INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSEEXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCESTANDARDS FOR WRITTEN WORKSOME EDITING CONVENTIONS FOR STUDENTS’ PAPERSSymbol MeaningGRADINGTEXTS AND OTHER TOOLSLIST OF ASSIGNMENTSAssignment Date Due Percent of GradeMeeting Date TopicsSCHEDULEDATE TOPICS, ASSIGNMENTS, AND REQUIRED READINGSPaper on gender, technology, and information – Different parts due various datesREFERENCESSelected important journalsdifferences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural StudiesFeminist TheoryGender and HistoryGender, Work & OrganizationJournal of Gender StudiesKnowledge and Society: The Anthropology of Science and TechnologyMen and MasculinitiesMinervaScience and Technology ReviewScience and Technology StudiesScience StudiesScience, Technology,& Human ValuesSigns: Journal of Women in Culture and SocietySocial Studies of ScienceSelected additional sourcesZiman, John. (1984). An introduction to science studies: The philosophical and social aspects ofGENDER, TECHNOLOGY, AND INFORMATIONINF 385T/WGS 393#27277/#49052Dr. Philip DotySchool of InformationUniversity of Texas at AustinSP 2008Class time: Monday 1:00 – 4:00 PMPlace: SZB 526Office: SZB 570Office hrs: Tuesday 1:00 – 2:00 PMBy appointment other timesTelephone: 512.471.3746 – direct line512.471.2742 – iSchool receptionist512.471.3821 – main iSchool officeInternet: [email protected]://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~pdoty/index.htmClass URL: http://courses.ischool.utexas.edu/Doty_Philip/2008/spring/INF385T/TA: Melissa GuyCopyright Philip Doty November [email protected] hoursThursday 11:00 AM – 12:00 NBy appointment other timesPlace TBACopyright Philip Doty November 20072TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction to the course 3Expectations of students’ performance 4Analysis and holism 5 Standards for written work 6 Editing conventions 10Grading 11Texts and other tools 12List of assignments 13Outline of course 14Schedule 16Assignments 20References 23Sources in the class scheduleSelected important journalsSelected additional sourcesCopyright Philip Doty November 20073INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSEGender, Technology, and Information (INF 385T/WGS 393) examines the three elements of the course’s title. Students will be asked to explore various perspectives on the interactions, historically and currently, among gender, technology, and information. These perspectives and concepts include narrative and metaphor, design and gender, the gendering of various technologies, identity and the Internet, the digital divide, the invisibility of information work in organizations, the history of technology, and gender and reading (including book clubs). We are fortunate to have several experts visiting this class from various departments and research centershere at UT.Graduate students from all disciplines and academic units in the University are welcome, and students may take the class for a letter grade or for credit/no credit.In this course, we will assume a non-essentialist position about gender, i.e., we will not support the assertion that there are some essential, identifiable differences among people of different genders. We also are interested in gender as broadly as possible, considering but also moving beyond “feminism and . . .” or “women in . . .” as the sole focus of the course; in fact, consideration of masculinities and technology will be a specific feature of the course.Technology is another of the significant concepts for our course. We will not limit our consideration of technology to digital technologies this semester, or, for that matter, only to information technologies. While we will examine artifacts like computers, paper, books, houses, and other technologies, technology studies includes many other elements, e.g., music, language, literary genres, social conventions, and practices of all kinds.I would like to offer two quick words about the third and final major topic of our work this semester – information. While we will use the useful fiction of information as thing, please remember that I, along with many others, consider it only a fiction. As such, information is not “in our minds” or “in files” or the like – thus we will avoid locutions such as “content” when speaking about information and communication. Instead, we will move beyond the cognitivism inherent in information as thing and look more to meaning making, cultural production, and social practice.Copyright Philip Doty November 20074EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCEStudents are expected to be involved, creative, and vigorous participants in class discussions and in the overall conduct of the class. In addition, students are expected to:• Attend all class sessions; if a student misses a class, it is her responsibility to arrange with another student to obtain all notes, handouts, and assignment sheets.• Read all material prior to class; students are expected to use the course readings to inform their classroom participation and their writing. Students must learn to integrate what they read with what they say and write. This last imperative is essential to the development of professional expertise and to the development of a collegial professional persona.• Educate themselves and their peers. Successful completion of graduate academic programs and participation in professional life depend upon a willingness to demonstrate initiative andcreativity. Participation in the professional and personal growth of colleagues is essential to one’s own success as well as theirs. Such collegiality is at the heart of scholarship, so some assignments are designed to encourage collaboration.- Spend at least 3-4 hours in preparation for each hour in the classroom; therefore, a 3-credit graduate course requires a minimum of 10-12 hours per week of work outside the classroom.• Participate in all class discussions.• Complete all assignments on time; late assignments will not be accepted except in the particular circumstances noted below. Failure to complete any assignment on time will result in a failing grade for the course.• Be responsible with collective property, especially books and other material on reserve.• Ask for help from the instructor or the teaching assistant, either in class, during office hours, on the telephone, through email, or in any other appropriate way. Email is especially appropriate for information questions, but please recall that Doty has limited access to email outside the