Calendars

This course will introduce you to broad aspects of modern digital literacies so that you can develop a critical stance when working in digital environments. You will also gain experience within those environments as you digest and construct materials throughout the semester. The calendars below provide an overview of the topics we will discuss, as well as the readings and activities designed to support our work. A complete, integrated calendar is available as a Numbers spreadsheet; note that it might be difficult to read on a mobile device.

Readings (Homework) Calendar

Unit/Topic/Week	Readings
Sep 5–8 Course Rationale and Plan	Read both: Baron, D. E. (1999). From pencils to pixels: The stages of literacy technologies. In (G. Hawischer and C. Selfe, ed.) Passions, Pedagogies and 21st Century Technologies, pp. 15–33. Utah State University Press. Lankshear, C. J. and Knobel, M. (2008). Introduction: Digital literacies: Concepts, policies and practices. In Lankshear, C. J. and Knobel, M., eds, Digital literacies: concepts, policies and practices. Peter Lang. [Available on Canvas > Files]
Privacy
Sep 11–15 Adhesion Contracts	Choose one: Bakos, Y., Marotta-Wurgler, F., & Trossen, D. R. (2014). Does anyone read the fine print? Consumer attention to standard-form contracts. Journal of Legal Studies, 43(1), 1–35. Markel, M. (2005). The rhetoric of misdirection in corporate privacy-policy statements. Technical Communication Quarterly, 14(2), 197–214.
Sep 18–22 Legal Protections	Solove, D. (2007) “‘I’ve Got Nothing to Hide’ and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy.” San Diego Law Review, 44. Optional: Cusick, R. and Adler, S. (2023). The Internet Dilemma [podcast episode]. Radiolab.
Sep 25–29 Behavioral Profiling	Read both: Morgan, J. (19 Aug 2014). Privacy is completely and utterly dead, and we killed it. Forbes. Marwick, A. E., & boyd, d. (2018). Understanding privacy at the margins: Introduction. International Journal of Communication, 12, 1157–1165.
Surveillance
Oct 2–6 Capitalist Origins	Read both: Reilly, C. (2021). Critical digital literacies and online surveillance. In E. Beck, & L. Hutchinson (Eds.), Privacy matters: Conversations within and beyond the classroom. (pp. 17–35). Louisville, CO: University Press of Colorado. Hill, K. (07 Feb 2019). I cut the “big five” tech giants from my life. It was hell. Gizmodo.
Oct 9–13 Algorithmic Prediction	O’Neil, C. (2017). Weapons of math destruction. Saturday Evening Post, 289(2), 40–90.
Oct 16–20 Power, Privilege, Choice	Read both: Vie, S. (2014). Casual surveillance: Why we should pay attention to Candy Crush Saga and other casual games. First Person Scholar. Utz, C., Degeling, M., Fahl, S., Schaub, F., and Holz, T. (2019). (Un)informed consent: Studying GDPR consent notices in the field. In Proceedings of the 2019 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 973–990. Optional: Any short film from the Screening Surveillance site
Identity
Oct 23–27 Content Personalization	Choose one: Buck, A. (2017). Grad school 2.0: Performing professionalism on social media. Social writing/social media: Publics, presentations, and pedagogies, pp. 161–178. WAC Clearinghouse. Beck, E. (2017). Sustaining critical literacies in the digital information age: The rhetoric of sharing, prosumerism, and digital algorithmic surveillance. Social writing/social media: Publics, presentations, and pedagogies, pages 37–52. WAC Clearinghouse.
Oct 30 – Nov 3 Digital Redlining	Read both: Lambright, K. (2019). Digital redlining: The Nextdoor app and the neighborhood of make-believe. Cultural Critique, 103, 84–90. Benjamin, R. (2019). Assessing risk, automating racism. Science, 366(6464):421–422.
Nov 6–10 Facial Recognition	Buolamwini, J. (22 June 2018). The hidden dangers of facial analysis. The New York Times.
Resistance
Nov 13–17 Technical Resistance	Choose one: Vie, S. (2021). The more things change, the more we need new tactics for resistance, or: Let’s not let the bastards grind us down. Computers and Composition, 61. Reilly, C. A. (2021). Reading risk: Preparing students to develop critical digital literacies and advocate for privacy in digital spaces. Computers and Composition, 61.
Thanksgiving Week (Nov 20–24)
Nov 27 – Dec 1 Legal Resistance	Read both: • McKenna, A. T. (29 June 2023). US agencies buy vast quantities of personal information on the open market. The Conversation. • A related article of your choosing that offers substantive material to your discussion.
Dec 4–8 Social Resistance	Read both: Véliz, C. (2019). Privacy is power. Aeon.Bay, J. and Atherton, R. (2021). Rhetorics of data in nonprofit settings: How community engagement pedagogies can enact social justice. Computers and Composition, 61.

