absences or late assignments will affect the final grade.
        • Grading
          • Formula
            • 10pts Class participation
            • 20pts Reading responses
            • 20pts Exam
            • 20pts Analysis of NMC portrayal
            • 30pts Final paper
          • Rubric
            • In this class' grading scheme, a "B," for example, is not a subtraction from an initial state of an "A," but rather recognition of good and thorough work.
            • A = Excellent. Writing demonstrates impressive understanding of readings, discussions, themes and ideas. Written work is fluid, clear, analytical, well-organized and grammatically polished. Reasoning and logic are well-grounded and examples precise.
            • B = Good. Work demonstrates a thorough and solid understanding of readings, discussions, themes and ideas. Written work is clear and competent, but is somewhat general, a bit vague, or otherwise lacking in precision. While analytical, writing presents more description than analysis. Arguments are solid but not thoroughly original or polished.
            • C = Fair. Work demonstrates a somewhat fragmented understanding of readings, discussions, themes and ideas. Shows acquaintance with readings and ideas, but not intellectual engagement. Written work is choppy and argument somewhat difficult to follow, examples are vague or irrelevant, and ideas are imprecise. Work veers toward underdeveloped ideas, off-topic sources or examples, personal anecdotes, creative writing, memoir, etc.
            • D = Unsatisfactory. Work demonstrates little understanding or even acquaintance with readings, discussions, themes and ideas. Written work is choppy, fractured and unclear. Argument follows little logical development, or work presents little discernible argument whatsoever.
            • F = Failure / Unacceptable. Work does not demonstrate understanding of topics, ideas and readings. This is also the grade for work not submitted and plagiarized work.
            • See Student Evaluations for more
          • Students will often ask if I grade on a curve. If everyone did excellently -- something I would like to see and help make happen -- that would correspondingly be reflected. However, assessed grades typically follow a "curved" distribution: typically some work is excellent, a minority is unsatisfactory, and most is good.
      • Assignments
        • Preliminary descriptions of assignments are provided but may change prior to formal assignment.
        • Exam
          • An exam to test basic concepts learned at the beginning of the course.
        • Media portrayal of NMC
          • At this point in the semester we will have viewed and discussed a number of portrayals of new media and geek related cultures (e.g., The Guild and Southpark). In this assignment I want you to engage a similar portrayal using the discussions and themes we have encountered in the class so far.
          • This essay is to be ~5 pages (~1200 words) and must include the appropriate citations and bibliography (APA, MLA, or Chicago -- see Hacker), but requires no external readings. I recommend engaging at least 3 sources and 6 concepts/theories/arguments from the class, but also give thought to coherency. (That is, just don't cobble together a list of definitions.)
          • Propose a portrayal to me no later than one week before due with the scholar/concepts you are likely to use. You could use The Guild , The Legend of Neil , ./shutdown , Hackers (1995), some episodes of South Park , etc. (If you bring me a thumb drive during office hours, I can give you clips of what we've seen in class).
        • Final paper
          • Engage a topic of interest from class in greater depth!
          • This essay is to be ~10 pages (~2500 words) and must include the appropriate citations and bibliography (APA, MLA, or Chicago -- see Hacker) and at least two scholarly external sources.
          • Propose a topic to me no later than NOV 15: include your topic, external sources, and which scholars/concepts you plan on engaging.
        • Supplements

          • If you are so motivated, I specify a few additional assignments. These are only worth 1pt so I don't advise looking at them as "extra credit". However, if you wish to challenge yourself, I'm keen to help! You must discuss your idea with me before beginning. (a) Propose a reading for the course that is accepted; (b) post a reading summary to AcaWiki ; (c) make a significant contribution to Wikipedia .

