Overview

Communications technologies have been transforming social, economic, and political geographies for a long time. The invention of the telegraph, for instance, radically transformed the way that nations related to each other, affected the speed and the content of the news, and enabled new economic links among distant places. Until recently communication has largely been ignored as a topic for study in Geography. The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has forced geographers to finally pay attention to issues of communication. At the very least, the metaphors we use to describe these new technologies-cyberspace--are geographical. Beyond that, electronic communications technologies are transforming the ways that people and places relate to each other. A major emphasis in this course will be upon community networking, a form of cyberspace activism intimately connected with place. We won't, however, ignore other scales and other geographies of the emerging information society. Finally, cyberspace is partly a product of the way that it is imagined, therefore, we also explore the geography of cyberspace through its depiction in film and in cyberpunk fiction.

This course does not assume any familiarity with the Internet, the World Wide Web, or computers though a basic understanding will be helpful. If you need help with any of the technical aspects at any time during the course be sure to ask. That said, the best way to learn about using the Internet is through exploration and through trial and error. If you have well developed Internet and computer skills I encourage you to help those who are just developing their skills.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course students will…

• understand how communication both structures and is structured by geography.
  
• understand the uneven geographical development of the Internet and other communication technologies.
• recognize the significance of the location of physical telecommunications infrastructure in the construction of cyberspaces.
• understand the ways that communications technologies may be undermining or enhancing the creation of community.
• critically analyze the content of online communications.
• apply principles of good web design (including principles of accessibility for people with disabilities) to become a content creator as well as a content consumer.
• be able to identify the ways that online and offline worlds interconnect.
• understand the interrelationships among the disciplines of communication and geography.
• understand how their own relationships with others are affected by telecommunications technologies.
• understand how technological skills may be used to benefit their own and other's communities.
• develop skills in managing complex projects and in working as a part of a team. be able to identify both printed and online sources of information that they can use in the future to understand the changing geography of communication.
• develop web design skills that may be useful for gaining employment upon graduation.

Course Components

There are 7 major components to this course.

1. Reading, Discussion, and in class activities

You will need to purchase three books for this semester.

• Stephen Graham, editor. 2004. The Cybercities Reader. London: Routledge
• Martin Dodge and Rob Kitchin. 2001. Mapping Cyberspace. London: Routledge.
• William Gibson. 2003. Pattern Recognition. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.

In addition you may wish to purchase a good guidebook on HTML or on working with Dreamweaver. You should be able to find such books in most any bookstore. An excellent reference is Elizabeth Castro. 2002. HTML For the World Wide Web Visual Quickstart Guide 5th Edition. Peachpit Press.

Additional articles from the Internet and from old-fashioned, paper-based media will also be assigned. Articles on paper will be available on reserve in the library and at my office. See the partial list below.

You will gain the foundational knowledge in communication and geography from your readings, discussion, and in class learning activities. These readings will provide the basis for our daily discussions and learning activities. It is therefore essential that you not only do the assigned reading before you come to class, but that you also take some time to digest and reflect upon your reading. Please come to class with some questions, ideas, or insights that you want to discuss in class. Our goal is to have discussions where everyone is able to actively participate. Furthermore, this is an extremely small class, and both your classmates and I will know if you haven't done the reading. I may, if necessary, hold a pop quiz (for a grade) to assess whether or not you have come to class fully prepared for discussion

2. Your Communication Geography Web site

In order to practice skills in online communication, you will establish a web site on which you will post many of your assignments throughout the semester. Your website will be graded in terms of both the quality of the design and the quality of content and will count as a virtual field trip (see below). In addition many of your assignments will not be turned in but will be posted on the site for the world to see! In order to construct a website you need to make sure that you have your own personal space on the VU website. To create a WWW account, go to http://student.valpo.edu/, click on the "Manage WWW account link in the black bar at the top of the page and follow the directions you are given. Your website will also need to conform to the VU Web Page Policy posted at http://staff.valpo.edu/myohe/eis/dirgen/dirpol/vuwebpol.html.

3. Critical Analysis Papers

In order to practice skills in critical analysis and writing you will be asked to do two critical analysis papers. The first is on selected chapters from Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community. The second is on the novel Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. For these assignments you will be expected to give a short summary or description of the readings that you are reviewing (no more than a few paragraphs highlighting the main argument or plot of the reading). Then you should spend the rest of your paper raising and answering questions about the reading. Specific details and requirements for individual assignments will be provided when they are assigned.

4. Experiential Learning: Virtual Field Trips

I will create a series of virtual field trips for you to complete throughout the semester. Their purpose is to familiarize you with the phenomena that we'll be studying this semester. As the semester develops I will begin to ask you to create your own virtual field trips. Virtual Field trips will be completed during class and you will be encouraged to discuss the sites you visit with your classmates as you complete the field trip.

