When to read: Please read the readings listed for a given day before the start of class on that day. Reading them after the class session means you won't have the full context to understand the lecture or activity, nor the answers when there is a quiz.
Please bring the day's readings with you to class in hard copy or electronic form so that you can refer to them if necessary during discussion.
In what order to read: The order of the readings for a given day is (usually) deliberate, so you should read them in the order listed. In some cases the first reading is cited by the second or at least adds context to it.
How to access: Some of the readings may require access via one of the many online journal subscriptions carried by MSU. My links to these items should work fine if you're using an on-campus computer, but if you're accessing them from off campus, you may need to log in with the library's EZproxy service. Please contact me if you find that a link is broken or you have any other trouble accessing a reading.
Changes to the reading schedule: The readings on this schedule may be adjusted during the semester. If I change anything with less than two weeks' notice, I'll announce it in class and via ANGEL.
Note that CMC refers to the required textbook, Computer-Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet, by Crispin Thurlow, Laura Lengel, and Alice Tomic (Sage, 2004).
Thu 2 Sep :: Introductions, course details, and a few words on CMC — slides
CMC p. 1–7. Intro 1: For students.
Rheingold, H. (1993) Excerpt from Introduction. In The Virtual Community: Finding Connection in a Computerized World. London: Minerva. (In ANGEL.)
Tue 7 Sep :: History of the (social) internet — slides
CMC p. 13–22. Defining CMC.
Rheingold, H. (1993) Chapter 3: Visionaries and Convergences: The Accidental History of the Net. In The Virtual Community: Finding Connection in a Computerized World. London: Minerva. (This chapter is long. It's fine to skim sections.)
Web 2.0. In Wikipedia. (Read intro, History, and Characteristics; the rest is optional.)
Thu 9 Sep :: Finding cyberspace, and studying it — slides
CMC p. 25–33. Situating CMC: Technologies for Communication.
CMC p. 35–44. Theorizing CMC: Technology and Social Interaction.
(Optional) Barak, A., and J. Suler. (2008) Reflections on the psychology and social science of cyberspace. In A. Barak (Ed.), Psychological aspects of cyberspace: Theory, research, applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Tue 14 Sep :: Online identity — slides
CMC p. 95–105. Online Identity: Real or Virtual?.
Donath, J. (1998) Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. In Smith, M., and P. Kollock (Eds.) Communities in Cyberspace. London: Routledge.
(Optional) Van Gelder, L. (1991) The Strange Case of the Electronic Lover. In Dunlop, C., and Kling, R. (eds.), Computerization and controversy: value conflicts and social choices. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Thu 16 Sep :: Interpersonal dynamics — slides
CMC p. 45–55. Describing CMC: Interpersonal dynamics.
Walther, J.B., and Parks, M.R. (2002) Cues filtered out, cues filtered in: Computer-mediated communication and relationships. In M.L. Knapp and J.A. Daly (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal communication (3rd ed., pp. 529–563). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. (In ANGEL. Only pages 529-542 are required, NOT the entire piece.)
Tue 21 Sep :: Group dynamics — slides
CMC p. 58–67. Explaining CMC: Group Dynamics.
CMC p. 69–80. Contextualizing CMC: 'Flaming' and Embedded Media.
Thu 23 Sep :: Norms, behavior, and governance — slides
Dibbell, J. (1999) A Rape in Cyberspace. In My Tiny Life. New York: Holt.
Tue 28 Sep :: Online community — slides
CMC p. 107–116. Online Communities: Real or Imagined?.
Cohen, A.P. (1985) Excerpts from chapters 1 and 3 of The Symbolic Construction of Community. London: Routledge. (In ANGEL.)
Thu 30 Sep :: Collective action and social psychological incentives — slides
Wikipedia:About. In Wikipedia. (Read intro only — paragraphs before table of contents.)
Yamagishi, T. (1995) Social Dilemmas. In Cook, K.S., Fine, G.A., and House, J.S. (eds.), Sociological Perspectives on Social Psychology. Boston: Allyn and Bason. (Read from start through first paragraph of p. 315 only. NOTE: Server seems to be down. Now available on ANGEL as well.)
Cheshire, C., and J. Antin. (2008) The Social Psychological Effects of Feedback on the Production of Internet Information Pools. In Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13 (3). (Read from start to p. 713 only.)
