Department of Digital Humanities

IASC 1F02: Being Human in a Digital World

Online Course Spring Session 2025

Course Description

This course is designed to engage with students in an investigation of how emerging digital technologies shape human identities, relationships and lifestyles. This course attempts to appeal to students from various backgrounds by discussing a wide variety of topics. These topics include, but are not limited to, citizenship, education, labour, entertainment, globalization, health, privacy and security. This course will conclude with a discussion of  how future technologies will potentially affect society and conceptions of humanness. Our course discussions address topics and themes that are guided by the following questions:

•   What does it mean to be human? What does the human experience involve?

•   What does the Digital World encompass? How pervasive is the digital world in our lives?

•   What happens when Humanity and Digital Worlds intersect and overlap?

•   How do emerging digital technologies shape human identities, relationships, and lifestyles - for better or worse?

Course Readings

All readings are available within Brightspace.

Evaluation Overview

Ten Weekly Reflections: 10 x 3% = 30%

Assignment 1 = 20%

Assignment 2 = 25%

Assignment 3 = 25%

D1 Spring Registration closes: May 12, 2025.

Last day to withdraw from a Spring D1 course (without academic penalty): June 20, 2025.

CUPE 4207 & Brock University acknowledge the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.

How this Course Works

•   This course is a full year course of 10 weeks with ten modules. Brightspace is the primary means through which you will access course content and submit your assignments.

Everything that the student needs for each module is found in Brightspace.

•   New Modules always start on a Monday, which is when the Module Assignment is 'released' to students. For each module: read the assigned readings, the module notes provided (under  contents) and complete the assignment by the due date.

•   This course is Asynchronous (not in real time). There are no face-to-face components. All correspondence is through email with your assigned teaching assistant. Some online/virtual office hours will be available. Details will be posted to Brightspace.

•   This course syllabus provides students with a schedule of all the required readings for the

term, in addition to the assignment schedule with due dates and course policies.  The syllabus contains everything you need to know, so please it read it carefully several times. The contents ofthe syllabus are also found in Brightspace throughout the course site. A copy of an updated syllabus is always available in the Content Tab in Brightspace.

•   There are no exams in this course.

•   There are no make-up assignments or extra-work for extra credit.

Our Role - Instructor & Teaching Assistants

•   This course has one instructor, a course Coordinator, and eight teaching assistants (TAs).

Each student registered for a seminar when they registered for the course. Your seminar is a group of 20 students and is lead by a Teaching Assistant who is your point of contact for the  term. You must contact your own teaching assistant with any course related questions; please do not email other TAs or the instructor if they are not your assigned TA.

•   Our goal for this course is to facilitate a positive, asynchronous online learning experience about what it means to be human in today's digital world. We won't be reminding you to do  the assignments or that you are enrolled in the course. We will, however, be available to you via email if you need help with the course material, the assignments, or any Brightspace 2 questions (to the best ofour ability). We do not pre-read or pre-grade assignments. Please have specific questions prepared for your TA and be as detailed as you can in your email.

Your Seminar and Point of Contact

Seminar 1 & 2: Maya Karanouh mkaranouh@brocku.ca

Seminar 3 & 4: Mohammed Asgari masgari@brocku.ca

Seminar 5: Hani Hedayati nhedayati@brocku.ca

Seminar 6: Derek Veenhof dveenhof@brocku.ca

Seminar 7: Renan Santiago rsantiago@brocku.ca

Seminar 8: Stu Gritter sgritter@brocku.ca

Seminar 9: Alyssa Best abest@brocku.ca

Seminars 10-13: Dinah Nichol dnichol@brocku.ca

Seminar 14: Tracy Kennedy [email protected]

Email Etiquette

•   You are to email your TA first if you have any questions. If you find that you need to email your Teaching Assistant - your Point of Contact - please include the following:

o In the subject line include IASC1F02 and some topic indicator. Please provide your seminar number in your email.

o You must only use your Brock Email for correspondence in this course - no Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo etc.

•   Avoid writing an email like you're sending a text message. Please provide a polite salutation, such as Hello, Good Morning, Greetings etc. Avoid colloquial expressions, such as "Hey!" or "How's things?".

•   Please don't send the email without providing your name and seminar number somewhere.

