Faculty First Year Seminars 197ANTH7 - Social Media, Digital Technolo

Popular conceptions of new media often involve stereotypes about communication, whether in terms of
anxieties surrounding new generations? orientation to ?traditional? communicative conventions, or
the notion that humans are more connected than ever. Such perspectives presume upon communicative
similarities and differences associated with imagined pasts, presents, and futures. This course
examines what is new about ?new media? by analyzing the relationship between communicative
continuity and change in the context of the emergence of digital social media. Each week will
focus on a distinctive modality (e.g., smart phone, tablet, etc.) or platform (Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, etc.). Students will analyze and discuss these topics on a course blog. Throughout the
semester we will read Jose van Dijck?s The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social
Media. The goal of the course is for students to develop analytical skills for understanding how
contemporary social media participation simultaneously (re)produces and
(trans)forms communicative practices.

Freshmen Only