Tue 12 Oct :: Rich-media CMC — slides
Donath, J. (2001) Mediated Faces. In M. Beynon, C.L. Nehaniv, K. Dautenhahn (Eds.). Cognitive Technology: Instruments of Mind: 4th International Conference.
Thu 14 Oct :: Abstract visual interfaces for CMC — slides
Donath, J.S., & F. Viégas. (2002) The Chat Circles Series: Explorations in designing abstract graphical communication interfaces. In Proceedings of Designing Interactive Systems.
Erickson, T., Halverson, C., Kellogg, W.A., Laff, M., and Wolf, T. (2002) Social translucence: designing social infrastructures that make collective activity visible. In Communications of the ACM 45(4).
Tue 19 Oct :: Analytic visualizations — slides
Viégas, F., Dave, K., and M. Wattenberg. (2004) Studying Cooperation and Conflict between Authors with History Flow Visualizations. In Proc. ACM Computer-Human Interaction.
Viégas, F., Dave, K., and M. Wattenberg. Gallery of HistoryFlow images.
Fiore, A.T. (2006) Revealing Communication Patterns in an Online Dating System. In Workshop position paper, Social Visualization Workshop, ACM Computer-Human Interaction 2006.
Thu 21 Oct :: Designing visual interfaces — slides
CMC p. 224–227. Visual Communication.
Erickson, T. (2003) Designing visualizations of social activity: six claims. In Extended abstracts of ACM Computer-Human Interaction.
Tue 26 Oct :: Guest lecture by Dr. Nicole Ellison: Social networking — slides
Ellison, N.B., Steinfield, C., and Lampe, C. (2007) The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network Sites. In Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12(4).
Donath, J., and boyd, d. (2004) Public displays of connection. In BT Technology Journal 22(4). (Optional, but highly recommended.)
Thu 28 Oct :: Privacy — slides
Schneier, B. (2006) The Eternal Value of Privacy. In Wired.com, May 18, 2006.
Schneier, B. (2010) Google And Facebook's Privacy Illusion. In Forbes online, April 6, 2010.
O'Neill, N. (2009) 10 New Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know. In All Facebook. (Check out the link to the Post-Breakup Facebook Effect, too.)
Tue 2 Nov :: Reputation — slides
Resnick, P., Zeckhauser, R., Friedman, E., and Kuwabara, K. (2000) Reputation Systems. In Communications of the ACM 43(12).
Donath, J. (2008) Is reputation obsolete?. In Publius Project.
Thu 4 Nov :: Journalism, blogs, and microblogs — slides
Hiler, J. (2002) Blogosphere: The emerging media ecosystem. In Microcontent News. (In ANGEL.)
Cohen, N. (2009) Twitter on the Barricades: Six Lessons Learned. In The New York Times, June 21, 2009.
Tue 16 Nov :: Interpersonal attraction and relationship formation — slides
Fiore, A.T., and Donath, J.S. (2004) Online Personals: An Overview. In ACM Computer-Human Interaction 2004.
Ellison, N., Heino, R., and J. Gibbs. (2006) Managing Impressions Online: Self-Presentation Processes in the Online Dating Environment. In Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 11 (2).
Thu 18 Nov :: Deception — slides
Hancock, J.T. (2007) Chapter 19: Digital deception: Why, when and how people lie online. In Joinson, A., McKenna, K., Postmes, T., and U-D. Reips (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. (In ANGEL.)
Tue 23 Nov :: Gaming — slides
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game. In Wikipedia.
Yee, N. (2008) Maps of Digital Desires: Exploring the Topography of Gender and Play in Online Games. In Kafai, Y., Heeter, C., Denner, J., & Sun, J. (Eds.), Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming (pp. 83-96). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Thu 25 Nov :: Thanksgiving holiday (no class)
Tue 30 Nov :: Computer-mediated cooperative work — slides
Olson, G.M., and Olson, J.S. (2000) Distance Matters. In Human-Computer Interaction 15(2/3). (Read p. 139?163 only.)
Thu 2 Dec :: Calling, texting, IMing, and language — slides
Baron, N.S. (2008) Ch. 7: Going Mobile: Cell Phones in Context. In Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. Oxford University Press. (In ANGEL.)
Baron, N.S. (2008) Ch. 8: "Whatever": Is the Internet Destroying Language?. In Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World. Oxford University Press. (In ANGEL.)
Tue 7 Dec :: Predicting the future: Utopias, dystopias, and digital divides — slides
Anderson, J.Q., and Rainie, L. (2010) The future of social relations. In Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Thu 9 Dec :: Review