SOC 3116 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Working Animal, Western World, Typeface
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SOC 3116
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
September 10th, 2018
Topic 1 - a critical approach to tech-society
● Develop a better appreciation about how much we rely on ICTs (information
communication technology)
● To implicate our actions today in the ICTs of the future.
Social Reality: the way that we perceive the world around us. We each see the world in a
different way based on individual heritages that we have. People have seen the world and their
place in it differently over time.
● We are all different in different ways- we relate to social reality in different ways
● People in Canada have different social reality today than 20 yrs ago, 50 yrs ago, 150 yrs
ago
● Our perception of the world is not based on a natural state. We need to get rid of the
objective sense of reality.
● Function of the era that we live in, where we live, and a range of other factors that shape
how we see the world and ourselves in it.
4 Key Reasons Why It is Important to Ask Questions About Technology in Society
● To challenge our complacency
○ Rather than simply accept new technologies as a given and just use them, and
ask what it is doing for us. What are the negative things my phone does for me?
○ There’s a balancing. It keeps me from being engaged in settings where I ought to
be engaged. Our capacity for deep thinking is impaired. As a society, our ability
to do the great things that humans have done is diminished.
● To improve its usefulness
○ How are we going to solve the problems that frustrate people?
○ I.e. there is no app that counts how many times you look at your phone
● To enhance awareness of how much we rely upon ICTs
○ Sometimes we just overlook.
○ Not just ICTs but also electronic appliances, power failure etc.
● Getting our heads outside the box
○ There is this “box” most of our day-to-day existence is filled with messages about
why we need technology
○ The more I can do to get my kids away from their devices the better off they will
be.
○ Using technology ALL THE TIME is unhealthy. First level of advertising is that it
IS healthy. (Newer is better, faster is better, etc.)
■ Students should bring their laptops into class. Contrary to what university
is facilitation/encouraging, students to things OTHER than what is taking
place in class.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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September 13, 2018
Examples of ICTs: cell phones, smart watches, computers, television (does not need to be
2-way to be an ICT)
Examples of non-ICT technologies: car, toaster, camera, calculator
A pencil is not an ICT but a newspaper is.
Sociology is not a binary coding. There is nothing black&white about what humans do. It refers
to what underscores our complexity- the way we behave, the things we do, the emotions we
have. (relations, family, work, conflict, think of all that complexity)
Sociology of technology is not defined around an expertise of technology but rather around its
consequences. How it affects our interactions/way-of-life/society, it’s impacts.
Sociology of Technology
Postman - Technological Change
1. Trade-off
● Sometimes the trade-off is easy to see, sometimes it’s difficult to see. They are most
often found in the long-run. Internet went mainstream in approximately 1995.
● Ads started showing websites. I can do anything I’d have otherwise done (1-800
numbers etc) AND now go on a website. NOW everything I’d have otherwise done is
diminished, and going to a website is amplified.
2. What benefits some, harms others
● There is no technology that universally benefits everyone.
○ Some people are put out of work because of a technological advancement
○ Ex: oc transpo rail means laying off 300+ workers
● The invention of cell phones was revolutionary but they require cold earth minerals which
led to huge repercussions and corruption especially in Congo. It causes electronic waste
in many places.
● Cars: convenient, cities built around this but transforms viability of the planet
● Batteries: increasingly heavy reliance upon batteries. A very small portion are actually
diverted for recycling. Many are in landfill sites, and ultimately they will leak. There are
huge consequences and they are difficult to track. If someone can’t track it down, it’s
hard to prove but we can’t rule out that battery leaks cause cancer.
3. Embedded in all technologies are assumptions and ideas that influence how we behave.
● Technology is “neutral” - technology is not good or bad. It’s how we use it that matters.
Metaphor of the hammer: hammers are neutral. When you use it to build a house, it’s
good. When you use it to hit someone, it’s bad. The hammer itself is neutral.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Topic 1 - a critical approach to tech-society. Develop a better appreciation about how much we rely on icts (information communication technology) To implicate our actions today in the icts of the future. Social reality: the way that we perceive the world around us. We each see the world in a different way based on individual heritages that we have. People have seen the world and their place in it differently over time. We are all different in different ways- we relate to social reality in different ways. People in canada have different social reality today than 20 yrs ago, 50 yrs ago, 150 yrs ago. Our perception of the world is not based on a natural state. We need to get rid of the objective sense of reality. Function of the era that we live in, where we live, and a range of other factors that shape how we see the world and ourselves in it.
