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Internet and Society: Technologies and Politics of Control

LSTU E–120 - Harvard Extension School - Spring 2012 - Tuesdays 5:30-7:30 pm EST

Berkman Center for Internet and Society - 23 Everett Street - Conference room, 2nd floor

This course examines current legal, political, social, and technical struggles for control of the global Internet—and the content and relationships it conveys. The course focuses on the interaction of new technologies and services with emerging models of production, innovation, communication, learning, and civic engagement—looking at both the US and international contexts. Prerequisites: willingness to experiment with new technologies and to participate in class discussions, whether virtually or in person. (4 credits) continued...

Syllabus at a glance

Jan 24	Politics and Technology of Control: Introduction
Jan 31	Paradigms for Studying the Internet
Feb 7	Regulating Speech Online	(Assignment 1 due)
Feb 14	New Economic Models
Feb 21	Peer Production and Collaboration	(Assignment 2 due)
Feb 28	Copyright in Cyberspace
Mar 6	New and Old Media, Participation, and Information
Mar 13	No class - Spring Break
Mar 20	Collective Action and Decision-making	(Assignment 3 due)
Mar 27	Internet and Democracy
Apr 3	Control and Code: Privacy Online
Apr 10	Internet and Democracy: The Sequel	(Assignment 4 due)
Apr 17	Internet Infrastructure and Regulation
Apr 24	Law's Role in Regulating Online Conduct and Speech
Apr 24	The Wikileaks Case
May 1	Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare
May 8	Final Project due (no class)

Course Information: Class Participation Grading Statement on Plagiarism

Assignments & Projects: Assignments Complete List of Assigned Readings Final Project

Resources: Recorded class videos Powerpoint Slides from Class How to edit a wiki Extension School Writing Center

External: Upcoming Events In the news

People: Staff Contact Info List of User Profiles

Participating During Class (Tuesdays 5:30-7:30 pm EST)

• Attend in person at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 23 Everett St., Second Floor, Cambridge, MA 02138 (directions)
• Live audio/video stream available during class through
  • Our virtual classroom is located here:
  • If you have trouble with Elluminate, please visit the Elluminate support website or contact one of the class TAs
  • If your are participating remotely we ask that you change your audio preferences in Elluminate to enable Mute the speaker when "talk" is pressed to prevent feedback. You can find this option by going to Tools -> Preferences, and finding Speaker Settings under Audio in the left hand options tree. Please have this box checked off. (More on how to do this here.)
  • For remote participants: to talk to the class in Cambridge during our regularly scheduled class time, please make sure to:
    • Set up and test your audio according to the instructions above
    • Raise your hand in Elluminate by clicking on the hand icon
    • Make sure that the Gain Volume next to your Talk button is at least at 60%. (You should adjust this manually if we can't hear you.)
    • When given the go ahead to talk, click the Talk button.

Participating Asynchronously

• The Elluminate sessions will be archived and accessible at

Contact Information

• All questions, comments, etc. should be sent to:
  • There are no set office hours; feel free to send an email, and the TAs will respond to it as soon as they can.
• If you need to contact an instructor or TA individually, please use their personal contact info located on the Staff Contact Info page.

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