5. Team Website Building Assignments

We will collectively build two websites during the semester (not including the one for the final service learning project). These assignments are designed to further develop website building skills, teamwork skills, as well as skills in applying content learned in class. The first assignment will be a regional directory of online information about Northwest Indiana. The second will be an assignment where you will be challenged to create an online map of the university's web site. For these assignments you will work with one or more other members of the class on a portion of the larger site. Specific details on these assignments will be provided to you. These assignments will help prepare us to accomplish our biggest challenge…

6. Service Learning Project

The entire class will collaborate in a service learning project to help a local non-profit organization build a web site. This project will help you to appreciate the increasing role that online communications plays in promoting community development and supporting the non-profit sector. It will also help you to appreciate how the technological skills you learn in college may not only benefit you in your career but may also be of benefit to your community. The project may require meeting outside of the regularly scheduled class period. Should an unavoidable conflict with extracurricular activities arise, the project should take precedence. You will be graded on your participation in the project (including attendance at all project related events and class sessions, on time and competent completion, and professional attitude), on a series of preparatory memos presenting ideas for organizing and executing the project, a research project on similar websites, your individual contribution to the project, and a final reflection paper.

Members of the class will be responsible for planning and executing the project. The project should be designed to accomplish the following four goals: 1) build a web site for the organization; 2) build the web site in a way that builds community (within our class, within the community organization, and among the two groups); 3) teach students about some of the challenges involved in community networking and non-profit web development; 4) teach community members about building a web site. The last time this class was taught, members of the class helped a local non-profit organization to build a web site through a "web raising.' The class met with volunteers from the organization for three hours one evening and constructed the web site. We might employ a similar approach or explore alternative ideas.

7. Exams

There will be a midterm and a final exam. Both will have essay and short answer questions.

Grading

Your final grade will be based upon the following.

Grading Scale (points)

Modifications to this distribution may be required depending upon the nature of the final project.

Course Web Site and E-mail list

I have started a web site for this course at http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo490x/. All of your assignments will be posted here. Some of the work you produce will also be published here. Most of your assignments will be submitted in electronic format. You need to check your e-mail regularly (once a day Monday-Friday at least) for heads up on updates, reminders, and all that. The course e-mail list address is 2004FA-GEO-490-X-L@valpo.edu. You will hand in some assignments via e-mail to your professor and/or to the list.

A note on Attendance

Most of the assignments for this class will be completed (or at least started) during class. Attendance at all class sessions is therefore very important. If you must be absent because of an illness, a family emergency or university event please send me an e-mail and let me know so that I may excuse your absence. Be sure that you inquire about what you missed.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know during the first week of class so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. All discussions will remain confidential.

Honor Code

The Honor Code will be upheld in this course. Authorized aid in this class will be limited to your own personal knowledge during exams and your own work on all written exercises. You may discuss readings with classmates but your writing should be your own. You are encouraged to use the services of the writing center and you should have someone else proofread or offer suggestions on your written assignments before handing them in.

You must use quotation marks for direct quotes, cite your sources, and include a list of works cited in your writing. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and may be considered unauthorized aid because you are essentially representing someone else's work as your own. Many first year students mistakenly believe that it is OK to cut and paste text from web sites into their papers without providing both quotation marks and a proper citation. Web sites are no different from any other source and need to be cited fully. Please refer to a writing guide for details on proper methods of citation (you should have bought one for your freshman core class). Please ask if you do not understand methods of citation since not citing or improperly citing your sources can lead to Honor Code violations. Finally sharing your papers written for this class with others on the Internet is expected. Downloading papers written by others to hand in (either in part or in their entirety) constitutes unauthorized aid.

Intellectual Property Issues

You may be tempted to use images or other media from the web for your assignments. While this is a common practice it is not a moral or for that matter a legal practice. It also violates VUs Web Page Policy. If you would like to use a graphic from some other site make sure either that the creator of the graphic has given permission for its use or that you have requested and obtained permission to use the graphic. Better yet make your own graphics! Please respect the intellectual property of others.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the people who made this class possible: Lynn Staehelli for helping me figure out how to do cybergeography; Don Mitchell for encouraging me to explore cybergeography; Martin Dodge for the advice and "beverages" in London; Rob Kitchin, Anthony Townsend, Matt Zook, and Sara Fabrikant for great writing and advice; Mark Bjelland and Bob Douglas for giving me the chance to teach the class for the first time; Jerod Klava, Lucas Ahlberg, the hockey guys and everyone else for taking it the first and second times; Isaac Johnson for letting me know that it was worth taking; and of course you, the current students for taking it!