Digital Economy, Fall 2001: Course Overview

Course Overview

Background

This course is required for all students in the Doctor of Communications Design program, who will ordinarily take it at the beginning of their course of study. It offers an overview of current thinking about economic and social issues relating to communications design in an age of digital networks. The course may also be of interest to students in the Master of Arts in Publications Design who are developing projects for the Final Seminar, and to students in the Master of Science in Interaction Design and Information Architecture who want to establish social and economic contexts for their technological work.

This year's version of the course focuses on the so-called Internet Bubble whose messy aftermath we are now experiencing. We will examine with equal skepticism reports of the demise of the digital economy and blithe assertions that Internet business must ultimately pay off. By exploring larger historical and intellectual contexts than are normally available in the business press, we will attempt to understand the "fall of dot-communism" as something other than sideshow farce or inevitable ideological process.

In this regard, the slight variation in the course title--Digital Economy and Culture--deserves some explanation. As we move from the heyday of frontier entrepreneurialism into more complex times, we need to take account of the ways in which material and economic relations intersect broader social themes such as identity, value systems, social obligations, and political rights. We'll focus most immediately on aspects of the digital economy, but will regularly connect these concerns to larger and longer-term issues.

Acknowledgement

This course was originally scheduled to be taught by Professor Neil Kleinman, who has left the University of Baltimore to become dean of a new college in the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Since my planned readings diverge somewhat from his, you'll find some changes in the text assignments (see below); however, I hope this year's class lives up to its predecessors in spirit and accomplishments. I am very grateful to Neil for his initial vision of this course and for his help in designing my version.

Course Requirements

Three brief position papers (500-1000 words) due at various points in the semester. Due dates will be included on the syllabus.
A written response to one of the texts assigned (for instance, a set of four or five questions) designed to stimulate and guide discussion. A signup sheet will be circulated at the first two classes.
An article suitable for publication in UB's technology review, scan360. Required length is 2000-3000 words with a limited annotated bibliography. The article is due at the end of the term and will determine a significant portion of your grade. I will suggest article topics, but you may propose your own as well.

Texts

Peter Drucker, Post-Capitalist Society

Written at the start of the Internet boom, this highly accessible introduction to turn-of-the-century global economics is still very relevant to our present situation. Note: If you can't find this book at the UB Bookstore, Amazon lists it as out of print, but Barnes and Noble may still have inventory.

Rick Levine et al., The Cluetrain Manifesto

One of the most compelling visionary statements to come out of the boom years.

Bruce Sterling, Distraction

We'll wrap up the course with this marvelously weird futurist novel, which rings some major changes on the old Cyberpunk dystopia. This title has not been ordered through the Bookstore, so find yourself a copy right away. Both major online sources can ship in 24 hours.

Additional Readings: I intend to make fairly heavy use of photocopies and Web-accessible texts for this class. Copies or URLs will be given out at least a week before they are scheduled for discussion. You are responsible for obtaining the reading. If you miss class, you will find extra copies outside my office (508 CR).

Optional Texts: I intend to treat Moore's Crossing the Chasm and Lessig's Code as recommended books for this course. You are not required to buy them but may wish to anyway.