Objectives

The Internet provides powerful tools to change how we work, how we play, how we learn, how we live. Its significance may well rival that of the printing press and of writing itself, with a timetable that is enormously accelerated. By supporting rapid and cheap communications it has fostered a truly global economic system and transformed societies throughout the world. The program in Internet Studies affords opportunities for students and faculty members to study the evolution of this revolutionary technology and its pervasive political, economic, cultural, and artistic ramifications in a multidisciplinary framework. It highlights the socioeconomic forces that shape the Internet and the global response to it and helps students to frame the information revolution in critical perspective. The program's interdisciplinary approach adds an important liberal arts perspective for students whose focus is primarily technical and supplies the essential technical component for students whose primary interests lie in the realm of social, humanities, and artistic concerns.

How to Become a Program Member

The program is open to all Brandeis undergraduates. To enroll in the program, consult with a member of the Internet Studies Program committee and fill out declaration forms from the Office of Academic Affairs. Students who complete the requirements of the program receive Internet Studies certificates and notations on their transcripts.

Committee

(Computer Science)

(Fine Arts)

(Economics)

(American Studies)

(International Economics and Finance)

(English)

(Anthropology)

Requirements for the Program

Students must complete six courses. Students may "double count" only two courses toward their concentration and this program

A. Two core courses: COSI 2a (Introduction to Computers) and COSI 33b (Internet and Society). Computer science concentrators may substitute COSI 21a for COSI 2a.

B. Three elective courses from the program listing. The list of approved elective courses will change from year to year as the departments, the Internet, and society changes.

C. One senior research course: an independent study, internship, or senior honors thesis in the student's department of concentration (with an emphasis on some aspect of Internet Studies as approved by a member of the program's faculty), or a senior seminar in Internet Studies if offered.

Courses of Instruction

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

Introduction to Computers

Internet and Society

Elective Courses

The following courses approved for the program. Not all given in any one year. Please consult the Course Schedule each semester.

Social Relations in Cyberspace

Virtual Communities

Programming in Java and C

Human Computer Interaction

Technological and Economic Change

Cyber-Theory