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last.updated 3.18.09

 

Gender & Technology

Purpose

As with the gender issues we discussed in the last class, computer technologies have both opened and closed opportunities for social revision among individuaks marked by race. We will discuss the myths and realities of computer technology's potential as a gatekeeper and a gateway to social advancement, even if for a fleeting moment.

Activity: Cyber-representations of African Americans

As little as a half-dozen years ago, the common wisdom was that African American only appeared on the web (and most other media) as rappers and athletes. We are going to spend the first part of class examining how African Americans are represented online today. Therefore, for twenty minutes you will...

  • Go to your favorite search engine and type in words that are synonymous with "African American" and see what texts appear. Consider looking at multiple search functions, such as images, videos, scholarship, news, blogs.
  • Look through the first hits listed.
  • determine how are African Americans being represented: What arguments are the author making about race? Is there a pervasive argument?

Take notes about your findings and be prepared to talk about them.

Discussion I: Technology and Race

As a class we will discuss the following questions:

  • What questions did you have about the readings?
  • What did you learn from your inquiry at the beginning of class? How do your findings compare to the arguments in the readings.
  • Go to Blackboard and read Aaron McGruder's text in the "Course Documents." How does his text resonate with the readings for this class?
  • Knadler describes practices that resonate with the way people construct their social networking sites. What practices does he describe that you see carrying over to people of various races?
  • Place yourself in the role of an instructors whose students are participating in the Diversity thread. As you watch the discussion unfold as it did, what would you do? How can you make this a teachable moment?

Discussion II: A Head Start on Research

You will be placed in groups to have an online discussion about research. As a group, address the following questions about the Knadler and McKee articles:

  • What were their research questions?
  • How did they collect data?
  • How did they analyze the data?
  • As a research study which one do you find more credible? Why?