An introduction to social computing

SFPC Detroit
Monday August 19th

Abstract

This class serves as a whirlwind introduction to the field of computing, from the teacher's perspective as a colonized subject who studied computer science and worked as a software developer for some years, before beginning to develop a more critical consciousness about the power dynamics embedded into technology.

We begin at 10,000 feet with a historical overview, move towards an exploration of three common and popular coding environments (the web, spreadsheets, and a local IDE or command line), and then introduce some fundamental constructs of programming in Python.

Class Agenda

2 hr 30 min total, including 10 min of unallocated "flex time"

Lecture

40 min

Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14MsP5lrQKgWRn87_Yd7P_bVSP_5UaTO9qEGs3ME2YDo/edit#slide=id.g5e2397ce12_0_55

The opening lecture attempts to situate computing in its broad social context with remarks on:

• a few key facts on the history of computers
• the racialized and gendered division of labor in the computing industry
• the uneven ecological impacts and materiality of computing, including its relationship to mining, factory labor, and climate change
• liberatory counter-currents to the dominant ideologies in the field
• a brief comparison of some popular programming environments

Lab

1 hr 10 min

See the example python files in this repository. Fundamental concepts introduced:

• variables
• function calls
• input and output
• text data (strings)
• numeric data (ints; floats not included)
• datatype conversions
• conditionals
• loops
• libraries
• randomness

Discussion

30 min

Finally, we will come back together to have a concluding discussion. First we will have five minutes of silent reflection and writing, open to whatever students want to capture, with the first guiding question below posed as a jumping-off point.

Tthen our conversation can flow freely with some structure from these guiding questions:

• What was your experience like coding just now? (Let's hear first, but not only, from folks who doing it for the first time, or just gaining comfort/familiarity)
• What does the lack of a pre-capitalist model of computing to be reclaimed or recovered mean for our imaginary of computing's possible futures?
• How do you personally relate to the uneven ecological impacts and the racialized and gendered division of labor in the global computing? Have you observed similar patterns on a more intimate scale in your own lives and work?
• What liberatory potential have we experienced computers being used for, or can we imagine them being used for?

Pre-work

Please keep in mind the guiding questions posed by the last paragraph above (except the one about the experience of coding during class time), in conversation with your own backgrounds and interests, and jot down some notes (questions, impressions, summaries, connections, etc.) as you do the reading!

Required reading (short!)

• Amiri Baraka, "Technology and Ethos", http://www.marilynnance.com/titanic/baraka.html

Optional reading/viewing/listening (long, but please start/skim at least one):

• Kate Crawford and Vladen Joler, "Anatomy of an AI System: The Amazon Echo as an anatomical map of human labor, data and planetary resources", https://anatomyof.ai/
• Nabil Hassein, "Computing, climate change, and all our relationships", https://www.deconstructconf.com/2018/nabil-hassein-computing-climate-change-and-all-our-relationships