I teach the following courses regularly at Endicott. Feel free to contact me with any questions or requests for teaching materials.
Automatic for the People: Algorithms, Automation, and the Internet
This course explores the increasing prevalence of automation in our digital media lives, from mobile digital assistants and chatbots to algorithmic content curation and (even) content creation. The cultural, political, economic, and artistic implications of this automation will be examined, with a specific focus on the media industries (journalism, marketing, music, television). Though primarily approached from a social scientific perspective, students also will be exposed to technical content that underlies the functionality of automation technologies. Students will engage in hands-on projects as well as critical reflection related to the role of digital media at both the individual and societal levels.
Crowdsourcing, Crowdfunding, and Collective Intelligence
This course explores the development and contemporary use of digital media for mass collaboration, cultural production, and decision making in various areas, including art, mass media, business, the natural sciences, and computer science. Students will examine the models and theories of collective intelligence that underlie many online media projects today, from Wikipedia to Kickstarter to Threadless to Reddit, as well as major critiques of these models. Students will engage with collaborative digital media tools throughout the term while investigating this content area.
Media & Culture I
This course is an introduction to the function and impact of mediated and mass communication in society. This course explores the history and contemporary landscape of radio, television and film. Related mass communication theories, new technologies, media effects and ethical issues are addressed.
Social Media: Theory and Practice
This course provides an overview of the role of social media in society. The course uses a research-based focus to examine the internet and digital communication technologies, exploring their intersection with other aspects of communication. Historical, cultural, and theoretical facets of social media are also covered. Students evaluate strategies for effective uses of social media. Additionally, students utilize social media clients and participate in online communities.
Writing for the Media
An introduction to the styles and formats used for writing for various genres and media with an emphasis on print and digital journalism. The course covers, but is not limited to, writing and reporting for print, blogs, and podcasts; gathering original content; conducting interviews; and writing reviews.
Social Media Marketing
Students explore the rapidly changing world of social and digital media and how it is applied to the practice of marketing communication. After studying the concepts and theories behind communicating through digital media, students create social media marketing plans to support specific campaign initiatives through the use of these digital media.
Communication Research Methods
Students will learn the research and analysis tools they need to be successful in the required senior courses: Thesis I and II. This course covers social scientific quantitative and qualitative research skills and forms used by communication scholars.
Senior Thesis Sequence
In Senior Thesis I, students lay the groundwork in an area of interest for the original work they are expected to undertake in Senior Thesis II. Students refine their topics, review and synthesize literature related to their areas of focus, conduct research, and develop research proposals or plans for creative projects. The final course outcomes consist of both a literature review and a Senior Thesis II project proposal.
In Senior Thesis II, students apply accumulated skills in a culminating project that requires them to integrate knowledge acquired over the course of the program, both in the classroom and in the field.
Randall M. Livingstone, PhD 