Instructor: Caroline Haythornthwaite

This course traces the issues and research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) that have accompanied the wide-spread acceptance of media such as email, bulletin boards, group decision support systems, and the Internet.

CMC has been examined by researchers from many fields, beginning with psychology and unfolding through social psychology, management, computer science, communications, and sociology. Early research in this area recognized inherent differences between mediated and non-mediated (face-to-face) communication and investigated the impact of this reduced-cues environment on interpersonal communication and relations. This line of reasoning was then picked up by management researchers who began a quest for the best message-medium fit, a debate that still heavily influences CMC research. More recent research recognizes the group nature of media such as email and videoconferencing. This stream of research looks at group effects that influence the adoption of computer media, their usefulness for groups and organizations, and the impact of group dynamics on the way in which media use is defined and redefined through continued use.

The growth of use of the Internet and the World Wide Web has spawned another realm of research, that of the electronic community. Recent research examines the way in which CMC media support non-work interactions, the nature of relationships among such community members, and what makes and sustains such groups.

The course will be conducted through seminars based on research readings assigned for each week. Core topics will be set by the instructor for the first 11 weeks of the course. Content of later weeks will be decided according to enrollment and the interests of students.

Reading is essential for this course and participants will expected to participate in class discussions. There are separate evaluations for Master's and PhD students. Details on projects and papers will be given in class. References in papers should adhere to a standard style; APA style is preferred.

Master's students: Class participation (20%); Minor project (20%); In-class presentation regarding Major paper (20%); Major paper (40%).

PhD students: Class participation (20%); In-class presentation regarding Major paper (20%); Major paper (literature review; a draft must be handed in first) (60%)

Further details on assignments will be given out in the first class.

Kiesler, Sara (Ed.) (1997). Culture of the Internet. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Jones, Steven G. (Ed.) (1995). CyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communication and Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Rheingold, Howard (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. np: HarperPerrenial.

Sproull, Lee & Kiesler, Sara (1991). Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Fulk, J. & Steinfield, C. (1990) (Eds). Organizations and Communication Technology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Lea, M. (1992). (Ed.). Contexts of Computer-Mediated Communication. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf

Kling, R. (1996). (Ed.). Computerization and Controversy (2nd Edition). San Diego: Academic Press.

McGrath, J.E., & Hollingshead, A.B. (1994). Groups Interacting with Technology. Sage Publications.

Star, S.L. (1995) (Ed.). The Cultures of Computing. Oxford: Blackwell.

Kollock, P., & Smith, M.A. (in press). (Eds). Communities in Cyberspace.

Other sites to visit:

Journal of Computer Mediated Communication

The Information Society: An International Journal

CMC Magazine -- current table of contents

1996 Telecommuting Conference Proceedings

Center for the Study of Online Communities

CMC Studies Center

Social Informatics Home Page

The Media and Communications Studies Site

• overview of the course
• outline of what’s to come
• division of labor for this class

Rheingold, H. (1993) Introduction, Chapter 3, or more. The Virtual Community.

King, J.L, Grinter, R.E., & Pickering, J.M. (1997). The rise and fall of Netville: The saga of a cyberspace construction boomtown in the great divide. Chapter 1 In Culture of the Internet.

Wellman, B., Salaff, J., Dimitrova, D., Garton, L., Gulia, M., & Haythornthwaite, C. (1996). Computer networks as social networks: Collaborative work, telework, and virtual community. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 213-238

Sproull, L. & Faraj, S. (1997). Atheism, sex, and databases: The net as social technology. Chapter 2 In Culture of the Internet.

Reid, K. (1995). Virtual worlds: Culture and imagination. Chapter 8 In Cybersociety.

Haythornthwaite, C., Wellman, B. & Garton, L. (in press). Work and community via computer-mediated communication. In J. Gackenbach (Ed.), The Psychology of the Internet. Academic Press.

Kiesler, S., Siegel, J. & McGuire, T.W. (1984). Social psychological aspects of computer-mediated communication. American Psychologist, 39(10), 1123-1134.

Walther, J.B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23(1), 3-43.

Short, J. Williams, E. & Christie, B. (1976). Chapter 4 and 6. In The Social Psychology of Telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons..

Daft, R.L. & Lengel, R.H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management Science, 32(5), 554-571. [1]

Culnan, M.J. & Markus, M.L. (1987). Information technologies. In F.M. Jablin, L.L. Putnam, K.H. Roberts & L.W. Porter (Eds.), Handbook of Organizational Communication: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (pp. 420-443). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

• adoption of innovations theory
• critical mass theory
• adaptive structuration [2]

Rogers, E. (1995). Elements of diffusion (Chapter 1, pp.1-37), and Re-invention [3] (pp. 174-180). In Diffusion of Innovations. NY: Free Press.

