Courses of Study:
Minor

Program website: http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/inet/

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 (Minor)

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

Timothy Hickey, Chair
(Computer Science)

Pamela Allara
(Fine Arts)

Anne Carter
(Economics)

Richard Gaskins
(American Studies)

Benjamin Gomes-Casseres
(International Economics and Finance)

Caren Irr
(English and American Literature)

David Jacobson
(Anthropology)

Requirements for the Program

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

A. Two core courses: COSI 2a (Introduction to Computers) and COSI 33b (Internet and Society). Computer science majors 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 major (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

INET 92a and b Internship in Internet Studies
Signature of Professor Hickey required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

INET 97a and b Senior Seminar
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

INET 98a and b Independent Study
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

Core Courses

COSI 2a
Introduction to Computers

COSI 33b
Internet and Society

SOC 116b
Sociology and the Internet

Elective Courses

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

AMST 131b
News on Screen

AMST 134b
The New Media in America

ANTH 174b
Virtual Communities

COSI 11a
Programming in Java and C

COSI 125a
Human Computer Interaction

ECON 141b
Technological and Economic Change

ENG 101b
Cyber-Theory

LGLS 129b
Law, Technology, and Innovation

LGLS 150a
Law and Society in Cyberspace

SOC 116b
Sociology and the Internet