Background | Aims | Structure | Seminars | Topics | Assessment | Deadlines | Coordinator | Resources | Schedule of Presentations | Presentations

Background
Since McLuhan first envisioned a "global village", globalisation has been regarded as a dramatic human achievement in technology, telecommunication and social organisation. Globalisation is assumed to engender harmony among nations, the development of a new sense of world community, and seamless international commerce. However, the Utopian ideas of information and communication technologies in global communication are juxtaposed with disturbing social, cultural and ethical issues. We are experiencing such concurrent and contradictory processes as globalisation and localisation, multiculturalism and transnationalism, democratisation and pancapitalism, surveillance and privacy, censorship and freedom of speech.

Aims
The aim of this Honours unit is to improve communication and research skills as well as to develop critical enquiry about global technological issues.

Structure
The structure of the course is a series of seminars. There are six major issues that are discussed and explored. The duration of each topic is two weeks.

Seminars
Seminars are held in EH4.1, 10:30 Thursdays.

Topics
The multicultural Internet: The impact of ICTs on national and indigenous language and cultures
Globalisation, localisation and the "digital divide"
Transnational communities
Virtual environments and e-learning
Surveillance, privacy and censorship
Politics of the global village in democratising or preserving hierarchy

Assessment
Oral presentation with seminar paper (or notes) of 6 topics (one hour) - 15% each
Research essay on one topic - 10%

Deadlines
Seminar papers:
    Due 10:30am Thursday of the first week of each topic, i.e.:
    Topic 1: 3 March
    Topic 2: 17 March
    Topic 3: 31 March
    Topic 4: 28 April
    Topic 5: 12 May
    Topic 6: 26 May
Major assignment:
    On any one of the six topics, due Monday 27 June 

Coordinator
Dr Fay Sudweeks
Senior Lecturer in Information Systems
School of Information Technology
Murdoch University
Murdoch WA 6150 Australia
Tel: +61-8-9360-2364 Fax: +61-8-9360-2941
Email: sudweeks@murdoch.edu.au
Fay's official departmental staff page