ENGL 295, Section 001 Social Media Spring 2022
Mondays 11:30 am - 12:50 pm (PAS 1241) Wednesdays asynchronous on LEARN
Instructor Information
Instructor: Jin Sol Kim (pronouns: she/her)
Office hours: Mondays 1:00pm to 2:00pm at PAS 1087 Email: js2kim@uwaterloo.ca
Territorial Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that I am living, learning, and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes ten kilometres on each side of the Grand River.
Course Description
This course attends to the popular social media landscape and surveys the theoretical and methodological approaches towards the analysis and understanding of social media as a palpable phenomenon in contemporary digital culture. Throughout the course, you will learn about such topics as social networks, digital identity, memes, labour, the transformation of social relationships, data politics, privacy, and regulation. Your participation in this course will enable you to critically analyze social media content and platforms; evaluate the content, audience, politics, and effects of social media; identify and assess organizational and regulatory constraints in the social media systems; examine the key issues in social media such as regulation, labour and privacy; as well as understand and reproduce the semantic and symbolic significance of media codes such as memes and celebrity selfies.
Course Goals and Learning Objectives
Knowledge — by the end of the course you should be able to:
Analyze
social
media
content
and
platforms
Evaluate
the
audience,
politics,
and
effects
of
social
media
Identify
and
assess
the
organizational
and
regulatory
constraints
in
social
media
systems
Examine
the
key
issues
in
social
media
such
as
regulation,
labour,
and
privacy
Understand
the
semantic
and
symbolic
significance
of
media
codes
such
as
memes
and
celebrity
selfies
Application—over the course of the term you will:
Take
notes
from
various
media
and
lectures
to
understand,
remember,
and
apply
new
ideas
Interpret
texts
using
scholarly
methods
of
analysis
Frame
persuasive
arguments
in
writing
Integration—this course encourages you to:
Develop
a
clear
and
concise
scholarly
voice
Write
more
professionally:
conceive,
research,
draft,
edit
and
proofread
your
work
Connect
your
reading
and
writing
strategies
to
the
larger
project
of
your
degree
This course is reading intensive, writing intensive, and participation intensive: I expect you to do the readings, take careful notes, and take part.
Pandemic Objectives
-
To be patient and kind with ourselves and with each other.
-
To embrace the opportunity to learn in new ways and grow as students and citizens.
-
To do our best, knowing that this will probably look different than other terms.
-
To communicate openly and clearly about our expectations, concerns, and goals. Tell me what you need, and I’ll tell you how I can help.
-
To be flexible. This is a strange time. We’re all a bit anxious. Circumstances will likely change over the course of the term. Let’s work together to make this the best class possible, knowing that this may be a moving target.
Required Text/Materials
All readings and resources will be made available on LEARN.
Course Assessment
|
Participation |
20% |
All term |
|
Platform Analysis |
25% |
June 8 |
|
Celebrity Selfie Analysis |
25% |
June 29 |
|
Final Project Proposal |
5% |
July 6 |
|
Final Project |
25% |
August 3 |
* Note: The full information for the course assignments stated above are available as separate PDF documents located within the “Course Syllabus” module on the LEARN course site.
Course Schedule
Week 1: Logging on
May 2: Introduction and Syllabus Review May 4: N/A
Week 2: The Overall Field of Social Media
May 9: Read: boyd, “Social Media”
May 11: Independent reading: Roose, “Can Social Media Be Saved?”
Week 3: Platformization of the Web May 16: Read: Helmond, “The Platformization of the Web”
May 18: Independent reading: Bolter & Grusin, “Remediation”
Week 4: The Politics of Platforms May 23: Read: Gillespie, “The Politics of ‘Platforms’”
May 25: Independent reading: Gillespie, “How platforms reduce the visibility of some content” on YouTube
Week 5: Comparative Uses of Four Social Media Platforms May 30: Read: Alhabash and Ma, “A Tale of Four Platforms”
June 1: Independent reading: McLuhan, “The Medium is the Message”
Week 6: Selfies June 6: Read: Senft and Baym, “What does the Selfie Say?”