    • Resources
      • Accessing materials: PDFs kept on Blackboard require you to log in there first; other resources may be accessed off-campus via LibX the library .
      • Course bibliography
        • formatted text
        • bibTeX file
      • References
        • Concepts
      • NU
        • Academic policies (attendance, absences, accommodations)
          • Academic integrity
            • "The promotion of independent and original scholarship ensures that students derive the most from their educational experience and their pursuit of knowledge." Violations include cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and participating in or encouraging dishonesty.
          • Major Religious Holy Days
        • Library resources
        • Writing center

          • NU makes both RefWorks and EndNote available to students, you can also use the freely available browser-based Zotero

      • Best Practices (BP)
        • This includes guidelines on how to read, make sense of concepts, choose essay topics, and bibliography
      • Books
        • Required
          • Gershon and Jenkins are the two books we will make most use of; notice that Jenkins' also has a handy glossary.
          • Ilana Gershon
            • The breakup 2.0: Disconnecting over new media
              • d=2010 a=Ithaca p=Cornell University Press i=9780801448591
          • Henry Jenkins
            • Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide
              • d=2006 a=New York p=New York University Press i=0814742815
        • Recommended
          • I still use the handbook I acquired as an undergraduate; it's wonderful to have a concise and easy guide for questions (e.g., when does punctuation go outside a quote mark?). When I give feedback on composition issues, I will reference this handbook.
          • Diana Hacker
            • A pocket style manual with 2009 MLA and 2010 APA updates
              • d=20100427 p=Bedford/St. Martin's ed=5 i=9780312664800

      • Pandoc markdown and online demo .