•   Please allow 48 hours (excluding weekends) for a response from your Point of Contact. We  will always do our best to respond as soon as we can. We normally operate within a 24 hour response time, and sometimes a little longer during peak grading times. If we've gone too long, we might have missed or misfiled your email in error - so send another note.

• Please be respectful and abide by the Student Code of Conduct. We will not tolerate any harassment, verbal abuse, condescending or berating behavior. and dialogue. Remember to dialogue politely with your Instructor and TA - we are here to teach, guide, and help you succeed in this course. Any behaviors and interactions that fall outside of the code of conduct will be addressed by the course Instructor, Department chair, and/or Dean of Humanities.

Your Role in this Course

•   We understand that there are many students taking this course as an elective or context credit and that this is not your home department - Welcome! Try to read and/or watch everything that's provided to you in the course for a robust course experience. Can you skate through without doing the readings & module notes? Sure - but remember, you're paying to learn something and have an experience! The material provided to you help you learn & explore the intersections of humans and the digital world, which you are ultimately a part of in some way.

•    Students are expected to adhere to the academic expectations, guidelines and standards within the Humanities, regardless of your home department. Remember that different departments and faculties may have different expectations and criteria for success than your home department.

•   Essay writing is an important evaluation criterion for this course, and it is a skill that is needed and utilized in the digital world. The more coherent and persuasive you can be with your standpoints and assertions, the more you will be heard and respected - online and offline. This is so important in a world of false news.

•   Please ensure that you are familiar with the layout of Brightspace.

•   Please make sure you have reliable technology and internet access to take this course and complete the work. Be mindful of your wireless connection when you are uploading assignments, as the connection can drop and impede with your submission.

•   If you are taking this course remotely and not in Eastern Standard Time, please ensure you  keep the time zone in mind when submitting your work on time. This is your responsibility.

•   We are not responsible for your hardware (tablets, Smartphones, laptops, desktop) or internet access. Please plan accordingly and submit your assignments on time. Use IT Services if you're struggling. You MUST double check that your assignments have uploaded/posted properly. Log out and back in to and check. Please do not email your TA asking to check 'if it went through ok'.

•   We advise that you complete all that is required well in advance of the due date should you  run into problems, especially technical problems. It is your responsibility to ensure that you complete all required tasks and assignments by the due date and time. We will not accommodate late submissions due to technical problems of any sort (gadgets or access) - don't leave your submission to the last minute. This is your responsibility, and not your TAs.

•   We recommend that you put the assignment due dates into your digital calendar and set reminders for yourself. Because of the somewhat self-guided digital nature of the course, 4 students sometimes forget about their assignments. This is an important digital skill set to   learn.

How You Will be Evaluated in this Course

All reflections and assignments are found in the ‘Assignments’ tab in Brightspace.

Weekly Module Reflections

•   Each module is one week and includes one Module Reflection Assignment worth 3% to complete. There are a total often Module Reflection Assignments (30%).

•   These Module Reflection Assignments are pass/fail (3/3 or 0/3) and will be submitted in the Assignments tab in Brightspace. You need to ensure that you are following the instructions   and providing what is asked for in the instructions in order to receive full marks.

•   Reflection submissions are between 400-500 words and must be in essay format.

•   The module reflections are due at the end of the module/week - by Monday morning at 9am (which is when the next module starts, and the next assignment is released). The only exception to this is Reflection #10, which is due the last day of class on Fri, July 18th.

•   Module reflections (1-9) will be open five days past the due date (to close on Fridays). At that time the assignment will close/no submissions will be accepted (see notes about late penalties and extensions below).

•   More details will be provided in the instructions.

Critical Thinking Assignments

•   There are three larger assignments that are focused on critical or creative thinking. They will be submitted in the Assignments tab in Brightspace. More details will be provided in theinstructions. The assignments will be open seven days past the due date and at that time the assignment will close on Brightspace.

•   The Assignments are worth, as follows:

o Assignment #1 = 20% Due Sunday, June 1st by 11:59 PM

o Assignment #2 = 25% Due Sunday, June 22nd by 11:59 PM

o Assignment #3 = 25% Due Sunday, July 13th by 11:59 PM

Assignment Schedule