Book Report Topics

In our first class session, everyone in class will sign up for our book-report project. You’ll be responsible for presenting the book to the class and leading that week’s relevant discussion. Details are on the assignments page. Most books below are available directly from the NTLC; those that aren’t can be requested through Inter-Library Loan or purchased at any bookseller.

Week	Book	Presenter
Privacy
Sep 11–15 Adhesion Contracts	Lipton, J. D. (2022). Our Data, Ourselves: A Personal Guide to Digital Privacy. Univ of California Press.	Jonena
Sep 18–22 Legal Protections	Solove, D. (2011). Nothing to hide: The false tradeoff between privacy and security. New Haven, CT: Yale UP.
Sep 25–29 Behavioral Profiling	Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.	Julie
Surveillance
Oct 2–6 Capitalist Origins	Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power. New York: NY: Public Affairs.
Oct 9–13 Algorithmic Prediction	O’Neil, C. (2016). Weapons of math destruction: How big data increases inequality and threatens democracy. Crown.
Oct 16–20 Power, Privilege, Choice	One from: Lyon, D. (2018). The culture of surveillance: Watching as a way of life. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press. Ferguson, A. G. (2017). The rise of big-data policing: Surveillance, race, and the future of law enforcement. New York University Press.	Jasmine
Identity
Oct 23–27 Content Personalization	McGuigan, L. (2023). Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech. MIT Press.
Oct 30 – Nov 3 Digital Redlining	Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the new Jim Code. Oxford.	Cindy
Nov 6–10 Facial Recognition	Buolamwini, J. (2023). Unmasking AI: A story of hope and justice in a world of algorithms. Random House. [Available Nov 7.]	Friend
Resistance
Nov 13–17 Technical Resistance	One from: Schneier, B. (2015). Data and Goliath: The hidden battles to collect your data and control your world. WW Norton & Company. Brunton, F. and Nissenbaum, H. (2015). Obfuscation: A user’s guide for privacy and protest. MIT Press.	Gianna
Nov 27 – Dec 1 Legal Resistance	One from: Renieris, E. M. (2023). Beyond data: reclaiming human rights at the dawn of the metaverse. MIT Press. Farivar, C. (2018). Habeas data: Privacy vs. the rise of surveillance tech. Melville House.	Jonathan
Dec 4–8 Social Resistance	One from: Cappello, L. (2019). None of your damn business: Privacy in the United States from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age. University of Chicago Press. Véliz, C. (2021). Privacy is power: Why and how you should take back control of your data. Bantam.

Schedule of Major Papers

Major deadlines appear below; details about the assignments are on the Assignments page of this site.

Week	Assignment
4 (Sep 25–29)	Synthesis 1
7 (Oct 16–20)	Synthesis 2
10 (Nov 6–10)	Synthesis 3
13 (Dec 4–8)	Synthesis 4
Exams (Dec 18–22)	Final Project

Readings (Homework) Calendar

Privacy

Surveillance

Identity

Resistance