        • Class responses from sections 01 and 02 .
    • Classes
      • Welcome
        • An introduction to the class and of ourselves and interests.
        • Sep 09 Fri
          • N/A
      • New Media
        • What is the meaning of this "new media" and how does it relate to other media?
        • Sep 13 Tue
          • Gershon ch=2,3
        • Sep 16 Fri
          • Jenkins ch=0
      • Culture
        • What is culture? The organizational scholar Edgar Schein notes the many ways of understanding culture and provides a useful and concise definition. Furthermore, he discusses how it emerges and its keys components (i.e., artificats, beliefs/values, and assumptions). Gershon also gives us a similar approach on culture with respect to her notion "idioms of practice".
        • Sep 20 Tue
          • Edgar H. Schein
            • Organizational culture and leadership
              • d=2004 ch=1,2 p=John Whiley & Sons a=San Francisco ed=3 i=0787968455
        • Sep 23 Fri
          • Gershon ch=0,1
      • Identity and performance
        • We continue with Gershon to consider the ways in which new media create expectations that we perform our identities and relationships.
        • Sep 27 Tue
          • Gershon ch=4,5
      • History
        • What is the history of the new/social media we will be discussing, including both its cultural roots and technical progenitors?
        • Sep 30 Fri
          • Fred Turner
            • Where the counterculture met the new economy
              • d=20070101 or=Stanford
        • Oct 04 Tue
          • Due: Exam
          • danah m. boyd, Nicole B. Ellison
            • Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship
              • d=2007 j=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication v=13 n=1
          • Cameron Chapman
            • The History and Evolution of Social Media
              • d=20091007 or=WDD
      • New Media
        • Oct 07 Fri
          • Jenkins ch=3
        • Oct 11 Tue
          • Jenkins ch=4
          • Please use HTML in your response.
            • Dave Raggett
              • Dave Raggett's introduction to HTML
                • d=20050524 or=W3C r=20111006 23:16 UTC
        • Oct 14 Fri
          • Jenkins ch=5
      • Jargon
        • Oct 18 Tue
          • Donna Gibbs
            • Cyberlanguage: What it is and what it does
              • d=2006 bt=Cyberlines 2.0: languages and cultures of the Internet e=Donna Gibbs, Kerri-Lee Krause ch=1 pp=11-34 i=1875408428 p=James Nicholas Publishers a=Albert Park, Australia
      • Jamming
        • Oct 21 Fri
          • What are ways in which a subculture can oppose a larger mainstream culture?
          • For your response, include an image or video of an instance of culture jamming that you think is relevant.
          • Mark Dery
            • Culture jamming: Hacking, slashing and sniping in the empire of the signs
              • d=2003 or=The Open Magazine Pamphlet Series
      • Lulz
        • Oct 25 Tue
          • Is it possible to be too mean; or to take the Inernet too seriously?
          • Mattathias Schwartz
            • The trolls among us
              • d=20080803 or=NYT.com
          • Julian Dibbell
            • Mutilated furries, flying phalluses: Put the blame on griefers, the sociopaths of the virtual world
              • d=20080118 j=Wired n=16 i=02
          • Wikipedia
            • 4chan
              • d=20110604 or=Wikipedia r=20110614 19:28 UTC
          • Due: Media Portrayal
      • Anonymous
        • Oct 28 Fri
          • Are anonymous white-hat hacktivists or devilish hacksters -- or both?
          • Joseph Menn
            • They’re watching. And they can bring you down
              • d=20110923 or=FT Magazine
          • Michael Ralph, Gabriella Coleman
            • Is it a crime? The transgressive politics of hacking in anonymous
              • d=20110929 j=SocialText
      • Homogeneity
        • Nov 01 Tue
          • What about some explicitly social norms, do they exist?
          • Joseph Reagle
            • "Be nice": Wikipedia norms for supportive communication
              • d=2010 j=New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia (Special Issue on Web Science) v=16 is=1 & 2 pp=161-180
      • Collaboration
        • Nov 04 Fri
          • Even in supposedly pro-social communities, do systemic inequalities and biases persist?
          • Joseph Reagle
            • "Free as in sexist?": Free culture and the gender gap
              • d=2011 t=unpublished nt=submitted
      • Aural
        • Nov 08 Tue
          • Jonathan Sterne
            • The MP3 as cultural artifact
              • d=2006 j=New Media & Society v=8 n=5 pp=825–842
      • Visual
        • Nov 11 Fri
          • NO CLASS
        • Nov 15 Tue
          • Are there examples of how sound fits into online culture?
          • Jillian York
            • Wayne Marshall and brave new world music
              • d=20101214 or=Blog
          • Wayne Marshall
            • Sounds of the wide, wired world
              • d=20101029 or=TheNational
          • DUE: final proposal
      • Celebrity
        • Nov 18 Fri
          • To what extent is celebrity culture now a part of online culture?
          • Alice Marwick, dana m. boyd
            • To see and be seen: Celebrity practice on twitter
              • d=2011 j=Convergence v=17 pp=139-158
      • Video Game
        • Nov 22 Tue
          • Can we look at video game players as an actual culture?
          • James Martin Cronin, Mary Brigid McCarthy
            • Fast food and fast games: An ethnographic exploration of food consumption complexity among the videogames subculture
              • d=2011 j=British Food Journal v=113 n=6
      • Criticism
        • Nov 25 Fri
          • NO CLASS
        • Nov 29 Tue
          • Let's look at some critics of online culture: is it an awful turn for the worse? Note some of the claims made by the authors and ask yourself if they are substantiated and compelling.
          • Andrew Keen
            • Web 2.0: The second generation of the Internet has arrived. It’s worse than you think.
              • d=20060215 j=The Weekly Standard
          • Jaron Lanier
            • Digital maoism: the hazards of the new online collectivism
              • d=20060530 or=Edge
      • Online Dating
        • Dec 02 Fri
          • Since we began with breaking up online, let's look at how people get together online. What do these figures reveal about us and our media? Can we apply Gershon's "newness," "media ideologies," "idioms of practice," and "second order information" in this space too?
          • OKTrends
            • How your race affects the messages you get
              • d=20091005 or=Okcupid
            • The big lies people tell in online dating
              • d=20100707 or=Okcupid
          • Chris Morran
            • OKCupid is hiding the good-looking people from us ugly freaks
              • d=20110118 or=The Consumerist
      • Wrap Up
        • Dec 06 Tue
          • Jenkins ch=7
          • Gershon ch=6
          • DUE: final paper
    • Creative Commons License
      New Media Culture by Joseph Reagle, Northeastern University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License .
      Based on a work at github.com .