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LIS 150 - Social Media and Ourselves

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Distinguish how social media sites are influenced and impacted by users, as well as the role of social media in interpersonal relationships. Includes a focus on social media sites and the various implications and functions of social media in contemporary times. Also includes the study of new media taking place across disciplinary divides and from multiple theoretical perspectives.

Gen-Ed: Meets AGEC - SBS; Meets CTE - SBS.

1. Analyze the role of social media in personal and social interaction.
2. Define basic concepts related to social network theory and social media.
3. Identify and critically evaluate social theories and concerns related to how people work, consume, and present themselves on the web.
4. Illustrate how social thinking, influence, and relations impact individual behavior.
5. Examine the role of interpersonal influence on self-perception, attitude formation, and behavior.
6. Empirically evaluate social networking characteristics while examining how data mining can be used to answer social science questions. 
7. Differentiate the popular and academic perspectives on social media, and recognize the interdisciplinary nature of media research. 

1. Information society to e-society
   1. Information in history
   2. The information revolution (Information age)
   3. The social media revolution
2. Cyberspace, virtual communities and online social networks
   1. The physical internet and the concept of cyberspace
   2. Virtual communities
   3. Social networks
   4. Social media

1. Traditional roles

2. Purposes

1. Disciplinary approaches to social media
   1. Psychological perspective
      1. Psychology of social media
      2. Intrapersonal factors in virtual communities
      3. “Sense of self” and others
      4. Gender, sexuality, and virtual identity(s)

5. Gender and age in behaviors on the web

6.  Personal pages, self-presentations, and virtual selves

1. Sociological perspective
2. Social networks
3. Functionalism
4. Constructivism
5. Internalism and externalism
6. Feminist theory
7. Social constructionism
8. Social construction of technology (SCOT)

C. Anthropological perspective

1. Social media characteristics and their cultural usage
2. Participatory culture
3. Anomie
4. Storage and expressions of culture
5. Gaming
6. Social activities: flash mob, smart mobs, meet-ups

D. Economic perspective

1. Substantivism and social media
2. E- commerce
3. Marketing and social media
4. Economic Inequality and discrimination
5. Globalization

1. Interpersonal relationships in virtual communities 
   1. Connectedness and personal welfare
   2. Collaboration, collective intelligence, and crowdsourcing
   3. Citizenship and participatory journalism
2. Contemporary issues in social media and social networking
   1. Privacy, personal information, and data protection
   2. Addiction, depression, loneliness, exploitation
   3. Cyber bullying, online shaming, viral rage
   4. Health concerns related to social media and social networking
3. Analyzing social media empirically
   1. Web based research from academic perspectives
   2. Requirements for scientific research
   3. Qualitative and quantitative web based research
   4. Empirical versus theoretical questions
   5. Designing and conducting web based research
4. Analyze an aspect of social media
   1. Use scientific methods to investigate an aspect of social media
   2. Use online tools to conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research
   3. Use or examine online tools to discuss, interpret, evaluate and discuss evidence
   4. Produce written discourse requiring critical inquiry totaling 2500 words or more
   5. Combine in-class and out-or-class written work

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