[Air-l] history of Internet Studies?

[Matthew Allen]

Dear all
 
I guess the question of whether some area of study is or is not a discipline speaks to the structure and nature of 'disciplines' as a particular modern form of knowledge much beloved by the academy as a way of controlling how and what we know - hence Norman's comment about whether something is a 'real' major or not.
 
For what it's worth...
 
at Curtin University of Technology, Internet Studies commenced in 1999 in its first incarnation as a graduate coursework program but with much greater clarity in 2001 when our BA (INternet Studies) commenced. The underpinning idea was, however, not quite the same as a traditional liberal arts major like History, Sociology etc (on which Internet Studies draws, obviously), but - to suit the nature of Curtin University  - as a 'professional' degree that blended some of the formal, structured curriculum of something like Librarianship or Social Work (which are undergrad degrees in Australia), with some of the choice and openness of a liberal arts degree. The idea was to try and underpin the degree with research / intellectual inquiry in a way that might make it actually 'work' as a 'qualification' for some kind of employment, but without the formal and restrictive nature of most 'professional' degrees. This situation is probably uncommon in many other places.
 
Denise Rall - I am sure you will be able to fill us in more, since that's your area of expertise?
 
Matt
 
Dr Matthew Allen
Associate Professor Internet Studies
Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia
m.allen at curtin.edu.au
http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm
+61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f)
President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org