Spring 2008
ARCH&UD290. Critical studies of architecture
Instructor: Dana Cuff
Exploration of how architecture operates in relation to wider cultural, historical, and theoretical issues. The seminar has two parallel tracks. On the one hand, it will examine the vein of social and philosophical theory that falls under the rubric of “practices” as it applies to architecture, urbanism, and related scholarship. Drawing from sociology, anthropology, and philosophy, a theory of practice counters objectivist notions of truth, engaging praxis, pragmatism, social construction, and theories of the everyday. In architecture, this perspective also raises constructs of habit, event, situation, and things in the making. Such theory forms a baseline or datum, and as such can be expected to accommodate the transformational and unfolding events.
Geog 295. Geographic thought
Instructor: Michael Curry
A seminar on the concept of “belonging”.
Reading group: Social Studies of Science and Technology (STS)
This is a self-organized student-led reading group. Syllabus can be found here
Winter 2008
IS295. Doctoral seminar: Information seeking
Instructor: Ramesh Srinivasan
Examination of behavioral and cognitive aspects of inquirer’s information needs and uses, including inquirer’s characteristics, information problems, psychological needs, and uses of information and information technologies, and aspects of question negotiation.
Psych 265. Thinking
Instructor: Keith Holyoak
Contemporary theory and research in thinking, problem solving, inference, semantic memory, internal representation of knowledge, imagery, concepts.
HumCS. Formal Modeling and Simulations in Social Sciences
Instructor: Dario Nardi
Exploration of different approaches to modeling empirical phenomena of concern to social sciences. Topics include utility models, learning models, decision models, group competition models, and evolutionary models. Use of multiagent computer simulations and group exercises to explore emergent behaviors among individuals interacting according to models for behavior. Discussion of advantages and drawbacks of more traditional mathematical modeling. Review of alternative forms of formal representations of hypothesized processes and issues related to verification of simulations.
Fall 2007
IS296. Doctoral seminar: Information structures
Instructor: Gregory Leazer
Intellectual principles for organization of information, including principles for design of systems for acquiring, organizing, and retrieving information. System-specific user studies included to extent that design of information systems is predicated on their evaluation and use. Syllabus
IS204. Electronic publishing and digital scholarship
Instructor: Christine Borgman
Survey of current issues in electronic publishing. Topics include history of publishing, digital libraries, scholarly communication, economics, perspective of publishers, universities, and librarians, uses and users of electronic documents, electronic books; new genres in electronic communication, visions of future. Syllabus
SOC201A. Intermediate Statistical Methods
Instructors: Rick Grannis
Intermediate statistical methods using computers: probability theory, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, interval estimation, multiple regression and correlation, experimental design, analysis of variance and covariance, contingency tables, sampling theory. Website
Spring 2007
STAT M237. Data and media arts
Instructors: Mark Hansen and Jean-François Blanchette
Through expanding reach of telecommunications networks and general advancement of data collection technologies, almost every aspect of our lives can be rendered in data. Contemplation of use of data in creation of media art and examination of each step in process of data collection, analysis, and representation. Topics include databases and data warehousing, exploratory analysis and visualization, clustering and pattern finding, sampling, and various data mining algorithms. Exploration, through discussions, of fundamental concepts like complexity and randomness. Techniques that organize data, search for patterns, and create meaningful and/or expressive representations.Syllabus PDF HTML
Final project: part one, two and three.
IS291B. Doctoral Seminar: Research method and design.
Instructor: Christine Borgman
Survey of quantitative, qualitative, and historical research designs. Ethical issues. Operationalization, conceptualization and measurement; indexes, scales, and sampling; experimental, survey, field, and evaluation research; data analysis. Syllabus
Winter 2007
STAT260. Site-specifics
Instructor: Mark Hansen
Tracking of invisible flows of data through greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, with focus on small number of specific sites situated prominently in both physical and virtual (data) spaces. Documentation of kinds of data that originate, terminate, or simply route through each location. Consideration of analyses (visual, computational, or simply informal), decisions that are made, and actions that are taken on basis of these data, whether they be human or automated responses. Documentation of how patterns of data acquisition and analysis dictate behaviors, enable or restrict movements, and shape local community. Alterations or additions to data flows that could improve quality of life for inhabitants of or visitors to sites. Website
UP206a. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Instructor: Leo Estrada
Principles of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and applied techniques of using spatial data for mapping and analysis. Topics include data quality, data manipulation, spatial analysis, and information systems. Use of mapping and spatial analysis to address a planning problem. Website
Midterm presentation, Final presentation, Final paper, Some layouts
Fall 2006
IS291A. Doctoral Seminar: Theoretical Traditions in Information Studies.
Instructor: Leah Lievrouw
Introduction to multiple approaches historically taken in study of information (e.g., library and information science, archival theory, social informatics). Assessment of influence of cognate disciplines (e.g., linguistics, mathematics, philosophy, sociology). Evaluation of epistemological accounts of information sciences. Syllabus
IS293. Doctoral Seminar: Information Retrieval.
Instructor: Christine Borgman
Intellectual principles for organization of information, including principles for design of systems for acquiring, organizing, and retrieving information. Also includes system-specific user studies to extent that design of information systems is predicated on their evaluation and use. Syllabus
