CIS 1-1 January 9, 2006

I.          Social contextualization of technological change

             A.         Issue of causality.

             B.         First part: social origins of particular technologies. Demystification. Critique of technological determinism.

             C.         Black box

             D.         Sociology of cyberspace: how is this a different space?

II.         Sociology:

             A.         Society is real, not merely an aggregation of individuals

                          1.          Individual action and decisions are always socially contextualized, in ways we don’t immediately see.

                          2.          Aspects of individual consciousness and conscience are collective, even though we experience them as intimately individual.

             B.         Social action has patterns:

                          1.          These patterns are grouped into patterned sets of practices, which if they persist over time are termed institutions.

                          2.          The persistence of these patterns can be understood sociologically, as can the ways they change.

III.        Problems with Sociology:

             A.         Freedom vs. Determinism: Properly understood, sociological analysis gives us a clearer context within which to exercise choice, but doesn’t deny it.

                          1.          Ultra-individualism: you can do whatever you want

                          2.          Great man theory of history

                          3.          My emphasis: limits of understanding, unintended consequences, “accidental” character of many developments.

             B.         Ideology—connected to determinism:

                          1.          Contemporary sociology is associated with various Leftist ideologies

                          2.          Basic problem of ideology: instant answers

                          3.          In wake of collapse of Communism, tends to be deeply pessimistic: “everything sucks.”

                          4.          Only looks at failure, victimization. Divides society between victims and victimizers.

                          5.          Sociology, properly understood, is a set of analytical tools to understand all forms of social behavior; no intrinsic ideological bias. Try to find what’s interesting and useful as a guide to coherent understanding and action.

IV.       My methodology: analytical narrative.

             A.         Reflexive

V.         My pedagogy: structure, rigor, but no fear. Let’s accept responsibility, have fun.