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Summer

The City

The Great Works Symposium presents the fourth in its 2010-2011 series on "THE CITY":

THE INFORMATION CITY

UNIV 241, 3 credits
Summer Term, 2011
Wednesdays 6:00 – 8:50 pm
Curtis 352A

Course Information:

Technological innovations have consistently transformed the human experience.  At the dawn of the 20th Century, the automobile and the skyscraper profoundly altered the physical and social landscape of the United States.  America became urban.  Now, we have entered the Information Age.  Computers are not simply word processors.  Phones no longer just connect friends and family: they provide instant access to all sorts of information (e.g. the weather, directions, stock prices, and political news).  Strangers can find your home on Google Earth.  The cameras of law enforcement agencies can catch you running a red light and can see so much more.  Everyday, over 500 million people across the world interact on Facebook.  This course examines how information structures the city.  It explores the implications of the Information Age for the urban economy and urban democratic practice.  This course will address the following topics: the role of information technology in urban emergency management and disaster response; the contemporary social, economic, and political function of the urban library; the legality and ethics of privacy issues raised by advances in information technology; and the role of information in urban governance and democratic practice.  

Beginning in Week 2, students will work in small groups (2-3 students each) towards completion of a major term project.  Your final projects will allow you to explore the theoretical and historical issues covered throughout the semester within the context of a city. Students will select one feature of the Information Age and assess how it has influenced the social, economic, or political development of a city. You can use a variety formats.  They include (but are not limited to): web pages, teaching modules, video presentations/documentaries, white papers, performances, etc. In collaboration with the group, students will research, write, and submit their work for publication by the close of the term.  You will present your project in Week Ten of the course.  Though a significant portion of your grade on this project will be earned individually, the group dynamic is expected to push you to produce the most interesting and rigorous possible research effort. 

Mission:

The Great Works Symposium is an interdisciplinary course—focused on exploring subjects of the broadest possible interest and greatest societal impact—designed to bring Drexel University students, teachers, and visiting expert lecturers into collaboration.  The Great Works Symposium strives to avoid the “textbook approach,” with an emphasis on developing in students the active skills of interdisciplinary inquiry: reading, writing, critical thinking, methodological creativity, and argument.  Through an intense examination of one topic, students are encouraged to see the University as an interconnected enterprise, and to imagine the University as one part of a larger spectrum of scholars in the communities of the city, the nation, and the world.

Class Meeting Days and Times

Lectures: Wednesdays, 6:00-7:20 p.m.
Sections: Wednesdays, 7:30-8:50 p.m.

Location: Curtis 352A

Instructors, Contacts, Office Hours

Scott Gabriel Knowles, Ph.D.

Email: sgk23@drexel.edu 

Phone: 215-895-6762

Office: MacAlister 3025
Office Hours: Meetings by appointment

Danuta A. Nitecki, Ph.D.

Email: dan44@drexel.edu
Phone: 215-895-2750
Office: Hagerty Library, Administration, Room 208
Office Hours: Meetings by appointment

Rob D'Ovidio, Ph.D.

Email: rd64@drexel.edu
Phone: (215) 895-1803
Office: PSA 203
Office Hours: Meetings by appointment

Texts

Class Participation (including weekly reaction/discussion papers): 30%
Mid-Term Exam: 30%
Term Project: 40%

This will be a very ACTIVE class!  Participation comprises a large proportion of your grade.  Please attend every lecture and every section/workshop meeting.  Come to class having completed the reading assignments, prepared to meet research goals, and ready to take part.  This will result in your getting the most possible from the course, and it will create a dynamic classroom environment.  You will be evaluated with these expectations in mind.

Your class participation grade will be determined in part by your attendance and your role in section/workshop discussion.  Additionally, for the first six weekly guest lectures (Weeks 2-7), you will be required to submit a brief (about a paragraph in length) “reaction” paper consisting of questions and/or specific talking points related to the week’s topic and readings.  These questions/talking points should be typewritten and double spaced, and they should reflect your preparation for the week’s discussion.  Please submit your questions to ALL instructors no later than 10:00 a.m. on Wednesdays.  You are to use these as the basis for the Q&A and discussion section during these weeks.

At mid term you will complete an exam that will evaluate your completion and comprehension of assigned readings, and your understanding of material presented in lectures, panel discussions, and section meetings.  The format will be written (essay/ID), and topics will be distributed on Thursday, July 13, 2011. The exam will be due in class Wednesday, July 20, 2011.  The last date on which a student may withdraw from the course is July 29, 2011.  Therefore, students who score below a grade of 70 on this exam, or miss it for any unexcused reason will be expected to drop the course.

For a good portion of the second half of the course students will work in small groups (2-3 students each) towards completion of a major term project.  Students will choose an area of interest among the major themes under examination in the course, then they will choose a proper format for their project.  Formats include (but are not limited to): web pages, teaching modules, video presentations/documentaries, white papers, performances, etc. In collaboration with the group, students will research, write, and submit their work for publication by the close of the term.  Each group will meet in weeks 8-9 with course instructors and with expert workshop facilitators to develop their ideas and craft their projects.  You will present your project in Week Ten of the course.  Though a significant portion of your grade on this project will be earned individually, the group dynamic is expected to push you to produce the most interesting and rigorous possible research effort. 

