Computer Science 324 - COMPUTER SCIENCE/AMER STUD

This seminar, taught by a cultural critic and a computer scientist, offers an interdisciplinary examination of the internet society. We examine the influence of cultural values on the design and use of digital technologies and the influence of these digital technologies on social and economic organization, leisure and consumer culture, politics, and the shaping of our identities. Topics include the open-source movement, surveillance and censorship, netwars, cybercrime, net neutrality, intellectual property rights, peer-to-peer journalism and social networks (Facebook, texting, YouTube, etc.) Our goal is not simply to describe the digital ecologies that surround us, but to analyze them critically. Permission of the instructors. Enrollment limit of 20 juniors and seniors.

Instructor Permission. Not open to first-years, sophomores