Data Analytics and Computation 695GP - S-Internet Gov & Info Policy

This seminar introduces students to actors, institutions and public interest battles fought nationally, regionally and globally for the control of Internet infrastructure, code and content. As an emerging field of scholarship, policymaking, and policy advocacy, Internet Governance (IG) is concerned with regulation and management of critical Internet resources, and the implications of these decisions for social, economic and political life worldwide. Assuming a social justice perspective on these issues, the course examines topics such as: civil liberties and emerging conceptions of data justice/injustice; consumer data protection and online privacy; digital access, poverty, and inclusion; different forms of censorship and information control online; cyber security in a post-Snowden era; network neutrality, freedom of expression, and market competition. Thanks to the support of the UMASS Feinberg Innovation grant, this semester students will have the opportunity to participate in a transnational, collaborative research project with partners in Brazil and Canada to map key issues in the Internet Governance agenda of civil society advocacy organizations in Latin America. Readings and online discussions with research partners, policy advocates and experts from Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Panama and the U.S. will expose students to diverse perspectives and first-hand information on these debates.

Open to DACSS students. An additional discussion group and/or empirical project assignment will be added for graduate students. Open to DACSS students only.