How do various tools inform the ways we communicate? How might they shape our thoughts and the ways we relate to one another in our social lives and in the workplace? How have digital tools extended what counts as “the workplace”?
[In class, we’ll examine various historical and indigenous communication tools — from cylinder seals to Aboriginal message sticks.]
This looks like a long list, but it’s just one heavily illustrated catalog excerpt, three short web articles, and one academic article!
- Skim “Communicate” in Tools: Extending Our Reach (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2014): 84-119 [it’s mostly pictures!; and remember: you’ll be prompted to log in to access our copyrighted readings!]
- John Hermann, “How TikTok Is Rewriting the World,” The New York Times (March 10, 2019).
- “You’ve Probably Heard of Slack” <video: 1:59> + John Hermann, “Slack Wants to Replace Email. Is That What We Want?” The New York Times (June 19, 2019).
- Shirin Ghaffary, “The Algorithms that Detect Hate Speech Online Are Biased Against Black People,” Vox (August 15, 2019).
- Erica Robles Anderson and Patrik Svensson, “‘One Damn Slide After Another’: Powerpoint at Every Occasion for Speech,” Computational Culture (January 2016).
- If you’ve chosen to respond to today’s texts, please post your reading response by 11:59pm the night before class!
