August 26, 2009
HIUS 3559
Digitizing America, 1980 to the Present
Brian Balogh
balogh@virginia.edu
Fall 09 Syllabus
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This class will explore the history of the United States from 1980 to the present through the lens of the information revolution that occurred during this period. We will examine the origins of technological changes like the mainframe computer, cable television, and the emergence of the internet and the impact that they had on the economy, politics and social interaction. We will consider the ways in which the speed and ease of access to information served as a catalyst for globalization. On the one hand, the combination of cable and satellite technology brought news of distant places into every living room. On the other hand, the powerful ability to collect and sort data allowed individuals to express a range of preferences and be targeted based upon these preferences in ways that created a variety of new identities and associations. Among other topics, we will consider the relationship between identity and the information revolution, the remilitarization of America and the way it shaped digital technology, futuristic visions of the digital age, politics in the digital age and the ways in which digital technology changed the way Americans work and play.
Class will be organized around lectures on Mondays and Weds. Thursdays will be devoted primarily to discussion and class exercises prepared for section. Readings and required films should be completed before discussion section each week. The course requirements include a five page paper, a mid-term, a research project that examines key digital events in your life and the life of a relative over the age of fifty and a final exam. Participation in discussion and class exercises are an important part of the class.
Digitizing America Website:
Required Texts (Available at the book store and on reserve)
- David Nye, Technology Matters: Questions to Live With (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2006)
- Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch (New York: Norton, 2008)
- Dan Schiller, Digital Capitalism (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2000)
- Michael Wolff, Burn Rate (New York: Touchstone, 1999)
- W. Land Bennett and Robert M. Entman, eds. Mediated Politics: Communication in the Future of Democracy (New York: Cambridge, University Press, 2004)
Required Films:
Each student is required to watch the assigned film before that week’s section. The films will be on reserve at the Robertson Media Center in Clemons. You might also consider a basic “Netflix” subscription in order to access the films.
- Desk Set, DVD, directed by Walter Lang (1957; CA: 20th Century Fox, 2004).
- Blade Runner, DVD, directed by Ridley Scott (1982, CA: Warner Bros., 2007).
- WarGames, DVD, directed by John Badham (1983, MGM, 2008).
- Triumph of the Nerds, DVD, (1996, Ambrose Video, 2002).
- Office Space, DVD, directed by Mike Judge (1999; CA: 20th Century Fox, 2002).
- Gattaca, DVD, directed by Andrew Niccol (1996, Sony Pictures, 1998).
- EdTV, DVD, directed by Ron Howard (1999, Universal Studios, 1999).
Grading Requirements:
| Paper 1: | 20% |
| Midterm: | 20% |
| Timeline: | 20% |
| Participation: | 20% |
| Final Exam: | 20% |
Semester Breakdown:
- Part I – “Booting Up” : Units 1-2
- Part II – “Building the Digital and Social/Political Infrastructure” : Units 3-5
- Part III – “Slicing and Dicing: Merging and Converging” : Units 6-15
Booting Up
Unit 1 (8/26) Introduction:
- LECTURE
- Introduction and Major Themes of the Course
- READING
- David Nye, Technology Matters: 17-66
- Steven Lubar, Infoculture: 311-318
- FILM
- Desk Set (1957)
Desk Set, DVD, directed by Walter Lang (1957; CA: 20th Century Fox, 2004).
Unit 2 (8/31) Visions of the Future:
- LECTURE
- What is the relationship between technology and society?
- Visions of the future
- READING
- David Nye, Technology Matters: 209-226
- Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch : 185-233
- FILM
- Blade Runner (1982)
Blade Runner, DVD, directed by Ridley Scott (1982, CA: Warner Bros., 2007).
- DISCUSSION
- Article Exercise - Past Visions of the Future
A unit exercise requires that each student select an individual article from a provided list and prepare to present it to their fellow classmates in section. In preparing, you should be ready to treat the article as a primary source while briefly summarizing its content. Discuss how it is relevant to the concepts we are focusing on in class, such as how a particular technology or reaction to it affected the writer (and reader) of the article in terms of leisure, class, culture, work, etc.
