"The Information Society"
Course Description:
The following course seeks to introduce the basic concepts and debates
surrounding the development of the 'Information Society.' How has
information becomes such an important concept, how is information to be measured and thought about, and what is involved in having or not having access to its means for storage, transmission, or organization either as producers or consumers?
Key concepts and debates to be covered include:
- the role of information technology in social and cultural fragmentation, and yet the potential for centralized control;
- the alleged ongoing disappearance of the 'mass' of mass communications;
- the globalization of media and information products along with concurrent opportunities for local production;
- information technologies as a component for social development;
- the conflicting problems involved with the desire for privacy and increased access;
- the current debates about who should own or organize the 'information highway,' between 'free market' approaches and strategic intervention in the pursuit of public good;
- the impact of these changes on older media;
- the impact of the media on 'planetary transformation;'
- assessing cultural complexity and open systems;
- and finally a look at what opportunities (and dangers) the information society has for students.