Week 5: Does technology control us?

Summary: We consider several views regarding causal relationships between technology and human behavior.

Goals:

• Consider: Does technology determine human behavior? Do social structures determine the use of technology? 
• Revise and polish an essay.

• On to Week 6, Engineering

Monday, February 16: Technology and society

Read the following articles, on eReserve: 

• Weinberg (1966), "Can technology replace social engineering?"
• Winner (1986), "Technologies as forms of life"

The eReserve password is posted in PioneerWeb. In case you have difficulty accessing or printing the articles, there are hardcopies outside my door which you may borrow to make a photocopy of.

1. Briefly, who are/were the authors? (Use Google.)
2. What is the thesis of each article?
3. Imagine a meeting between the two authors. On what points might they agree? On what points might they disagree?
4. What is one question about the reading that you would like to discuss?
5. About how long did you spend on the reading and your response?

• Members of study teams 1 and 2 should post their answers to the above questions in the appropriate forum. As a reminder, reading responses are due by 7:30 the day before the class meeting.

Tuesday, February 17, noon: The physics of musical sounds

In the Physics Seminar, Professor Bob Cadmus will speak on "The Physics of Musical Sounds": 

What distinguishes sounds from each other, and in particular, what gives each musical instrument its characteristic voice? This seminar will explore how a sound is constructed according to a recipe that reflects the mechanical characteristics of the instrument that produced it. No physics background will be required to understand the presentation and non-physicist musicians are enthusiastically encouraged to attend.

The talk will be in SCI 1023 at noon. Attend the talk and email me a one- to two-paragraph response, including some summary and some commentary, for 5 points of extra credit.

Wednesday, February 18: The sociology of artifacts

• Latour (1992), "Where are the missing masses? The sociology of a few mundane artifacts"

1. Briefly, who is Bruno Latour? (Use Google.)
2. What is Latour's thesis?
3. Identify a quotation or passage that you believe is particularly important to understanding Latour's argument.
4. How might Latour's ideas connect to (or oppose) those of some author we read earlier?
5. What is one question about the reading that you would like to discuss?
6. About how long did you spend on the reading and your response?

• Members of study teams 3 and 4 should post their answers to the above questions in the appropriate forum. As a reminder, reading responses are due by 7:30 the day before the class meeting.

Friday, February 20: Studying technology in organizations

• Orlikowski (2000), "Using technology and constituting structures: A practice lens for studying technology in organizations"

1. Briefly, who is Wanda Orlikowski? (Use Google.)
2. What lesson for our class would you draw from Orlikowski's article?
3. Identify a quotation or passage that you believe is particularly important to understanding Orlikowski's findings.
4. How might Orlikowski's ideas connect to (or oppose) those of some author we read earlier?
5. What is one question about the reading that you would like to discuss?
6. About how long did you spend on the reading and your response?

• Members of study teams 5 and 6 should post their answers to the above questions in the appropriate forum. As a reminder, reading responses are due by 7:30 the day before the class meeting.

Friday, February 20, 5:30 p.m.: First polished essay due

Your first polished essay is due to the orange folder (in class or outside my office) by 5:30 p.m. I would like you to revise one of your first two essays both in response to my comments and in response to feedback from a member of your study team. 

The grading rubric I plan to use is below. I also provide two worksheets for peer review; each study team should choose one to work with.

• Essay grading rubric
• Peer review worksheet 1
• Peer review worksheet 2

Your essay may expand somewhat---up to about 1000 words---in response to substantive questions or objections. However, you should strive to be concise as well as clear, careful, and persuasive.

Please staple prior drafts and feedback (from me, from a member of your study team) to the back of your essay. There is a stapler in the printer room across from my office.

Janet Davis (davisjan@cs.grinnell.edu)