This episode we speak with Nathan Jurgenson and PJ Rey from Cyborgology. We talk about their Theorizing the Web conference, a conference the two organized this past April and—possibly—again in the future.
Nathan Palmer on Teaching Online
This week we talk with Nathan Palmer about teaching sociology in the internet age. Nathan talks about Sociology Source, the Soc101 Class Pack, and how we should be excited, not scared, about what the internet can do for our teaching.
Eszter Hargittai on Digital Na(t)ives
This episode we talk with Eszter Hargittai, from the Communication Studies department at Northwestern University. Popular myth has it that the youth of today are calm, competent masters of the internet, but Hargittai’s research points to significant gaps and inequalities in the level of internet skills possesed by so-called digital natives. What skills are lacking, why does this matter, and what should we do about it?
Keith Hampton on Wireless Internet and Public Spaces
This episode, we talk with Keith Hampton about his research on wireless internet and public spaces. Does public wifi encourage a stronger public sphere or diminish public life by encouraging everyone to live inside their own private digital bubble? Hampton argues it’s more complicated than that, and public WiFi can, in fact, encourage many different kinds of social interaction, both online and offline.
To learn more about Hampton’s research, check out his Fall 2010 Photo Essay in Contexts, as well as his new article published in the Journal of Communication.
Pepper Schwartz on Baby Boomer Sex
This episode: Pepper Schwartz on baby boomers and sex, her contribution to the dating site PerfectMatch.com, and her views on doing relevant research. (Thanks to Tim Ortyl and Kia Heise for conducting the interview. An edited version appears in the Summer 2010 issue of Contexts.)
And the Society Page of the Week: Don’t Worry, Be Happy (When You Are Older) on Citings & Sightings.
© 2012 Office Hours
