Human Relations
Human Relations
Research Assignment for Human Relations Soc 100, DCCC:
STAYING IN TOUCH
Your assignment will be to research the effect that modern comunication technologies have on what is, and (just as importantly,) what is not communicated between people. This is not a research project on how email works, or text messaging operates, or IM is programmed. The question is to find out/figure out what kinds of ways the various new tools that we have filter, or structure, or influence the relationships (friend, supervisor, customer, parent, daughter, girlfriend) we have with one another.
A student in this class told me that it is okay to break up with a boyfriend over the phone, but not ok to do it with text messaging. Another said that when IM-ing, a long delay in response counts the same way that a silence (a period of quiet) counts in a phone call, but when text messaging a delay in response "counts" the same as in emailing. What are they talking about?
Some 40 years ago Marshall McLuhan wrote a book about TV, movies, radio entitled "The Media is the Message". Start your research with his insight. Then try to find out more about the ways that our new media (stuff that is between one another) influences our relations with one another.
During the first half of the semester, research this topic; in the second half of the semester organize your findings and thoughts into a ten page report. At end of semester, publish your report to your classmates and teacher.