SI 532: Digital Government I:
Information Technology and Democratic Politics
School of Information, University of Michigan
Winter 2007 (First Half)
Instructor: Steven Jackson
OVERVIEW:
This 1.5 credit course is the first in a two-part sequence exploring
contemporary practices, challenges, and opportunities at the
intersection of information technology and democratic governance.
Whereas the second course focuses on challenges and innovations in
democratic administration, this first course focuses on theories and
practices of democratic politics – and the shifting role of information
technologies in shaping, transforming, and understanding these.
The first half of the course seeks to ground contemporary discussions
around IT and politics in various flavors of democratic, political, and
social theory. The second half builds on this foundation to
explore ways in which information and information technologies have
come to support, constrain, and otherwise inflect a range of
contemporary democratic practices.
REQUIREMENTS:
Short
paper -- 40%
Project sketch / concept
piece -- 40%
Seminar
participation -- 20%
General seminar participation: This is intended as a serious (albeit
large) graduate research seminar, and all the usual expectations apply:
come thoroughly prepared and ready to discuss, and treat your
colleagues in a respectful and appropriate manner. While I will
lecture from time to time, the quality of this, like any seminar
experience, will depend largely on the work of you and your
colleagues. While there is no formal requirement for this, I’d
encourage you to devote some time to serious note-taking during and
after reading.