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Section 101 • Section 102 • Section 103 • Section 104 • Section 105
Building the Digital and Social/Political Infrastructure
Unit 3 (9/7) Bombs and Bytes: The Origins of the Digital Age:
- LECTURE
- World War II and the Cold War
- Cybernetworks
- READING
- Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch : 45-61
- Thomas P. Hughes, Rescuing Prometheus: 3-13; 15-40; 48-67
- Aaron L. Friedberg, “Why Didn't the United States Become a Garrison State?” : 109-142
- TIMELINE
- List Due
Students must submit a list of the four memorable "Digital Moments" in their lives. The list is due in SECTION, on September 10th.
- FILM
- WarGames (1983)
WarGames, DVD, directed by John Badham (1983, MGM, 2008)
Unit 4 (9/14) Smashing Hierarchies: From Mainframe to Personal Computing:
- LECTURE
- From the New Left to the Counterculture
- Liberating Computers
- TIMELINE
- Name Due
Students must submit the name of a person over 50 years old that will be interviewed for the Timeline Project. The name is due in SECTION, on September 17th.
- READING
- David Nye, Technology Matters: 67-86
- Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch : 54-61
- Fred Turner, From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism : 1-9; 103-118; 128-140
- Thomas P. Hughes, American Genesis: A Century of Invention and Technological Enthusiasm : 443-472
- Stewart Brand, "Space War" in Rolling Stone
- FILM
- Triumph of the Nerds (1996)
Triumph of the Nerds, DVD, (1996, Ambrose Video, 2002). Also, available on YouTube:
- “Triumph of the Nerds [one of three] 1/6.” (Ambrose, 1996), 6 min, 50 sec.; from YouTube, MPEG.
- “Triumph of the Nerds [one of three] 2/6.” (Ambrose, 1996), 9 min, 50 sec.; from YouTube, MPEG.
- "Triumph of the Nerds [one of three] 3/6.” (Ambrose, 1996), 9 min, 37 sec.; from YouTube, MPEG.
- “Triumph of the Nerds [one of three] 4/6.” (Ambrose, 1996), 10 min, 35 sec.; from YouTube, MPEG.
- “Triumph of the Nerds [one of three] 5/6.” (Ambrose, 1996), 10 min, 09 sec.; from YouTube, MPEG.
- “Triumph of the Nerds [one of three] 6/6.” (Ambrose, 1996), 10 min, 09 sec.; from YouTube, MPEG.
Unit 5 (9/21) From American Desktops to Global Clouds:
- LECTURE
- Cloud Computing
- Globalization
- READING
- Dan Schiller, Digital Capitalism: 37-88
- Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch: 63-83; 107-167
Slicing and Dicing: Merging and Converging
Unit 6 (9/28) Identity Politics: From the Civil Rights Movement to MySpace:
- READING
- Sarah Evans, Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement & the New Left : 83-101
- Christopher Loss, Between Citizens and the State: The Politics of American Higher Education in the 20th Century: pp. 1-6, 37-95.
- GROUPWORK
- Second Life
- EXAM
- Midterm (10/7)
Unit 7 (10/12) From Service Economy to E-conomy:
- LECTURE
- From Taco Bell
- To Derivatives
- READING
- David Nye, Technology Matters: 135-160
- Dan Schiller, Digital Capitalism: 1-36
- Michael Wolff, Burn Rate: 11-12, 31-49, 105-139, 201-251
- Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America: 143-199
- FILM
- Office Space (1999)
Office Space, DVD, directed by Mike Judge (1999; CA: 20th Century Fox, 2002)
- TIMELINE
- Interview Completed
Students must have completed their interview with the person over 50 years old by Thursday, October 15th.
Unit 8 (10/19) The Changing Meaning of Place Amidst Global Consciousness:
- LECTURE
- Global Consciousness
- What is Left of the Local?
