Syllabus

Readings

Assignments

Info 218: Concepts of Information

School of Information, UC Berkeley, Spring 2010
Paul Duguid, Geoff Nunberg, instructors

As it's generally used, "information" is a collection of notions, rather than a single coherent concept. In this course, we'll examine conceptions of information based in information theory, philosophy, social science, law, economics, and history. Issues include: How compatible are these conceptions; can we talk about "information" in the abstract? What work do these various notions play in discussions of literacy, intellectual property, advertising, and the political process? And where does this leave "information studies" and "the information society"?

Instructors:

Paul Duguid, School of Information
Web Page
duguid-at-ischool-dot-berkeley-dot-edu

Phone: (510) 643-3894 (but email is surer)


Geoff Nunberg, School of Information
nunberg-at-berkeley-dot-edu
Web Page

Phone: (510) 643-3894 (but email is surer)

Office:

203A South Hall


Office Hours:

Duguid: Thursday 2:30-4:00 (by appointment)

Nunberg: Tuesday 2:00-3:00 (by appointment)

Email List:

Whether you're enrolled for credit, or auditing, you should subscribe to the email list for the course, concepts@ischool.berkeley.edu. Messages sent to this email go to everyone on the list.

To subscribe, send an email to Majordomo@ischool.berkeley.edu with the following
command in the body of your email message:

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You'll receive a confirmation message to which you must respond with the key provided. If you are sending the email from an account other than the one you want to subscribe from, the message should read:

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To unsubscribe, use the same procedure using the word "unsubscribe." If you ever need to get in contact with the owner of the list (if you have trouble unsubscribing, or have questions about the list itself) send email to <owner-concepts@ischool.berkeley.edu>.