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Race, Gender and Information Technology
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Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 07:52:34 -0600 (CST) From: star@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu (Leigh Star)
Race, Gender and Information Technology (final syllabus) LIS 450RG Prof. Leigh Star 244-3280 Home: 355-1644 Office: 123 Library and Information Science Building 501 East Daniel St. email: s-star1@uiuc.edu
Fall Semester, 1996
The aim of this course is to explore together a set of issues about how gender and race affect and are affected by information technology.
There will be a substantial project component to the class, which will focus the class discussions both on project matters and on issues of general conceptual importance that touch on many areas of race/gender, information/technology. We will have many readings in common. Other material will be assembled by students as you progress on your project. Your primary "product" for the semester will be a 35-page portfolio, explained in the appendix to this syllabus.
Note: in order to share information easily, we will set up a class bulletin board. All students are required to be on email and to use the World Wide Web.
Week One: Overview of project design and formation of project groups (September 4)
Week Two: Basic approaches (September 11)
A review of some of the theoretical background in the social studies of technology and knowledge, including library work. Readings: Winner, Langdon. "Do Artifacts Have Politics?," Pp. 26-38 in Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman, eds. The Social Shaping of Technology. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press, 1985. Manning, Kenneth R. "The complexion of science (attempts by blacks, Jews and women to break into science)". Technology Review. (Nov.-Dec. '91), 94: 60-9 Chatman-Elfreda. "The information world of low-skilled workers (janitorial workers at a large university in the South). Library & Information Science Research 9, (Oct. 1987): 265-83. Vehvilainen, Marja Leena. "Women Defining their Information Technology -- Struggles for Textual Subjectivity in an Office Workers' Study Circle." European Journal Of Women's Studies v.1, no.1 (Spring 1994): 73-93. Recommended: Fisher, Susan R. "Librarians and Networks: Breaking the Boundaries that Bind Us." Women, Work and Computerization: Breaking Old Boundaries, Building New Forms. ed Alison Adam, et al., pp. 393-407. Amsterdam, Elsevier, 1994.
Week Three: Methodological issues (September 18)
Methodological issues are important in understanding the underlying value systems informing how race and gender impact the design and use of information systems. This week will discuss some classic readings informing the area.
Readings: Collins, Patricia Hill. "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought," Social Problems, Vol. 33 (1986), 514-532. Keller, Evelyn Fox. "Gender and Science," and "A World of Difference," Chapters 4 and 9 in her Reflections on Gender and Science. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985. Stanfield, John II. "Ethnic Modeling in Qualitative Research," Pp. 175-188 in Norman Denzin and Yvonna Lincoln, eds. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 1994. Adam, Alison. "Embodying Knowledge: A Feminist Critique of Artificial Intelligence." European Journal Of Women's Studies v.2, no.3 (August 1995): 355-377. Fulton, Margaret A. "A Research Model for Studying the Gender/Power Aspects of Human-Computer Communication." International Journal Of Man-Machine Studies v.23, no.4 (October 1985): 369-382. Green, Eileen, et al. "`City Libraries': Human-Centred Opportunities for Women?" Gendered By Design? Information Technology And Office Systems, ed. Eileen Green et al., pp.127-152. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis, 1993.
Recommended: Harding, Sandra. "Is There a Feminist Method?," Pp. 1-14 in Sandra Harding, ed. Feminism and Methodology. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1987.
Week Four: Hi-Tech Workplaces (September 25)
This focuses on the use of information systems in offices and manufacturing.
