COM731: New communication technologies / Faculty of Communication and Media Studies

This course is offered as a graduate seminar class. It is intended to be useful for students interested in the study of media and communication generally or of technology generally. The course covers a range of intellectual traditions and disciplines, with some emphasis on science and technology studies and the history of technology. Discussions will be mainly focused on four particular technologies, namely radio, television, the telephone, and the Internet. Major approach to the topics will address new communication technologies, their uses, and their effects. Other perspectives may include ethnography, "new" institutionalism, political economy, and cultural studies. To keep us right on track, we’ll examine the technologies based on the following general issues: (1) the history of particular technology; (2) how new communication technologies work; (3) the potential and verifiable social, economic, and political consequences of their use; and (4) how new communication technologies might/should be regulated.