Organizations, Technology, and Culture

88180 IDS 4070 | Fall 2017 Online | Dr. Gerald R. Lucas

Gerald R. Lucas
Aug 8, 2017 · 7 min read

Our lives — the world around us and how we process that world — are shaped by our relationship with the digital tools we use in our public and private lives. This course considers how organizations (or institutions), technology, and culture shape the “human” in a public and private sense.

In our increasingly high-tech, always-connected, digitally-augmented world, our work and play is supported and made possible by our ubiquitous communication devices. The notion of the “human” changes in relation to public and private technologies.

  • What is the role of social media in work?
  • How does social media limit our perspectives?
  • How does social media challenge or strengthen traditional class, race, and gender roles and attitudes?

As this section of IDS 40470 is taught fully online. Please be sure you are aware of the implications before attempting it.

Introduction

Welcome to IDS 4070, Orgs, Tech, and Culture. The document you’re reading is your syllabus. Everything you need for this class is on this page and linked off of it. Bookmark it now and return here if you get lost or confused, or you can always return to LitMUSE.

Since this is an online section, I have tried to make the lessons and procedures as simple to follow and to understand as possible. That said, there is bound to be a bit of confusion, at least at first. Do your best to work through it by carefully and completely reading this document (and links). I promise, there is an answer to your question. If all else fails, you may contact me or ask a question on Slack (see below). Trust yourself to follow directions and find the answers. Be careful and deliberate.

In addition, this course will be run like a tutorial: i.e., students will have reading, writing, and research to be done on a consistent basis, but at times to be determined individually. Each student will make his or her own reading and research schedule at the beginning of the semester, incorporating times to meet with the professor for discussion and check-ins.

If you are uncomfortable making decisions, researching your own answers, and working on your own, you may be more comfortable in a traditional, face-to-face section.

This course will probably be unlike any college course you have ever taken. It is designed to let you — the students — discover and create your own knowledge using the powerful digital devices and platforms we all have access to. I’m assuming, since you’re taking this class online, that you are comfortable with working by yourself, are confident in your ability to take risks, do not need the constant reassurance of an authority figure, and have a basic Internet literacy. You will learn more about my approach shortly.

For a head start on how to approach all work in this course, see “How to Do Well in My Class,” “Research & Response,” and “Be an Expert.”

Again, read this document through carefully before beginning. You might want to take notes as you go, jotting down questions you have. I bet they are answered by the time you’re ready to begin on the course content.

Instructor Information

  • Dr. Gerald R. Lucas | @drgrlucas | About
  • Office: CAS-117 (Macon campus)
  • Office Hours: Online via Slack and/or Skype — MW 1:45–2:30 (only by appointment); TR 12:30–2:30 or by appointment
  • Email: gerald.lucas [at] mga [dot] edu

Since this is a fully online course, most office hours will be virtual via Slack and/or Skype. I try to make myself as available as much as possible during the first couple weeks of a semester, including evenings and weekends. If you need to chat with me, direct message me on Slack and we’ll arrange a video conference via Skype (or similar service), if necessary. Please do not expect a response on any social media after 5pm on weekdays or anytime during the weekend. I may be available, but I also need some down time. Thanks for your understanding.


Course Information

Prerequisite: ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102H

Description: This interdisciplinary course examines the individual within the organization and how the individual is shaped as a participant within a particular organization by various cultural and technological indices. Philosophies of capital and labor will be discussed in the context of current societal issues.

Classroom Hours: Three per week online.

Goals

In this course, you will use lessons, texts, and individual research to increase your understanding of the course content. Specifically, students should develop:

  1. a more nuanced and critical understanding of the individual’s place in digitally-saturated environments;
  2. an understanding how digital technologies shape our minds and our bodies; and
  3. an original research project that incorporates general course concerns with an individual, specific research thesis.

Again, if you are uncomfortable researching and figuring out some things on your own, this may not be the section of NMAC 3108 for you.

Student Learning Outcome

Students in the IDS cultural studies elective courses will submit outlines and bibliographies of their research papers to the instructor before the IDS cultural studies elective course research paper is due. They will receive instructor comments on these submissions to help them prepare and write more successful cultural studies research papers (SLO 2).

Texts

All reading will be made available as PDFs, via web sites, or through Galileo.

Technology Requirements

I require all students to have a couple of Internet accounts on social media platforms, including Slack. A tablet for reading PDFs is convenient, but not a requirement of the course. Students are expected to get and stay connected throughout the semester. Have a mobile device? You should set it up for use in this class, especially with Slack since we will use this as our primary means of class communication.


Policies & Procedures

Students are held accountable for knowing and practicing each of the course policies. Consider them like the law: the excuse “I didn’t know” will carry no weight. Pay particular attention to policies under Attendance and Plagiarism.

As a Middle Georgia State University student, it is your responsibility to read, understand, and abide by the MGA Student Code of Conduct.

Students may withdraw from the course and earn a grade of “W” up to and including the midterm date: October 11, 2017. After midterm, students who withdraw will receive a grade of “WF.” Students are encouraged to read the withdrawal policy before dropping/withdrawing from class.


Requirements

IDS 4070 is composed of the following components:

Research Project (80%)

Your semester’s work will take the form of a research project that combines any aspects of the three course concerns into a well-researched, focused, and orginal project. This project could be a research paper, a series of related posts on a blog, significant Wikipedia edits, a documentary film, or similar multimedia approach to the topic. Research projects may be collaborative.

Proposal (10%)

A formal proposal for your project will be due during the first month of class. It should clearly define the project, offer a central argument or approach, define the parameters, and supply an initial list of research. Follow the instructions in “Writing a Research Proposal” (this says in the social sciences, but it’s also applicable to IDS) for constructing your two-page (or so) proposal.

Participation (10%)

Participation in Slack discussions and face-to-face meetings with me will be required for each student thoughout the semester. Questions I ask on Slack and responses to readings I post are mandatory (in #ids4070), especially during the first two months of the semester, so be sure you’re checking in at leat a couple of times a week — or better yet, enable push notifications on your mobile device.

Each meeting with me will be an assessment of the student’s progress on his or her project. Students are expected to come prepared with evidence of their work. The 10% is your actually showing up for the meetings; assessment of preparedness will factor into the “research project” category above.

Dates

08/14 — Classes begin; schedule your first meeting before 08/31, for sometime in September; read this syllabus carefully; join Slack and the #ids4070 channel; begin reading and research

08/14–09/29 — Post reactions to initial readings in #ids4070. Respond to others’ posts. Link to additional resources that you have found to help with your understanding of the topics. What are you considering doing for your research project?

09/11–09/21 — Meet with me

09/22 — Proposal due

10/04 — Midterm grades due

10/08–09As a reminder, you should participate in Wiki Ed discussions as part of this class, if you are using Wikipedia for your project. Please remember to sign up for Wiki Education’s discussion session this weekend by clicking this link. You’ll spend about an hour participating in a video chat with students from other universities, reviewing Wikipedia’s evaluation criteria and applying them to an existing article. This should be fun and should prepare you better for when you work on your own Wikipedia article.

10/09 — Schedule meetings as needed; all should schedule at least one as soon as possible to review proposal

11/17 — Last day for meetings

11/30 — Day day for project submissions

12/04 — Classes end


Last updated: 4 Oct 2017.
Please do not print this document; access it online as information may change.

LitMUSE | Dr. Lucas

Gerald R. Lucas

Written by

English Professor & Digital Humanist; I teach literature, new media studies, and writing for digital media. http://geraldlucas.me/

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