(1) Introduction

Aims and objectives

The term "The Information Society" is rapidly gaining currency as one that encapsulates what is essentially different about 21st century society. In particular, the term is identified with the growth of the telecommunications and computer industries and is often one that is used to signify a transformation of the role of information in society.

This section of the course will explore some of the key concepts used in CIS and examine the long-standing debate about the role of technology in society. Previous analyses of the cultural transformation that occurred in the shift from feudal to industrial society argue that technology was pivotal in the restructuring of social relations. Were these analyses correct, and if so, do they still hold true?

Overview/Summary

Students may find some of the notes from a course in Sociology by Richard H. Anderson at the University of Colorado at Denver useful, e.g. the notes on Topic III: Individuals and Groups relate to the first set of topics below while Topic IV: Social Inequality covers some of the 19th century perspectives in the second set of topics. Finally sections of a paper on Democracy and Network Interconnectivity by Chris Kedzie from the RAND Graduate School may be of interest as it provides a link to the second topic in the course: The Information Revolution.

The topics covered in this section of the course not directly examinable. The aim of this section is to give students an insight into the subject material and to begin to develop the concepts that will be built upon later. We begin by discussing the meaning of, and relationship between, some of the basic terms that are used in the rest of the course.

1. Beliefs
2. Values
3. Norms
4. Culture
5. Society
6. The State

This is followed by a brief review of some ideas of what the relationship between 'Society' and 'Technology' is from a historical perspective.

As can be seen from the table above this review covers views that range from 16th century (Hobbes) to the present (Bell) and will, of necessity, be brief and highly selective. The aim of the review is not to give you a detailed and through understanding of material but to make you think about three important points:

1. What society is and how it comes about.
   • Is society created intentionally by its members or does it come about as part of some 'natural' evolutionary process?
   • What "function" does society have? Does it have a function at all or does it simply exist?
   • Do the fundamentals of what constitutes society change or are there certain invariant features?
2. The relationship between individuals and society.
   • Is society the outcome of a series of rational choices by individuals?
   • How do you balance the rights of the individual with the need of society?
   • How do specific groups with common interests fit into your picture of society?
3. The role of technology and the economy in shaping society.
   • Does technology shape society or societies shape their technologies?
   • What role does technology play in the later views of society and why did it feature less in the earlier views?

Reading

Books

The topics covered here are not directly examinable. However it is in your interests to get a basic grasp of the concepts. I suggest that you begin by looking up some of the key terms/people in a good general reference book.

• See any of the books from the books section

or

• Blackwells Dictionary of 20th Century Social Thought. (1993)
• The International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (1968)

Some Additional Reading (in library)

For those who want to examine the topics in greater detail the following may be of some use:

1. Chaps, 2, 4,5,6 in Social Contract Theory, Ed. Lessnoff. M.H., Oxford, Blackwell, 1990.
2. Chaps, V, VI, XII, XIV in Main Currents of Marxism (Vol. 1), Kolakowski. L., Oxford, 1978.
3. Chaps 2, 3, 4, 6 in Weberian Sociological Theory, Randall. C. Cambridge, 1986.