You will select a perspective by identifying your top three choices on this form in class. Select from the list below. Each perspective is a framework within which to ask questions and do research on a technology. The list of perspectives includes five ways to examine the technology you've selected. These perspectives are loosely based on Paul duGay and Stuart Hall's Circuit of Culture, and represent dimensions of influence and importance among media systems. For example, regulation asks about laws and social standards about obscenity, freedom of speech, copyright, universal access, etc.; identity/representation looks at content and messages, like genres, depictions of women or people of color, violence or educational impact.

Quotes below are from a piece on PR and the Circuit of Culture you will read in class.

List of Perspectives

Regulation

Legal, political, cultural boundaries and control. Not only formal controls but also cultural and economic ways that the technology and its content are regulated. Ways that society controls who, how, when, and why we use a technology. "...regulation comprises controls on cultural activity, ranging from formal and legal controls, such as regulations, laws, and institutionalized systems, to the informal and local controls of cultural norms and expectations that form culture in the more commonly used sense of the term. It’s in the moment of regulation that meanings arise governing what’s acceptable, what’s correct" (p. 38).

Identity & Representation

Content, messages, images and ideas communicated by the technology. Also the implications for people who see, hear, or otherwise use the technology in terms of effects, influences, or consequences. Ways that the technology communicates notions of identity and represents individuals, issues and society. "Representation is the form an object takes and the meanings encoded in that form... [Producers] hope to convey a certain meaning through all aspects of how they present the artifact. The content, the format, and even the method of distribution communicate an intended meaning" (p. 40). Identity includes how these meanings are associated with individuals, organizations, groups, and other entities.

Consumption

Who the audiences are, how they use the technology, and what kind of social impact that use has. Patterns in the use of a technology, and what that might mean for groups in society. In the Circuit of Culture, consumption is the moment "when messages are decoded by audiences." However, here we will focus on how audiences put a technology to use in their everyday lives by understanding consumption patterns, such as percentages of specific groups who use it, when and where people use it, and how they do so.

Production

The economics, ownership, and market for the technology. How it's distributed and purchased, both locally and globally. How the manufacture of the technology is related to audiences, to content, and to economics. "...production outlines the process by which creators of cultural products imbue them with meaning, a process often called encoding (Hall, 1993)... Technological constraints play a role in the process because what’s produced is partially dependent on available technology. Organizational culture provides the environment in which production takes place, such as departmental organization, management strategies, and expectations of employees or members" (p. 39).

Technology

The history, changes, and development of the technology. How it works, how standards are set, and what kind of new directions and developments are in the works. The technical standards, changes, issues, and debates around the technology. The way it functions generally as well as its inner workings.

How do I select a perspective?

Pick a perspective that interests you and in which you have some background. If you've studied art and literature, maybe you'd like to think about the content and messages from a Representation perspective; if you're interested in gadgets and specs, you might like the Technology perspective. You don't need to be an expert, but you should have some experience researching in the perspective you choose.

Do I have to cover everything about that perspective in my paper?

That would impossible! As a group you will find a way to focus your presentations on some set of issues, aspects, or ideas surrounding the technology you choose. If your technology is software, for example, your group might focus on open source issues. Each perspective has something to say about that. Even within your focus, you'll quickly find a lot more information than you can fit into a five page paper or 10 minute presentation. Identify the main problems and issues you want to address, and think about making a clear argument to help your audience understand something that is important about that technology from that perspective.

How do we fit everything our group does together?

Each perspective offers a different understanding of the technology you choose. As a group, you will help the class understand how different aspects of the technology fit into society overall. Work together to make sure your presentations and information build on each other and tell an overall story about that technology. For example, you can start with the technology's history and technical function, then talk about how that function is produced, then talk about how the production allows certain groups more access, then how those groups are affected by the content, then how social and legal system regulate that technology as a system.