GEOG 30920: Geographies of Cyberspace

Fact File

About the module

Module summary:

1. Introduction: Defining cyberspace and 2. Theorising of technology and society; historical perspective on telecommunications 3. The material geography of the internet and the ‘digital divide’ 4. From the shrinking world to the ‘death of distance’ 5. Mapping cyberspace 6. Visualisation and virtual reality 7. [Site visit] 8. Online communities 9. Cyberspace and the surveillance society 10. [Site visit] 11. Defining the digital city 12. Group project fieldwork 13. Group project working 14. Group project working 15. Group project presentations 16. Revision

Module aims:

• To define the nature of cyberspace, its diverse media forms and its history • To examine the social and spatial implications of cyberspatial technologies in terms of everyday living • To critique a range of discourses that underlie the promotion of cyberspace • To develop a range of technical competences in the active exploration of cyberspace

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course unit, you will be able to:

• Explain the ways that information and communications technologies work as transformative agents in the reproduction of space
• Appreciate that cyberspace does not spell the ‘end of geography’ and be able to unpack the ‘spaceless’ rhetorics that surrounds much of the reporting of information and communications technologies
• Undertake statistical analysis of the spatial structures of cyberspace
• Explore the theoretical ideas of place and community in times of increasing virtual social interaction
• Evaluate critically the issues of privacy and freedom under the increasingly penetrating gaze of surveillance technologies
• Outline the role of virtual reality in representing ‘real’ geography and in creating new imaginative virtual spaces
• During the course you will be encouraged to develop and exercise the following skills and abilities: • Critical thinking about the social, political and economic issues behind computing and communications technologies • Programming to create your own th

Study Details

Module assessment:

Students will be assessed by a two-hour exam paper (worth 50%) and by a group project (worth 50%) completed in the second semester. The assessment of the group project will be based on a combination of the group output (maps, website and presentation) (25%) and an individually authored summary report (25%).

Core reading:

There is no single course text. Key readings for each lecture will be made available on the course website. The most useful book to start with is: Castells, M. (2001) Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business and Society. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Other relevant texts include: Graham, S. and Marvin, S. (1996) Telecommunications and City: Electronic Spaces, Urban Places. Routledge, London. Kellerman, A. (2002) Internet on Earth: Geography of Information. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK. Kitchin, R. (1998) Cyberspace: The World in Wires. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, UK. Wellman, B. and Haythornthwaite, C. (2002) The Internet in Everyday Life. Blackwells, Oxford. Zook, M.A. (2005) The Geography of the Internet Industry. Blackwell, Oxford. Some useful technology news sources: BBC News technology page, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/default.stm The Register, www.theregister.com; Wired News, www.wired.com

Module content

Week 1:
Information will follow shortly.