This semester I'm teaching (for the first time) a graduate seminar on social media. It's similar to my undergraduate special topics class in that it's not focused solely on social media in the marketing mix, but it's much less hands-on and much more concerned with social and cultural impact. I organized the class by waiting until the first day to find out who the students were and what their interests are, so some of the topics and readins are tailored to their needs. In addition, the class chose from a menu of options to decide how they would be assessed.
Here's the syllabus, minus the boring parts:
Introduction
This course aims to help students understand social media from both scholarly and professional perspectives. This seminar will explore scholarship on social media about important issues such as collaboration, privacy, and security; from academic fields such as psychology, business, and communications; and in subject areas such as politics, education, and social reform. Because the field is new and rapidly changing, students will also read popular literature on these topics. In addition, students will participate in several collaborative learning projects and will have the opportunity to work hands-on with social media.
Required reading
Students will be required to read and be prepared to discuss both scholarly and popular literature on social media for class each week. Links to these articles are provided on the schedule. In addition, students will be asked to read a book for the team book review project.
Assessment
You will be graded on your written work, your oral presentation, your ability to synthesize and conceptualize the material, and your contributions to the class. Prompt attendance and conformity with deadlines are expected at the graduate level. In case of dire emergency, contact the instructor prior to missing class.
Blogging (20 percent): Each student will choose between two options.
- You may create an individual blog on Wordpress.com with the goal of posting at least 12 times during the semester and making efforts to build an engaged community of readers.
- You may participate in the class blog by initiating posts at least five times during the semester as well as commenting on at least 30 other students’ posts with substantive, insightful comments that further the discussion of weekly readings.
Team book presentation (20 percent): Students will work in small groups to read and present a book to the class, creatively using social media as part of the presentation.
Participation (10 percent): You are expected to participate in weekly discussions of the readings.
Original research case study paper (50 percent): Students will work in pairs to research and write a case study, using original, triangulated research to develop theory relating to social media.
The weekly topics are as follows:
- Collaboration
- Amateurs vs. Professionals
- Social Media, U.S. Law, and Ethics
- Online Identity Production
- Privacy and Social Media
- Social Media and News
- The Social Side of Search
- Personal Branding
- Social Media and Business
- Social Media and Education
- Social Media and Politics/Government
- Attention and Distraction
- Social Media and Entertainment
- Social Media and Social Change
My grad assistant typed up the reading list, so if you'd like the course bibliography, email russell dot uga at gmail and I'd be happy to share it (Word document).
