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SOCI 460: The Sociology of Information Technology (Rev. 2, 3 & 4) 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

Mass, W. (2014, February 21). RFID implants: The benefits vs. the dangers. The New American.
Sosteric, M. (2017). World war three is being waged in cyberspace. The Conversation.
Nathwani, Jatin. 2019. “Empowering the Powerless: Let’s End Energy Poverty.” The Conversation. 2019.

Note: This reading has been added to the C3 version of this course. While it is not required reading for the C2 version, you will benefit from reading it.

Unit 2: Theories of Information Technology

Hildebrandt, A., & Seglins, D. (2015, May 21). Spy agencies target mobile phones, app stores to implant spyware. CBC News.
Johnson, L. (2015, July 24). How to stop Apple and Google tracking your every move using your smartphone GPS. Digital Spy.
Taylor, P. (2015, October 5). Edward Snowden interview: “Smartphones can be taken over.” BBC News.

Unit 3: Information Technology and Work

Lightning Path. (2017, March 1). Money moksha: what is money—inequality—capitalism [Video file].
Sweatshop. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
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 file].

Lyrics 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.
Gutting, G. (2013). Michel Foucault. The Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (winter 2014 edition).

Specifically section 4.4, "Discipline and Punish"
Foucault, M. (1995). Panopticism. In Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.) (pp. 195–228). New York: Vintage Books.

"Panopticism" begins on page 214 of the PDF.
Channel 4 News. (2018, March 19). Cambridge Analytica uncovered: Secret filming reveals election tricks [Video file].
Auchard, E., & Ingram, D. (2018, March 20). Cambridge Analytica CEO claims influence on U.S. election, Facebook questioned. Reuters.
Smith, D. (2018, March 30). Manipulating democracy: Cambridge Analytica, the Mercer family, and charter schools. Plunderbund.
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.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved on October 18, 2018.
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