Markus, M. L. (1990). Toward a "critical mass" theory of interactive media. In J. Fulk & C.W. Steinfield (Eds), Organizations and Communication Technology (pp. 194-218). Newbury Park, CA: Sage

Poole, M.S. & DeSanctis, G. (1990). Understanding the use of group decision support systems: The theory of adaptive structuration. In J. Fulk & C.W. Steinfield. (Eds.), Organizations and Communication Technology (pp. 173-193). Newbury Pa rk, CA: Sage Publications.

• How groups work
• How groups work with CMC

Chidambaram, L. & Bostrom, R.P. (1997). Group development (I): A review and synthesis of developmental models. Group Decision and Negotiation, 6(2), 159-187.

Chidambaram, L. & Bostrom, R.P. (1997b). Group development (II): Implications for GSS research and practice. Group Decision and Negotiation, 6(3), 231-254.

McGrath, J.E., & Hollingshead, A.B. (1994). Groups Interacting with Technology. (Chapters 3 and 4). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

• Email in organizations [4]
• CMC at work [5]
• Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) tools [6]

Garton, L., & Wellman, B. (1995). Social impacts of electronic mail in organizations: a review of the research literature. Communication Yearbook (18), 434-53.

Kiesler, S. & Sproull, L. (1992). Group decision making and communication technology. Organization Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 52, 96-123.

Fish, R.S., Kraut, R.E., Root, R.W. & Rice R.E. (1993). Video as a technology for informal communication. Communications of the ACM, 36(1), 48-61.

Sproull, Lee & Kiesler, Sara (1991). Connections: New Ways of Working in the Networked Organization. (Chapters 1 and 2).Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

• Computer-supported social networks (CSSN) and Computer-assisted social networks (CASN) [7]

Wellman, B. (1997). An electronic group is virtually a social group. Chapter 9 In Culture of the Internet.

Haythornthwaite, C. & Wellman, B. (in press).Work, friendship and media use for information exchange in a networked organization. Journal of the American Society for Information Science.

Contractor, N.S. & Eisenberg, E.M. (1990). Communication networks and new media in organizations. In J. Fulk & C.W. Steinfield. (Eds.), Organizations and Communication Technology (pp. 143-172). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Constant, D., Kiesler, S.B., & Sproull, L.S. (1996). The kindness of strangers: The usefulness of electronic weak ties for technical advice. Organization Science, 7(2), 119-135.

• definition and structure of "community"
• online communities 

Jones, Steven G. (Ed.). (1995). Understanding community in the information age. Chapter 1 In CyberSociety. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Wellman B, Gulia M. (in press). Net surfers don't ride alone: Virtual communities as communities. In P. Kollock & M. Smith (Eds). Communities in Cyberspace.

Baym, N. (1995). The emergence of community in computer-mediated communication. Chapter 7 In Cybersociety.

Curtis, P. (1997). Mudding: Social phenomena in text-based virtual realities. Chapter 6 In Culture of the Internet.

Rheingold, H.(1993). The Virtual Community.

Wellman, B. (in press). The network community. In Wellman, B. (Ed.), Networks in the global village. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

• social and antisocial online conduct
• how communities define and maintain themselves online
• managing conflict

McLaughlin, M.L., Osborn, K.K. & Smith, C.B. (1997). Standards of conduct on usenet. Chapter 5 In CyberSociety.

Perrolle, J.A. (1991). Conversations and trust in computer interfaces. In R.Kling (Ed.). Computerization and Controversy (pp.350-363). Academic Press: Boston.

Gelder, L.V. (1996). The strange case of the electronic lover. In R.Kling (Ed.), Computerization and Controversy (pp. 533-546). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. (This piece appeared orginally in Ms., 14(4), October 1985, pp. 94, 99, 101-104, 123, 124.)

Dibbell, J. (1996). Taboo, consensus, and the callenge of democracy in an electronic forum. In R.Kling (Ed.), Computerization and Controversy (pp. 553-568). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. (This piece appeared originally as "A rape in cyberspace: Or, how an evil clown, a haitain trickster spirit, two wizards, and a cast of dozens turned a database into a society." The Village Voice, December 21, 1993, p.36-42.)

Carnevale, Peter J. & Probst, Tahira M. (1997). Conflict on the Internet. Chapter 11 In Culture of the Internet (pp. 233-255).

Kollock P. & Smith M.A. (1996). Managing the virtual commons: cooperation and conflict in computer communities. In S. Herring (Ed.) Computer-Mediated Communication. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Lea M, O'Shea T, Fung P, Spears R. (1992). 'Flaming' in computer-mediated communication: Observations, explanations, implications. In M. Lea (Ed.), Contexts of Computer-Mediated Communication (pp. 89-112). New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf. 

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