Reading: Hacker, Sally. "The Culture of Engineering: Woman, Workplace and Machine," Pp. 111-126 in her Doing it the Hard Way: Investigations of Gender and Technology, Dorothy Smith and Susan Turner, eds. London: Unwin Hyman, 1990. Rob Kling and Suzanne Iacono. "Office Routine: The Automated Pink Collar," IEEE Spectrum (June, 1984), 73-76. Ong, Aiwa. "Disassembling Gender in the Electronics Age." Feminist Studies v.13 (Fall 1987): 609-626. Badagliacco, Joanne M. "Gender and Race Differences in Computing Attitudes and Experience." Social Science Computer Review v.8, no.1 (1990): 42-63. Hapnes, Tove and Knut H. Sorensen. "Competition and Collaboration in Male Shaping of Computing: A Study of a Norwegian Hacker Culture." The Gender-Technology Relation: Contemporary Theory And Research, ed. Keith Grint and Rosalind Gill, pp.174-191. Briston, PA: Taylor & Francis, 1995. Calabrese, Andrew. "Home-based Telework and the Politics of Private Woman and Public Man: A Critical Appraisal." Women And Technology, ed. Urs E. Gattiker, pp.161-199. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1994. (Technological innovation and human resources, v.4) Hossfeld, Karen J. "`Their Logic Against Them': Contradictions in Sex, Race, and Class in Silicon Valley." Women Workers And Global Restructuring, ed. Kathryn Ward, pp. 149-178. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1990 Webster, Juliet. "What Do We Know About Gender and Information Technology at Work? A Discussion of Selected Feminist Research." European Journal Of Women's Studies v.2, no.3 (August 1995): 315-334. Recommended: Alloo, Fatma. "Using Information Technology as a Mobilizing Force: The Case of the Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA)," women Encounter Technology: Changing Patterns of Employment in the Third World , ed. Swasti Mitter and Sheila Rowbotham. Pp. 303-313. New York: Routledge, in association with United Nations University Press, 1995. Wagner, Ina. "Women's Voice: The Case of Nursing Information Systems," AI and Society, Vol. 7:4 (August 1995), 315-334. Wagner, Ina. "Hard Times: The Politics of Women's Work in Computerised Environments." Women, Work and Computerization: Breaking Old Boundaries, Building New Forms. Ed. Alison Adam. Pp. 23-34. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1994.
Week Five: Resources (October 2)
An open discussion of projects, bibliographies, queries, possible approaches for projects. Class to be held in LRL. Exercise: Before class, spend one hour browsing the World Wide Web to find sites of interest to the class. We will also invite visits from the special librarians in Women's Studies, African/Afro-Am, and Asian Studies libraries to introduce their collections.
Readings: Cardman, Elizabeth. "The Gender Gap in Computer Use: Implications for Bibliographic Instruction." Research Strategies v.8, no.3 (1990): 116-128. Feminist Collections: A Quarterly Of Women's Studies Resources v.17, no.2 (Winter 1996); special issue: "Information Technology and Women's Studies: Reports from the Field," ed. Phyllis Holman Weisbard and Linda Shult. (430 Memorial Library, 728 State St., Madison, WI 53706) Freeman, Elisabeth and Susanne Hupfer. "TAP: Tapping Internet Resources for Women in Computing." Communications Of The ACM v.38, no.1 (January 1995): 44. Sims-Wood, Janet and Frances C. Ziegler. "Women of Color in Online Databases." Women Online: Research In Women's Studies Using Online Databases, ed. Steven D. Atkinson and Judith Hudson, pp.301-313. New York: Haworth Press, 1990. Recommended: Atkinson, Steven D. and Judith Hudson, eds. Women Online: Research In Women's Studies Using Online Databases. New York: Haworth Press, 1990.
Week Six (October 9): Catch up, project discussions
Week Seven: The Politics of Racial Classification (October 16)
Do categories have politics? A discussion of the complexity of racial classification, and the socio-technical aspects of all scientific classification. Guest speaker: Mr. Al Kagan, Africana Collection Library.
Readings: Davis, F. James. "The Nation's Rule" and "Miscegenation and Beliefs" from his Who Is Black? University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991. Berman, Sanford. 1984. "Beyond the Pale: Subject Access to Judaica," Pp. 173-190 in Berman, Sanford, ed. Subject Cataloging: Critiques and Innovations. NY: Haworth Press. Report of the SAC Ad-Hoc Subcommittee on Concepts Denoted by the Term "Primitive," Pp. 121-154 in Berman, Sanford, ed. Subject Cataloging: Critiques and Innovations. NY: Haworth Press. Recommended: Betances, Samuel. "Race and the Search for Identity," Pp. 277-286 in Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins, eds. Race, Class and Gender Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1992.
Film: "Classified People."
Week Eight: no class (American Society for Information Science annual meeting) (October 23)
Week Nine: The Politics of Gender Classification (October 30)
A continuation of the politics of classification through the lens of gender.
