Teaching Professor Robert O. Keel

• E-mail: rok@umsl.edu (I'll try to reply to contacts within 24 hours--except on weekends)
• Office: 712 SSB Tower
• Phone: 516-6052
• Prof. Keel 's Homepage: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr
• Class Homepage: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/soctech.html
• Department of Sociology, Gerontology, and Gender Homepage: http://umsl.edu/~sgg/
  • Sociology Program Homepage: http://www.umsl.edu/~sociolog/
• Curriculum Vitae
• Office Hours: Monday: 2:15-3:15, Tuesday and Thursday 9:30 AM-12:00 PM and 2:15-3:15 PM. Please call or e-mail in advance to insure my availability. If these specific times do not work for you, contact me and we can try to arrange an appointment at another time. Try "BB-IM," too.

Important Notes (Please follow the links provided to access detailed information on the various course elements and resources):

• Please do not print this document or other course materials unless absolutely necessary. All documents available online are meant to be used online and are accessible from any internet location--save paper, save a tree.
• This is a "blended class" involving significant amounts of online and (relatively) independent work. There are students from a variety of “sections” enrolled in this course: day (SOC2280-001) and online (SOC2280-002). The REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL STUDENTS are exactly the same--only the mode through which you access the class presentations may vary.
• MyGateway Class Pages: http://mygateway.umsl.edu. Here you will find a link to the class MyGateway site, all class information, communication tools, assignments, and grades. See below for information on logging onto and using the MyGateway site, as well as an outline of the contents in the class MyGateway site.
• Minimum Technology Requirements (especially, but not just for online students) and a variety of useful technology tutorials.
• Course Tools and Campus Computing Resources
• Roksworld (username: student, password: umsl): for accessing various course documents and websites.
• Prof. Keel's FAQ Page.
• Please follow the rules of netiquette in the online environment and be respectful of others in all forms of communication.

Teaching Assistants

Books:

1. Required: Volti, Rudy. 2014. Society and Technological Change, 7th edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-4292-7897-3
2. Other relevant books (available through Mr. Keel, the Thomas Jefferson Library, etc.):
   • MacKenzie, Donald and Judy Wajcman. 1999. The Social Shaping of Technology, 2nd edition. Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press.
   • Nye, David. 1999. Consuming Power: A Social History of American Energies. Boston, MA: MIT Press.
   • Turkle, Sherry. 1995. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
   • Turkle, Sherry. 2011. Alone Together: Why we Exect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York, NY: Basic Books.
   • Bijker, Wiebe, Hughes, T. and Pinch, T. eds. 1987. The Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions in the Sociology and History of Technology. Boston, MA: MIT Press.
   • Winner, Langdon. 1986. The Whale and the Reactor. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
   • McGinn, Roger. 1991. Science, Technology and Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
   • Wessels, Michael. 1990. Computer, Self, and Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
   • Hickman, Larry. 1990. Technology as a Human Affair. St. Louis, MO: McGraw-Hill.
   • Raine, Lee and Wellman, B. 2012. Networked, The New Social Operating System. Boston, MA: MIT Press.
   • There will be other articles and web sites made available as we go along

Course Objectives, Learning Goals, and Expectations:

The basic objective of this course is to provide a comprehensive survey of the development of sociological theories of societal development and change, focusing on technology as a social construct rather than as objectively independent force. An additional objective of this course is to survey the current information and research on the specific impact of modern technology on contemporary society in order to understand the personal and social structural dimensions of technological change; including the implications for social identity, communication, work, inequality, power, deviance and social control. These issues will be analyzed within the context of the interactivity of society and technology, and the changing nature of socially constructed reality.

Specifically, students will be expected to:

• Develop an understanding of the historical significance of technological innovation as a critical element underlying social change.
• Understand the process of the social construction of technology and the impact of socially structured reality on technological innovation.
• Develop a familiarity with the various sociological theories which seek to explain the complex, dialectical relationship between society and technology.
• Be familiar with contemporary trends in technological development, and be able to assess the relationship between modern society and technology as a qualitatively different interdependency than in previous historical epochs.
• Analyze the impact of modern electronic communication on individual, social and group identity; and assess the impact of related changes on human interaction.
• Analyze the impact of technological change on various substantive areas of social life: work, political economy, social stratification, deviance, etc.

Assignments, Readings and Course Schedule

Course Requirements (click any requirement for details):

1. Syllabus quiz: due by Friday, January 29, 2016, 5:00 PM. (10 points possible)
2. Attendance/SOL (1 point per class session/1 SOL per week, 30 classes and 15 weeks, 45 points total). Introductory message due by Monday, January 25, 2016, 12:00 Noon.
   1. The live class is held in 449 SSB on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30-1:45 PM.
   2. Please note: students whose schedules do not allow them to attend the live class sessions (face-to-face or via Collaborate) simply need to follow the instructions for viewing the archived class recordings.
3. Optional Online and In-Class Participation (not required, however up to 20 points possible)
4. Critical Thinking Projects: (195 points possible)
5. 2 Tests: (150 points possible)
6. Students who submit work past a due date are subject to penalties, point deductions, or not having their work accepted for grading.

Grading Policies (see especially: 72 hour rule, the academic integrity statement and Turnitin information, withdrawal, and extra-credit guidelines).

ANY STUDENT WHO HAS A DISABILITY WHICH WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO COMPLETE COURSE ASSIGNMENTS OR TESTS AS OUTLINED IN THIS SYLLABUS: PLEASE MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH ME IMMEDIATELY SO THAT I CAN EITHER ARRANGE FOR APPROPRIATE ASSISTANCE OR DESIGN AN ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE TO EVALUATE YOUR WORK. FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THE OFFICE OF DISABILITY ACCESS SERVICES IS LOCATED IN 144 MSC; PHONE: 516-6554.

THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR TO ACCOMMODATE INSTRUCTIONAL AND/OR STUDENT NEEDS.

Unless otherwise noted, all pages within the web site http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/ ©2015 by Robert O. Keel.
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