Course Policies and Grades

Policies and Conduct

Consult the syllabus frequently in order to keep up with scheduled speakers, section meetings, readings, and assignment deadlines.  Keeping up with the assignment schedule is your responsibility.  We will make all take-home exam assignments available to you in plenty of time for successful completion.

As a rule we do not accept late exams or other assignments for any reason other than excused, documented absences.  It will be your responsibility to make certain that the instructor receives a hard copy of any excused absence documentation.  Leaving town for work, or having a busy week are understandable facts of life, but they do not comprise excused absences from class.

Please arrive to guest lectures and discussion sections on time, stay for the entire period, and display professional conduct at all times.  Cell phones must be turned off, laptops must be used only for taking notes during class time—these rules will be strictly enforced.

All excused schedule conflicts must be submitted to your section instructor, in writing, by the end of the first week of the term.  Make-up assignments are only offered in the case of documented, excused absences.  Excused absences include illness, religious observances, and documented university extra-curricular events.

No extensions or incompletes will be offered in this course.  If a student has unfinished coursework at the end of the term due to a documented, excused absence, the instructor will assign the grade earned to that point—the student will then have two weeks from the last day of the term to complete any missing work, and the instructor may at that time submit a change of grade form.

It is the responsibility of the student to be on the class e-mail list, and to be aware of e-mail updates from the instructors.  It is the responsibility of the student to make sure that she/he is marked present on roll sheets.  It is the responsibility of the student to obtain all reading updates, sample exam questions, take-home exams, and any other materials handed out in class. 

The instructors reserve the right to amend this syllabus in any way necessary for the benefit of the class.

Academic Honesty

The following policies are drawn from the Official Student Handbook: Drexel University is committed to a learning environment that embraces academic honesty. In order to protect members of our community from the results of dishonest conduct, the University has adopted policies to deal with cases of academic dishonesty. We comply fully with the Drexel University “Academic Honesty Policy,” as explained in the Official Student Handbook. It is the student’s responsibility to know and follow the policies set forth in the Official Student Handbook.

Academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism will result in an immediate F for the course with no exceptions. Academic dishonesty may result in suspension or expulsion from Drexel University.

Americans With Disabilities Act

In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Drexel University’s policies and procedures, the University is committed to the non-discrimination of students with disabilities.

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations and services at Drexel University need to present a current accommodation verification letter (“AVL”) to faculty before accommodations can be made. AVL’s are issued by the Office of Disability Services (“ODS”). For additional information, contact the ODS at www.drexel.edu/edt/disability, 3201 Arch St., Ste. 210, Philadelphia, PA 19104, V 215.895.1401, or TTY 215.895.2299.

Course Schedule

Week 1: June 22: Introduction

Speakers: Scott Knowles, Danuta Nitecki, and Rob D'Ovidio

Assigned Reading:

  1. Manuel Castells, The Informational City: Economic Restructuring and Urban Development (New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 1992), selected sections

  2. Peter Hall, “Changing Geographies: Technology and Income,” in High Technology and Low-Income Communities, eds. Donald Schon, Bish Sanyal, and Williams Mitchell (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999)

Week 2: June 29: Information and the Urban Space

Guest Speaker: Nathaniel Popkin

Assigned Reading:
  1. Nathaniel Popkin, Song of the City: An Intimate History of the American Urban Landscape (New York: Basic Books, 2002), Selected sections

Week 3: July 6: E-Governance

Guest Speaker: Rob D'Ovidio

Assigned Reading:
  1. Mark Howard,  “e-Government Across the Globe: How Will “e” Change Government?” Government Finance Review August 2001 http://www.gfoa.org/downloads/eGovGFRAug01.pdf
  2. Eduard Hovy, et al. "Government 2.0: Making connections between citizens, data and government." Information Polity: The International Journal of Government & Democracy in the Information Age 15, no. 1/2 (March 2010): 1-9.
  3. Christopher G. Reddick, "Citizen Interaction with E-Government: From the Streets to Servers?," Government Information Quarterly 22, no. 1 (2005): 338-57. http://academic.udayton.edu/grantneeley/MPA%20512/citizen%20interaction%20with%20e-government.pdf


Recommended Reading:
  1. Harold C. Relyea and John A. Shuler. "E-Gov: The Federal Overview." Journal of Academic Librarianship 27, no. 2 (March 2001): 131.