Readings: Stone, Sandy. "The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttransexual Manifesto," Pp. 280-304 in Julia Epstein and Kristina Straub, eds. Body Guards: The Cultural Politics of Gender Ambiguity. NY: Routledge, 1991. Morawski, Jill. "The Measurement of Masculinity and Femininity: Engendering Categorical Realities," Journal of Personality (1985) 53: 196-223. Geoffrey Bowker, Stefan Timmermans and Susan Leigh Star, 1995. "Infrastructure and Organizational Transformation: Classifying Nurses' Work," Pp. 344-370 in W. Orlikowski, G. Walsham, M. Jones and J. DeGross, eds. Information Technology and Changes in Organizational Work. (Proceedings IFIP WG8.2 Conference, Cambridge, England.) London: Chapman and Hall.
Week Ten: Communications Technology, Gender and Race (November 6)
An examination of how communications technology has been linked with social worlds organized with respect to race and gender.
Readings: Martin, Michle. "The Making of the Perfect Operator," Pp. 50-81 in her ÔHello, Central?': Gender, Technology and Culture in the formation of Telephone Systems. Montral: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991. Kramarae, Cheris. "Gotta Go Myrtle, Technology's at the Door," Pp. 1-14 in Cheris Kramarae, ed. Technology and Women's Voices: Keeping in Touch.. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988. Leto, Victoria. "'Washing, Seems It's All We Do': Washing Technology and Women's Communication," Pp. 161-179 in Cheris Kramarae, ed. Technology and Women's Voices: Keeping in Touch.. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1988. Gailey, Christine Ward. "Mediated Messages: Gender, Class, and Cosmos in Home Video Games." Journal Of Popular Culture v.27 (Summer 1993): 81-97. Rogerat, Chantal. "The Case of Elletel." Media, Culture And Society v.14, no.1 (January 1992): 73-88. Recommended: Chatman, Elfreda. 1992. The Information World of Retired Women. NY: Greenwood Press. Special issue of Signs, Vol. 16:1 (Autumn, 1990), "From Hard Drive to Software: Gender, Computers and Difference," Guest edited by Ruth Perry. Spender, Dale. 1995. Nattering on the Net: Women, Power and Multimedia. North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex.
Film: Clotheslines.
Week Eleven: Museums and Racial Representation (November 13)
Includes Visit to World Heritage Museum. After reading the article below, we will take a visit to our campus World Heritage Museum, and take notes about what we see there. We will pay particular attention to the classifications and orderings of the museum's collection. Readings: Haraway, Donna. "Teddy Bear Patriarchy: Taxidermy in the Garden of Eden, New York City, 1908-1936," Pp. 26-58 in her Primate Visions: Gender, Race and Nature in the World of Modern Science. London: Routledge, 1989. Recommended: Clifford, James. "In the Museum of Man," Pp. 135-145 in his The Predicament of Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U. Press, 1988. Bloom, Lisa. 1994. "Constructing Whiteness: Popular Science and National Geographic in the Age of Multiculturalism," Configurations 1:15-32.
Week Twelve: Computing and Culture (November 20)
We will examine some of the ways in which computers have been linked with larger-scale cultural phenomena, with an emphasis on gender and gender roles.
Readings: Perenson, Melissa J., et al. "What Do Women Want?: Software for Women and Girls." PC Magazine v.13, no.19 (November 8, 1994): 437+. Pritchard, Sarah M. "Women and Computers in Public Libraries." NWSA Perspectives v.5, no.3 (Spring-Summer 1987): 32-34. Bitter, Gary G. "Technology and Minorities: A Local Program Aimed at Increasing Technological Capabilities of Hispanic Women." Computers In The Schools v.9, no.1 (1992): 7-29. Jacobson, Frances F. "Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Using Computers in Libraries: An Exploratory Study." Library And Information Science Research v.13, no.3 (July-September 1991): 267-279. Recommended: Jan Hawkins, "Computers and Girls: Rethinking the Issues," Sex Roles, 13 (1985): 165-179. Haraway, Donna. "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century," Pp. 149-181 in her Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. London: Free Association Books, 1991. Grignon, Jerilyn R. "Computer Experience of Menominee Indian Students: Gender Differences in Coursework and Use of Software." Journal Of American Indian Education v.32 (May 1993): 1-15. Makrakis, Vasilios. "Gender and Computing in Schools in Japan: The `We Can, I Can't' Paradox." Computers And Education v.20 (March 1993): 191-198. Sara Kiesler and Lee Sproull. "Pool Halls, Chips, and War Games: Women in the Culture of Computing," Psychology of Women Quarterly, 9 (1984), 451-62. Star, Susan Leigh. 1996. "From Hestia to Home Page: Feminism and the Concept of Home in Cyberspace," Pp. 30-46 in Nina Lykke and Rosi Braidotti (eds.). Between Monsters, Goddesses and Cyborgs: Feminist Confrontations with Science, Medicine and Cyberspace. ZED-Books, London.. Recommended: Gray, Chris Hables. 1993. "The Culture of War Cyborgs: Technoscience, Gender and Postmodern War," Research in Philosophy and Technology, 13: 141-163. Star, Susan Leigh, ed. The Cultures of Computing. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1995.
