BA IS&A Curriculum & Courses

The focus of this course is on how social information is produced though language and identity work online, focusing on patterns of talk and interactional rules and practices across contexts (e.g., text-messaging, online communities, personal identity work, and transnational blogs). As part of this focused study of talk, this course will explore how online language use can create, maintain, reproduce, or disrupt roles and related norms (e.g., those of a friend, student, expert, or political agent), as well as identities and social categories (e.g., gender, sexuality, race, disability, or nationality). This course will also focus on the broader discourses on a 'global' level, examining human collaboration online for practices tied to elitism, the movement of social capital, racism, power, and the cultural production of inequalities.

This course will lay a foundation for theoretical analyses of how people socially create and negotiate information socially, digitally, virtually, and through AI. In addition, this course investigates a variety of approaches ranging from critical cultural studies to behavioral research, considering the differing ways to think about social life and information in contemporary times. Lastly, this class will survey the theoretical underpinnings of new media research across a variety of topic areas to include gaming, eSports, eCommerce, digital gig labor, online communities, and networked publics.

In the early 21st Century, we see publishing in the throes of dramatic changes, from print to electronic most obviously but also in who authors books, the economics of publishing, and how books get to readers. These changes remind us that the dynamics of the movement of the written word to its audience are an integral part of the society in which books are written, produced, and circulate. This 3-credit course takes an historical perspective on publishing, which we will define as the processes by which books come into being in multiple copies and are distributed to reach their audiences. We will start with ancient societies all over the world, and we will investigate the circumstances across societies in which books distinguish themselves from administrative records and begin to serve the needs of the literate elite.  We will examine the way the physical form of the book and the technologies for producing it arise from the circumstances of each society, and in turn, how that physical format conditions the character of books and their use. We will trace the rise of publishing practices and identify the factors necessary for the reproduction and distribution of books to form an actual trade in books in varying societies. As we work our way from the ancient world to the early modern world, we will compare publishing practices in different societies and explore commonalities and differences in the relationships that develop between the creation, reproduction and distribution of books.  Of particular focus will be our comparison of the rise of publishing and book trades in Europe, Asia, and the Arab world before 1450. After the introduction of printing with metal moveable type in Europe, associated with Gutenberg in approximately 1450, we will have an opportunity to observe the changes that this new technology makes in publishing and the book trade, by comparing the mature manuscript book trade of the late middle ages (Middle Ages) to that of the hand-press book publishing of…

This course will look at how commerce in information content (websites, books, databases, music, movies, software, etc.) functions. We will discuss things like switching costs, net neutrality, the long tail, differential pricing, and complementary goods. We will address the following sorts of questions:

- Why do so many information producers give away content (such as "apps" for mobile phones) for free? How do companies (such as Google and Facebook) stay in business when no one has to pay to use their services?
- What are contemporary practices with regard to (Regarding) purchasing access to information content? For instance, why do we tend to buy books, but only rent movies? Also, how do new modes of content provision (such as Pandora and Spotify) change the way that creators get paid for their work?
- Why are there restrictions on how information content can be used? For instance, why can you play the DVD that you bought on your trip to Europe on the DVD player that you bought at home in the United States?

But why should anybody other than an economist care about the answers to these sorts of questions?

The world now runs on the production, dissemination, and consumption of information. All of us constantly access all sorts of information, through all sorts of devices, from all sorts of providers. We read and interact with websites, we query databases, and we communicate with each other via social media. These sorts of activities permeate both our personal and professional lives. In order to (To) successfully navigate this digital world, information consumers, information producers, and information policy makers need to understand what sorts of information goods are likely to be available and how much they are likely to cost.

We cannot learn enough about digital commerce simply by studying the various information technologies that are now available to create…

This course provides a powerful introduction to some of the criminal activities taking place in relation to digital information, big data, and social media. Related to the exploration of criminal activity in an eSociety, this course focuses on some of the most common legal issues faced today, with regard to our own personal data (e.g., our health histories, our genetic makeup, our cloud-based photos and messages, our past) and in relation to organizational or political data on social media and in society. In this course, students as future technologists, will be exposed to the 'dark side' of this current 'information society' (e.g., deception, cybercrime) as well topics such as big data privacy, digital disruptions, consumer data and related sales, gaming protections, youth safety online, big science data sharing issues and related trust, digital security, as well as how certain groups -- law firms, advocacy groups, marketing professionals, and political or lobbying groups -- are mining data for particular use. Students will be required to consider recent court cases and contentions around the use, management, and protection of data in society as well as the risk humans face in this digital information and mediated age

This course introduces key concepts and skills needed for those working with information and communication technologies (ICT). Students will be exposed to hardware and software technologies, and they will explore a wide variety of topics including processing and memory systems, diagnostics and repair strategies, operating systems in both desktop and mobile devices. As part of this course, students will consider current technological disruptions, those issues emerging as technologies and social needs collide. Students we also learn about design issues and user needs tied to mobile or computer applications and web-based tools, sites, games, data platforms, or learning environments.

This course is a broad survey of the processes, theories, and practices around instructional technologies that can be applied to various learning situations.  Students will study and apply research and theory on technology adoption, analysis, and support, along with instructional design, learning theories, and training needs analysis.  The course will also guide students through the design of effective tech-supported training, technology selection dependent upon learning situations, evaluation of chosen learning technologies, and considerations in instructional technology piloting, adoption, and support.  By the end of this course, students will make educated decisions about technology implementation across diverse learning environments.

This course focuses on the ethical issues that arise in the context of new and emerging information technologies-- e.g., threats to privacy of ubiquitous technological surveillance, limitations on access created by digital rights management. The course will use the framework of ethical theory to analyze these issues and to propose policy solutions. The goal of the course is to give students the necessary theoretical foundation to be involved in the evaluation and construction of information policies at the local, national, and international level. The course will focus on three core areas where digital dilemmas arise--information access, information privacy, and intellectual property. In order to achieve depth as well as breadth, the course will put one of these issues at the center and discuss the others in relation to it. So, for instance, the course may focus on Intellectual Property looking at the threats and benefits of IP to privacy and access. This syllabus provides an overview of the range of topics that may be discussed.

Security is about protecting assets, such as money and physical possessions.  For instance, we use walls, locks, burglar alarms, and even armed guards to keep other people from stealing and/or destroying our stuff. These days, information is typically one of our most important assets.  Thus, we have to worry about the possibility of other people stealing and/or destroying it. For instance, criminals threaten our data with scareware or ransomware in order to extort money from us. 

In today's digital society, people have access to a wide variety of information sources and scientific data. In this course, students will learn about the role of science and scientific data in society, and they will consider means for making science information findable and understandable for a wide variety of audiences. This course will provide students an interdisciplinary experience for considering science data and how that information gets shared across contexts.

Special topics courses are offered to allow students to explore specialized topics not covered in the program curriculum. Multiple topics might be offered in any given year, and specialized topic descriptions will be advertised by the School for students interested in enrolling in the course.

Special topics courses are offered to allow students to explore specialized topics not covered in the program curriculum. Multiple topics might be offered in any given year, and specialized topic descriptions will be advertised by the School for students interested in enrolling in the course.