- Spring 2008: Technology ~ Law ~ Society ~ Values ~ Design
- Fall 2007: Technological Standards as Regulation
Spring 2008: Technology ~ Law ~ Society ~ Values ~ Design
Tuesdays, 6:10p-8:00p
Leader: Michael Zimmer
The starting point of this reading group is the position that the spheres of technology, society, law, and values are engaged in an eternal dance, each guiding, influencing, and reacting to the other. Technologies are socially constructed, but also shape society. Values are embedded in technologies and reflected in law. Laws react to technologies and form the basis for society. Where these spheres intersect rests the notion of design, the ways in which technologies are built, laws are crafted, values are embedded, and society is shaped.
The reading group will cover key readings selected on the basis of: 1) their depth, rigor, aspirational ideals, contribution to foundational thinking, influence on discourse, etc. and 2) their coverage of as broad a range of topics as possible, including privacy, social software, information policy, information intermediaries, sustainable technologies, digital rights, and Internet governance.
Recognizing that each topic could itself fill a semester, the reading group aims for a broad overview of issues and perspectives, and a sufficient grasp of basic concepts and principles, providing a solid foundation for independent future explorations, and an ability to apply these concepts and principles to innovative research questions.
Topics will include:
• Values in Technology
• Technology as Law
• Technology and Society
• Design Pragmatics
• Information Intermediaries
• Social Software
• Sustainable Technologies
• Privacy
• Digital Rights
• Internet Governance
Fall 2007: Technological Standards as Regulation
Leader: Laura DeNardis
The standards controlling information and communication technologies are increasingly emerging in the global information society as both enablers and barriers to innovation, trade, interoperability, and access to knowledge. These systems of rules are often invisible or perceived as neutral to users but have significant implications. Standards can make legal decisions about how citizens access knowledge, what civil liberties they have in the context of this knowledge, how governments serve and exchange information with constituents, and even how citizens vote. This reading seminar will examine the public policy implications of technological standards to individuals and in broader global economic and political contexts. The current debates over the intellectual property rights underlying standards will also be an important topic of discussion. Other sessions will address the economic relationship between standards, innovation, and competition and technical barriers to trade, placing an emphasis on Chinese and American trade relationships. The group will also examine the literature addressing issues of democracy in the standards setting process and will directly interrogate important contemporary issues related to standards including: efforts to open cellular standards and wireless spectrum to promote greater interoperability and innovation; Internet search privacy standards; the open standards movement; electronic voting standards; and digital rights management (DRM) standards as interoperability constraints.
Topics will include:
• Internet Search Privacy Standards
• Electronic Voting Standards
• Digital Rights Management (DRM) Standards, Privacy, and Interoperability
• Standards, Innovation Policy, and Global Trade
• Open Standards
• Opening Cellular Networks and Wireless Spectrum
• Debates over Intellectual Property Rights in Standards
• Standards and Antitrust
• Internet Standards Governance and the Public Interest
• Government Policies on Interoperability Standards
• Adding Standards to the Net Neutrality Debate