June 8: Independent reading: van Dijck, “Digital Photography”
Due: Platform Analysis (PA) on LEARN at 11:59PM
Week 7: Social Identity in Starter Pack Memes
June 13: Read: Eschler and Menking, “‘No Prejudice Here’: Examining Social Identity Work in Starter Pack Memes”
June 15: Independent reading: Instagram’s Algorithms are Biased Against WOC
Week 8: Digital Doppelgangers, Databases, and Power June 20: Robinson, “Databases and Doppelgangers”
June 22 Independent reading: TBD
Week 9: Gender, Race, and Privacy in Facebook
June 27: Read: Cirucci, “Normative Interfaces: Affordances, Gender, and Race in Facebook” June 29: Independent reading: Vaidhyanathan, “Facebook’s New Move Isn’t About Privacy: It’s About Domination”
Due: Celebrity Selfie Analysis on LEARN at 11:59PM
Week 10: Ideological Communities on YouTube
July 4: Read: Maddox, “Interrogating LeftTube: ContraPoints and the Possibilities of Critical Media Praxis on YouTube”
July 6: Independent reading: Contrapoints, “The Aesthetic” on YouTube
Due: Final Project Proposal on LEARN at 11:59PM
Week 11: Labour and the Platform Economy
July 11: Read: Caplan and Gillespie, “Tiered Governance and Demonetization: The Shifting Terms of Labor and Compensation in the Platform Economy”
July 13: Independent reading: Interview with Sarah T. Roberts, “How Facebook Moderates Content” on YouTube
Week 12: The Uniqueness of Tik Tok and the Transformation of Power Relationships
July 18: Read: Zhang, “Infrastructuralization of Tik Tok: Transformation, Power Relationships, and Platformization of Video Entertainment in China”
July 20: Independent reading: Munger, “TikTok is a Unique Blend of Social Media Platforms”
Week 13: Logging off August 3: Due: Final Project on LEARN at 11:59pm EST
Accommodations/ Accessibility
In
our
class
environment,
we
will
be
mindful
of
the
reality
that
everyone
learns
differently.
If you
have
any
concerns
about
accessing
course
content
or
accommodating
your
learning
style, please
let
me
know.
You
can
also
arrange
for
formal
accommodations
with
AccessAbility Services
by
registering
at
the
beginning
of
each
academic
term.
AccessAbility
services
is currently
operating
online.
Please
call:
519-888-4567
ext.
35082
or
email:
access@uwaterloo.ca.
Further
information
may
be
found
on
the
following
website:
https://uwaterloo.ca/accessability-services/.
Late Work
All assignments are to be submitted in electronic copy via the various Dropboxes or discussion forums on LEARN on the due date noted on the class schedule and syllabus. Late assignments will receive a 2% deduction from the assignment grade per business day. To avoid the deduction of late marks, prepare your work in advance (i.e. if you have any questions or concerns, I expect to hear from you well before the assignment is due).
Late marks will not apply for the two following reasons:
-
If you have notified me in advance about a concern or conflict, and we have come to an agreement on an alternate deadline.
-
If you invoke the COVID clause (valid one time only, see below)
COVID Clause
Before I am your instructor and you are my students, we are first and foremost fellow humans, and I understand that sometimes we can’t prepare for the shit that happens in our lives (like COVID-19). If something comes up that you didn’t anticipate and that you don’t have documentation for, you may invoke this clause as a “get out of late marks free” pass. You may use it on one assignment throughout the term and receive a three (3) day extension, no questions asked, though I do request that you contact me as soon as you think you might need it. You may not retroactively apply the clause once an assignment is already late. This clause is my gift to you. Please use it wisely.
Communication Policy
Though we do live digital lives, I do not live 24/7 on my email. Do not expect me to respond to your email instantaneously; allow for 24 hours on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends for me to get back to you. If you feel the need to chat via phone or video call, please email me to arrange a meeting.
In addition, please be professional in your email. Use a clear subject heading, begin with a proper salutation (e.g. “Hi Jin Sol), and end with a sign off (Best, [student name]). This makes me take your email seriously, and I know right away who the email is from and what the email will be about.
Academic Integrity
In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.
Discipline: A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline. For typical penalties, check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties.
Grievance: A student who believes that a decision affecting some aspect of their/her/his university life has been unfair or unreasonable may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4. When in doubt, please be certain to contact the department’s administrative assistant who will provide further assistance.
Appeals: A decision made or penalty imposed under Policy 70, Student Petitions and Grievances (other than a petition) or Policy 71, Student Discipline may be appealed if there is a ground. A student who believes they/she/he has a ground for an appeal should refer to Policy 72, Student Appeals.
Mental Health Support
Life is hard, especially during the pandemic, and all of us need a support system. Below is a list of mental health support services you can access. I encourage you to use them as needed.
On Campus
Counselling Services (counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 ext. 32655)
Off campus, 24/7
-
Good2Talk: Free confidential helpline for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
-
Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-4300 ext. 6880
-
Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
-
OK2BME: support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or questioning teens in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 ext. 213