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SOCI 460: The Sociology of Information Technology (Rev. 6) Report a Broken Link

This three-credit, senior-level university course is designed to encourage critical thinking vis-à-vis information technology. This course is designed to increase your understanding of technology, information technology, and the impact technology has on your life and our world.

Unit 1: Introduction

Burton, J. (2023, November 2). AI: The real threat may be the way that governments choose to use it. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/ai-the-real-threat-may-be-the-way-that-governments-choose-to-use-it-216660.
Horgan, M., & Rotz, S. (2019, April 8). Forget smart cities (for a minute), we need to talk about smart farms. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/forget-smart-cities-for-a-minute-we-need-to-talk-about-smart-farms-112187.
Mass, W. (2014, February 21). RFID implants: The benefits vs. the dangers. The New American. https://www.thenewamerican.com/tech/computers/item/17688-rfid-implants-the-benefits-vs-the-dangers
Nathwani, J. (2019, January 29). Empowering the powerless: Let’s end energy poverty. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/empowering-the-powerless-lets-end-energy-poverty-83628
Orasch, A. K. (2019, April 4). “Seeing the smart city: Mapping technologies in Canada.” The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/seeing-the-smart-city-mapping-technologies-in-canada-112458.
Sosteric, M. (2017, October 4). World war three is being waged in cyberspace. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/world-war-three-is-being-waged-in-cyberspace-84974
Sosteric, M. (2018, April 4). Why we should all cut the Facebook cord. Or should we? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-we-should-all-cut-the-facebook-cord-or-should-we-93929.
World Health Organization. (2018, October 16). Household air pollution. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health.

Unit 2: Theories of Information Technology

Unit 3: Information Technology and Work

Lightning Path. (2017, March 1). Money moksha: what is money—inequality—capitalism [Video file].
Sweatshop. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved October 17, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweatshop.
Cooper, R. (2013, January 25). Inside Apple’s Chinese “sweatshop” factory where workers are paid just £1.12 per hour to produce iPhones and iPads for the West. The Guardian.
Kelly, A. (2013, April 3). Modern-day slavery: An explainer. The Guardian.
Mage, D. (2009, May 1). I was a high-tech sweatshop worker for the Obama campaign. Reason.
Mezzadri, A. (2014, January 8). Cambodian sweatshop protests reveal blood on our clothes. The Conversation.
Limer, E. (2014, October 28). My brief and curious life as a mechanical turk. Gizmodo.
Shadpour, D. (2018, January 18). The gig economy: Pioneering the future. Forbes.
Cushing, E. (2014). Amazon Mechanical Turk: The digital sweatshop. Utne Reader.
Potts, M. (2014). Foreclosed and financially stranded at the Ramada Inn. Utne Reader.
Sosteric, M. (2018, March 27). Are bullies alpha males or sick puppies? The Conversation.
Sosteric, M. (2018, April 3). Why we should all cut the Facebook cord. The Conversation.
mrsnoo86. (2016, November 18). The Who—Won’t get fooled again (Live at Kilburn 1977) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX_96uKZ7yQ

Lyrics for the song can be found at https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/who/wontgetfooledagain.html

Unit 4: Surveillance, the Panopticon, Facebook, Social Media, and the Mercers

Merrill, J. B. (2019, January 28). Facebook moves to block ad transparency—including ours. ProPUBLICA. https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-blocks-ad-transparency-tools?utm_content=buffer26855&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=buffer
Gutting, G. (2013, May 22). Michel Foucault. The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Winter 2014 ed.). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/foucault/#4.4/

Specifically section 4.4, "Discipline and Punish"
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Vintage Books. (Original work published 1975). https://monoskop.org/images/4/43/Foucault_Michel_Discipline_and_Punish_The_Birth_of_the_Prison_1977_1995.pdf

Please read Chatper 3: Panopticism (pp. 195–228), which you can find by navigating to page 214 of the PDF. 
Channel 4 News. (2018, March 19). Cambridge Analytica uncovered: Secret filming reveals election tricks [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpbeOCKZFfQ
Auchard, E., & Ingram, D. (2018, March 20). Cambridge Analytica CEO claims influence on U.S. election, Facebook questioned. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cambridge-analytica/cambridge-analytica-ceo-claims-influence-on-u-s-election-facebook-questioned-idUSKBN1GW1SG
Smith, D. (2018, March 30). Manipulating democracy: Cambridge Analytica, the Mercer family, and charter schools. Plunderbund. https://web.archive.org/web/20180613122852/http://plunderbund.com/2018/03/30/manipulating-democracy-cambridge-analytica-the-mercer-family-and-charter-schools/
Sosteric, M. (2018, April 3). Why we should all cut the Facebook cord. The Conversation.
Anthamatten, E. (2015, March 23). Visibility is a trap: Body cameras and the panopticon of police power. The Mantle.
McMullan, T. (2015, July 23). What does the panopticon mean in the age of digital surveillance? The Guardian.
Fascism. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved October 18, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism.
Anyon, J. (1980). Social class and the hidden curriculum of work.
Edwards, L. (2010, December 22). Brain is not fully mature until 30s and 40s. Medical Xpress.

Unit 5: The Deepening Divide

No online readings

Unit 6: The Religion of Technology

Beham, I. (2018, April 5). Killer robots in South Korea, dystopia or real life? ValueWalk.

Unit 7: Conclusion

No online readings