- READING
- Wendy M. Rahn and Thomas J. Rudolph, “National Identities and the Future of Democracy,” in Mediated Politics: 453-467
- David Nye, Technology Matters: 185-208
- GROUPWORK
- "Senses of Place" Exercise
Unit 9 (10/26) Recreation in a Digital Age :
- LECTURE
- The Remilitarization of America
- Gaming
- READING
- Amanda Lenhart, et al. “Teens, Video Games, and Civics,” Pew Internet & Life Project (Optional): Summary of Findings (i-viii)
- F. Gregory Lastowka and Dan Hunter, “The Laws of the Virtual Worlds,” Pennsylvannia Law School, Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper, Institute for Law and Economics: 1-73
- Kenneth Kolson, “The Politics of SimCity" from PS: Political Science and Politics (Optional): 43-46
- Don Tapscott, “The Net Generation Brain” from Grown Up Digital (Optional): 97-119
- Ted Friedman, "The Rise of the Simulation Game": 121-157
Unit 10 (11/2) Truthiness and the Flight from Authenticity:
- LECTURE
- Truth Hurts
- Make It Real
- FILM
- Gattaca (1996)
Gattaca, DVD, directed by Andrew Niccol (1996, Sony Pictures, 1998).
- READING
- Randall E. Stross, Planet Google: One Company's Audacious Plan to Organize Everything We Know: 89-108
- Allan Bloom, Closing of the American Mind: Introduction: Our Virtue, 25-43
- Siva Vaidhyanathan, "Why Thomas Jefferson Would Love Napster"
- Siva Vaidhyanathan, “The Digital Moment: The End of Copyright?” from Copyrights and Copywrongs: 149-184
Unit 11 (11/9) Barcode Identity:
- LECTURE
- Measuring Public Opinion
- Breaking Up is Hard to Do
- READING
- Sarah Banet-Weiser, Cynthia Chris and Anthony Freitas, eds., “Discovery’s Wild Discovery: The Growth and Globaliztion of TV’s Animal Genres": 1-14 and 137-57
- Henry Jenkins, “Buying into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold on Reality Television" in Convergence Culture: 59-93
- Dan Schiller, Digital Capitalism: 89-142
- Chris Anderson, “The Long Tail,” Wired Magazine
- Oscar H. Gandy, “Dividing Practices: Segmentation and Targeting in the Emerging Public Sphere,” in Mediated Politics: 141-159
- FILM
- EdTV (1999)
EdTV, DVD, directed by Ron Howard (1999, Universal Studios, 1999)
- TIMELINE
- Two "Draft" Data Points Due
Students must have posted two "draft" timeline entries to the class website by Thursday, November 12th.
Unit 12 (11/16) Citizenship in a Digital Age :
- LECTURE
- Reconsidering Citizenship
- Echo Chambers
- READING
- Cass R Sunstein, Republic.com 2.0 : 19-45
- Randall E. Stross, Planet Google: 21 - 45
- Doris A. Grabeer, “Adapting Political News to the Needs of Twenty-First Century Americans,” in Mediated Politics: 433-452
- “News Audiences Increasingly Politicized: Online News Audience Larger, More Diverse,” Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
- Michael X. Dellis Carpini and Bruce A Williams, “Let Us Infotain You: Politics in the New Media Environment,” in Mediated Politics: 160-181
- WRITING
- PAPER
Please write a five page essay that answers the following question: Has easy access to digital information hurt or improved the quality of citizenship in the United States since 1980? The paper will be due in SECTION, on NOVEMBER 19th.
Unit 13 (11/23) Cyberterror:
- LECTURE
- No section
- READING
- David Nye, Technology Matters: 161-184
- Nicholas Carr, The Big Switch : 169-184
- Tim Stevens and Dr. Peter R. Neumann, Countering Online Radicalisation: A Strategy for Action, The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence
- The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, US Dept of Homeland Security
- "U.S. eyes N. Korea for ‘massive’ cyber attacks" from MSNBC.com
- FILM
- "How to Prepare Your Family for Y2K"
Ray Glasser, "How to Prepare Your Family for Y2K," (PAX, 1999), 9 min, 49 sec.; from Dailymotion, MPEG.
Unit 14 (11/30) Politics 2.0 Politics in the Digital Age:
- LECTURE
- Targeting Voters
- The Web and Obama
- GROUPWORK
- Explore the media items in this unit.
- READING
- Daniel W. Drezner, Henry Farrell. “Web of Influence,” Foreign Policy
- TIMELINE
- Final Project Due
Students must complete and post to the class website all eight "Digital Moments" by Friday, December 4th at Noon.
Unit 15 (12/7) YouLine: A Brief History of Your Digital Lives:
- LECTURE
- No section
- No section
- EXAM
- Final Exam (Tuesday, 12/15 at 9:00 am)
The Final Exam will be held in our regular lecture hall.