Week 4: July 13: Information and Privacy

Film:
"Big Brother, Big Business" (2006)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6061213358499552766#

Assigned Reading:
  1. John Butin, “Long Lens of the Law,” Governing, April 30, 2009, http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/Long-Lens-of-the.html
  2. New York Civil Liberties Union  “Who’s Watching? Video Camera Surveillance in New York City and the Need for Public Oversight” Fall 2006 http://www.nyclu.org/pdfs/surveillance_cams_report_121306.pdf
  3. Henry Goldman, “New York City Police Will Monitor 500 More Subway Cameras,” Bloomberg, Sep 20, 2010, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-20/new-york-city-will-get-500-more-subway-cameras-under-surveillance-system.html
  4. Al Baker, “Camera Scans of Car Plates Are Reshaping Police Inquiries,” New York Times, April 11, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/nyregion/12plates.html
  5. Ryan Singel, “AT&T Sued Over NSA Eavesdropping,” Wired, 01.31.06, http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70126
  6. Bob Sullivan, “We are all being tracked now. What should we do about that?” MSNBC, http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/28/6552124-we-are-all-being-tracked-now-what-should-we-do-about-that

Week 5: July 20: The Information Age

Speaker: Scott Knowles

Assigned Reading:
  1. Manuel Castells, “Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society.” International Journal of Communication 1 (2007), 238-266 http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/46/35
  2. Lynn Mandarano, Mahbubur Meenar, and Christopher Steins “Building Social Capital in the Digital Age of Civic Engagement,”Journal of Planning Literature November 2010 vol. 25 no. 2 123-135

Recommended Reading:
  1. Walter W. Powell and Kaisa Snellman, “The Knowledge Economy,” Annual Review of SociologyVol. 30, (2004), pp. 199-220.
  2. Paul DiMaggio, Eszter Hargittai, W. Russell Neuman and John P. Robinson, “Social Implications of the Internet,” Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 27, (2001), pp. 307-336.
  3. Kurt D. Bollacker, “Avoiding a Digital Dark Age,” American Scientist, March–April 2010, http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/2010/3/avoiding-a-digital-dark-age

Week July 27: Emergency Management

Film: “When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts” (2006), Act 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pD1aVJaRsM&playnext=1&list=PL0972ADB72097F0EB

Assigned Readings:
  1. Patrick C. Smith and David M. Simpson. “Technology and Communications in an Urban Crisis: The Role of Mobile Communications Systems in Disasters.” Journal of Urban Technology 16, no. 1 (April 2009): 133-149.=
  2. Thomas A. Birkland, “Disasters, Catastrophes, and Policy Failure in the Homeland Security Era." Review of Policy Research 26, no. 4 (July 2009): 423-438.

Recommended Readings:

  1. Jukka M. Krisp, "Planning Fire and Rescue Services by Visualizing Mobile Phone Density." Journal of Urban Technology 17, no. 1 (April 2010): 61-69.

Week 7: August 3: Library and Urban Citizenship

Speaker:Danuta Nitecki

Assigned Readings:
  1. Paul T. Jaeger and Kenneth R. Fleischmann. “Public Libraries, Values, Trust, and E-Government.” Information Technology & Libraries 26, no. 4 (December 2007): 34-4.
  2. Bertot, J. C., McClure, C. R., & Jaeger, P. T. “The impacts of free public Internet access on public library patrons and communities. Library Quarterly, Vol. 78. No. 3(2008): 285-301. PDF available: The Impacts of Free Public Internet Access on Public Library Patrons and Communities.

Recommended Readings:

  1. John L. Sullivan, Eugene Borgida, Melinda S. Jackson, Eric Riedel and Alina R. Oxendine, “A Tale of Two Towns: Assessing the Role of Political Resources in a Community Electronic Network,” Political Behavior Vol. 24, No. 1 (Mar., 2002), pp. 55-84.

Week 8: August 10: The Information City-A Comparative Perspective

Guest Speaker: TBA

Assigned Readings:
  1. Solmaz Hosseinioon, et al. “Development of Urban Planning Guidelines for Improving Emergency Response Capacities in Seismic Areas of Iran.” Disasters 33, no. 4 (October 2009): 645-664.
  2. Niki Rodousakis and Antonio Mendes dos Santos. “The Development of Inclusive e-Government in Austria and Portugal: A Comparison of Two Success Stories.” Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences vol. 21, no. 4 (2008) 283-316.

Week 9: August 17: Chief Information Officers

Guest Speaker: TBA

  1. Alan Shark, "The Technology Touch," American City & County 125, no. 1 (January 2010): 26-29
  2. Abhijit Jain, Munir Mandviwalla and Rajiv D. Banker, “Government as Catalyst: Can It Work Again with Wireless Internet Access?” Public Administration Review, Vol. 67, No. 6 (Nov. - Dec., 2007), pp. 993-1005
  3. Christopher Wink, “What is Chief Technology Officer Allan Frank’s City of Philadelphia legacy?” Technically Philly, February 01, 2001
    http://technicallyphilly.com/2011/02/01/what-is-chief-technology-officer-allan-franks-city-of-philadelphia-legacy
  4. New York City, Information Technology and Communications,  “Road Map for the Digital City – Achieving New York City’s Digital Future,” May 2011
    http://www.nyc.gov/html/media/media/PDF/90dayreport.pdf

Week 10: August 24: Student Presentations