Week Thirteen: Ecology, Racism and Social Justice: Voices from the World Wide Web (November 27)
How race is important in understanding environmental ethics. Class to be held in LRL (Library Research Laboratory, Basement, GSLIS Building, 501 East Daniel). Exercise: Spend one hour before class browsing the world wide web for relevant material on race, social justice, and environmental politics. Readings: Merchant, Carolyn. A Place at the Table: A Sierra Roundtable on Race, Justice, and the Environment. Sierra. v. 78, May/June '93, p. 50-58. Recommended: Sandra Harding, ed. The "Racial" Economy of Science: Toward a Democratic Future. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1993. Bullard, Robert D.1994. Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality. Second Edition. Boulder, CO; Westview Press.
Last hour of class: Begin student project reports.
Weeks 14-15 Student Project Reports (Dec. 4 and 11) Appendix: The Project Portfolio
The idea of the portfolio is to allow you to work either alone or in groups, and to pursue your area of special interest within the course. It should consist of 3 parts:
1. A final paper. Basically a traditional term paper of 20 pages. It should take the form of a project report. For example, you did interviews or observations, or used the internet/World Wide Web to find information and data, you should discuss your findings, and then tie them to relevant literature. It should include a bibliography. This should be entirely your own work. 2. Ten pages of critique. These should be short (1-2 pages) reviews of any of the following: class readings, selections from "further reading" bibliographies, films, articles, journals, or books from outside of class with relevant content, web sites, advertisements, annotated bibliographies, special library collections approaches (e.g. Women's Studies Library or African and African-American Library) or "product reviews" (computer games, a medical device, a home product). The writing of this should be entirely your own work, but you may share the process of doing the review with others. For example, several people might want to get together to critique a computer game by playing it. 3. Five pages of comments on the process of the project. This could be explaining how you went about finding sources, who was responsible for what in the project group, copies of interview questions, or pages from your project journal. This may be a group or joint effort.
Guidelines for Research Projects: Essential Ingredients
1. A burning question: what is the nature of the relationship between multinational capitalism and the work done by women of color in the third world? How is information technology changing the nature of intimacy in modern life? What impact does technology have on reproductive choices?
2. Making it doable by selecting a little slice of it. For example: -- reading a monograph on silicon chip assembly in Singapore and Mexico, the annual reports of the companies involved, and a couple of articles, and synthesizing the findings -- doing in-depth interviews with 5 people in various kinds of positions at UIUC and in the community about how computers are affecting their lives OR -- doing an analysis of a "dating" bulletin board AND reading several articles or books on computers and society, and synthesizing those -- reading a wider range of materials on Black library development, and contrasting early 20th century conditions with those today in a particular location.
3. To do that, you need:
DATA, MATERIALS. What sort and where? The various types:
stuff you get yourself (empirical) -- interviews, observations, analysis of things you see analysis of "secondary materials": films, b-boards, other people's books, advertisements, TV programs, or a range of products
4. And you need to decide on:
SCOPE. what historical period? what geographical region? FOCUS: what people, or things? UNIT OF ANALYSIS: An organization? a person? a country? a social problem? a group? a social movement? a thing? TECHNIQUE OR METHOD: An in-depth reading of another's book, or series of articles? A biography? An oral history? A survey? A set of observations? An annotated bibliography?
5. The intangible emphasis:
discovery expose en-visioning ```
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