[Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed

Mon May 18 09:04:29 PDT 2009

I've faced the same dilemma. For my undergrad new media class, I've used the Thurlow et al CMC book, but only the first few chapters and only in the first third of the semester. Then we read online articles for the remainder. (I agree it's getting very dated, and in fact recently I wrote the authors asking about a 2nd edition - not in the works at this point.)

My experience is that (at least with the students I've worked with), undergrads like a textbook because it gives the field legitimacy in their eyes.  Ted's description below really rings true with mine - a textbook seems to give many undergrads a sense of finality and control. I've found that one of the challenges of teaching content that is so interesting and publicly visible (e.g. social network sites) is trying to keep classroom discussions at a higher level than pub or coffee-shop conversations, and a textbook and/or academic readings are necessary to do this. Depending on how they are written, some academic articles just don't work for some undergrads. It's definitely a challenge!

For fall, I'm planning on using the Thurlow et al textbook and a collection of online articles, but this will probably be the last year and I'm also interested in hearing about an accessible, updated replacement. 
Thanks, N

Quoting "Christian Nelson" <xianknelson at mac.com>:

> Hi Ted (and the group),
> Your comments ring true for me. I think students really do want 
> linearity. At the same time, I've seen research by sociologists that 
> found that students don't read textbooks as much as they read 
> articles in a reader. That suggests that a non-linear textbook has 
> two strikes against it in students' eyes. It also suggests that the 
> best thing to give students is a reader that is organized in some 
> linear fashion.
> Cheers,
> Christian
>
> On May 18, 2009, at 11:23 AM, Ted Coopman wrote:
>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> I actually used this book for a class I taught as a grad student at the U of
>> WA - I thought it was great and appreciated the non-linear approach because
>> new media is basically non-linear - my undergrad students hated it. I have
>> found most students desire having a textbook that is laid out in easy to
>> follow format with definitive statements (x means y). Perhaps it is all the
>> testing they get in high school.
>>
>> Had a similar issue with Carey [Carey, J. W. (2009). Communication as
>> Culture (revised edition)] in a comm and culture class I just taught.
>>
>> Is it depressing?  - yes - is it worth trying to shove it down their
>> throats? Usually not.
>>
>> -TED
>>
>> On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Jacqueline Vickery
>> <jvickery183 at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> I would suggest New Media: A Critical Introduction edited by Martin 
>>> Lister<http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776[1]> 
>>> .
>>> One of my professors used it in a grad class I took last year and I really
>>> enjoyed the book and still references it often.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Jacqueline Vickery
>>> Co-Coordinating Editor, FlowTV.org
>>> Department of Radio-Television-Film
>>> University of Texas - Austin
>>> http://www.jvickery.com/[2]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, May 16, 2009 at 5:42 AM, <Celina.Raffl at sbg.ac.at> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the
>>>> Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
>>>>
>>>>> From the introduction:
>>>>
>>>> The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. […] How has this system
>>>> transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What
>>>> are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the 
>>>> development of
>>>> society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in
>>>> helping people to find their own answers to such questions.
>>>> Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the
>>>> relationship of Internet and society.
>>>>
>>>> For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html[3]
>>>>
>>>> :: Celina
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
>>>> Von: air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman
>>>> Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23
>>>> An: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
>>>> Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed
>>>>
>>>> All,
>>>>
>>>> I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course
>>>> online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic
>>>> textbook/reader.
>>>>
>>>> In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004).
>>>> Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet.
>>>> London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the
>>>> main
>>>> issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet
>>>> Galaxy.
>>>>
>>>> I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to
>>>> have
>>>> a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC,
>>>> basic theory, etc.
>>>>
>>>> I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older
>>>> student
>>>> population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life
>>>> experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus.
>>>>
>>>> Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and
>>>> cultural perspectives.
>>>>
>>>> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> -TED
>>>> --
>>>> Ted M. Coopman Ph.D.
>>>> Lecturer
>>>> Department of Communication Studies
>>>> Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre
>>>> San Jose State University
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Ted M. Coopman Ph.D.
>> Lecturer
>> Department of Communication Studies
>> Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre
>> San Jose State Universit
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Links:
------
[1] http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776
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