Module Identifier MC30920  
Module Title COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, CYBERSPACE  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Dr Daniel G J Chandler  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Further details http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30920  

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be:


Brief description

Please note that the module identifier for this module will soon chnage from TF33220 to MC30820.

This workshop-based module is intended to help you to become more broadly aware of issues of communication and identity on the Internet. It also offers you a practical opportunity to develop your own self-presentational and communicational skills within the medium of the Web and will thus contribute to your personal and social development.

'Cyberspace' has been deliberately chosen as a label since it is broader and more social than the technological label 'the Internet' and thus reflects our concern with everyday social issues of identity and communication in the light of new communication technologies. The Internet is not only the 'information' system which it is sometimes described as - it is also a communication system. The module will consider a variety of forms and functions of the Internet: for instance, the genre of the 'personal home page'. Personal home pages are online multi-media texts which address the question, 'Who Am I?' and thus enable us to consider issues of personal identity and self-presentation. In such sites, what are visibly 'under construction' are not only the pages but the authors themselves. Other asynchronous modes of communication which will explore are e-mail, listserv E-Mail Discussion Lists and USENET Newsgroups; Bulletin Boards (BBS) and Forums. We will also explore issues of communication and identity in relation to some of the synchronous 'chat systems'.

In my own research, I am currently exploring male identity practices in webcam and chatroom environments and I will introduce students on this module to some of the findings.

Content

The workshops are based on undertaking the assignments which are detailed at http://www.aber.ac.uk/education/Undgrad/ED32420/ed32420-69.html.

Reading Lists

Web Page/Sites
STONE: In Novel Conditions
REID: Communication and Community

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6