Syllabus
Cyberspace and Society, Fall 2009
Instructor:  Ted Goertzel   goertzel@camden.rutgers.edu

The Internet began in 1969 as a network between four computers in Southern California.  Today it spans the globe, linking 1,319,872,109 people as of December 30, 2007.   Many of the staggering changes it has brought about in less than 40 years were anticipated by futurists such as Peter Russell whose 1982 book and video The Global Brain is still a thought-provoking and inspiring vision of the future of humanity on this planet.  This course will review the history of the computer and the Internet and place it in the context of Marshal McLuhan's theories about communication.  It will explore current use of the Internet in business, education, and other social institutions.  It will also use the techniques of future studies to explore likely future developments including the likely development of Artificial General Intelligence that matches or exceeds human intelligence.

This Hybrid Internet class will meet Thursday, September 3, 7:30 to 8:50 p.m. and 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays October 3, November 14 and December 19 in the Campus Center North Conference Room (in the basement at the end of the hall).  All other required class activities will be online.   The SAKAI chat room and discussion lists will be open at all times for questions and discussion. 

Weekly assignments will be posted in the SAKAI course management system.  To find them, open our SAKAI home page and click on the Weekly Assignments link on the left margin, then click on the folder for each week.   A assignment page will be posted each Monday at the latest.  Some reading materials and videos will be linked from the weekly assignment page.  Others will be posted in the weekly SAKAI resources folder.  Writing assignments will also be announced on the weekly assignment page.

There will be a weekly SAKAI quiz on the weeks when we do not have class on campus.  There will be two versions of each quiz, an "early bird" that will close at 5 pm. on Saturday and a "last chance" that will close Mondays at 10 am.  The two will be similar, but not all items will necessarily be the same.  Your highest score will count as your grade on each quiz.  If you miss the "early bird" your score on the "last chance" will count.  After you take the early bird you will be able to review your answers and see which items you got wrong.  If you have technical problems taking either of the quizzes, let me know by email before the quiz closes. 

Grading will be based on weekly quizzes, in-class exams, writing assignments and attendance and participation. 

The topics covered include:
  1. The history of the internet, including its origins, its explosion during the dot.con boom, and recent history.
  2. Futurist visions of the internet, including ideas about the "global brain" and the "singularity."
  3. Theories of "the medium and the message" as applied to the internet and electronic media. 
  4. Social networking web sites and their influence on society.
  5. The effect of cyberspace on children and adolescents.
  6. Cyberspace and the economy, including the crisis of 2008.
  7. Internet publishing and its effects on journalism and society.
  8. Netroots and politics, especially recent presidential campaigns.
  9. Globalization, Terrorism and the Internet.
  10. Blogs and the blogosphere.
  11. Contrroversies about the Future of Cyberspace