Sociotechnocanonicon: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:01, 24 May 2024

The Sociotechnocanonicon Great Books Discussion Series allows members of the CDSC to build their familiarity with some of the classic works which are foundational to the collective's research program.

The discussions are open to all, and facilitated by senior members of CDSC in order to introduce the broader context of the work. Meetings are held in person and aired over Jitsi for remote participation. Themes we often try to cover including collective action, social movements, participatory-democracy, networks, sociomateriality, sociotechnical systems, and cooperation.

This page covers the Summer 2024 version of the reading group. Links to previous years are at the bottom of the page.

2024 Call for Suggestions![edit]

Books[edit]

Already planned: [2024-05-24 at 1:00pm PDT; 3:00pm CDT; 4:00pm EDT] The Ordinal Society by Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy. Organized by Nate.

The Curious Culture of Economic Theory by Ran Spiegler — This is an economist's reflections on the professional culture of economic theory, should be fun to read about how economics develop their theories, and reflect generally on social sciences. -- from Yibin

Rules: A short history of what we live by by Lorraine Daston Kaylea (talk) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST) +1 Yibin added on Yibin's reading list one month ago :) +1 sohyeon (talk) 18:26, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Writing the Revolution; Wikipedia and the Survival of Facts in the Digital Age by Heather Ford — Short but I think, increasingly influential on Wikipedia's contests over what counts as a fact. I think many of us have read it already, but it is on my list for the summer, and I would love to discuss it. Groceryheist (talk) 23:03, 8 May 2024 (CEST) + 1 sohyeon (talk) 18:26, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Folk Devils and Moral Panics by Stanley Cohen -- moral panic is a useful theory and the book serves as an example of what grounded theory can look like. Kaylea (talk) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST) (+1 Groceryheist (talk) 04:39, 10 May 2024 (CEST))

Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life by Nathan Schneider. Nathan is in our broader research community and has, I think, already influenced several of us. Personally, I wouldn't prioritize this as high as some other suggestions here, but I thought it worth probing for interest in a discussion. Groceryheist (talk) 05:57, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Fiction[edit]

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Critically acclaimed novel about a group of friends who found a video game company Kaylea (talk) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST)

The Editors, Stephen Harrison. A (forthcoming!) novel based on Wikipedia. We may have to ask the author for an advance (soft) copy, but we might also be able to recruit him to come talk with us about it. (Aaronshaw (talk) 20:01, 24 May 2024 (UTC)) (+1 exciting! Groceryheist (talk) 20:49, 22 May 2024 (UTC))

Meta[edit]

Houston, we have a narrative by Randy Olson. A guide to doing better science through better storytelling. Kaylea (talk) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST)

Papers[edit]

As some of our group members suggested, we may want to have some sessions for reading selected great papers together! Here you are welcome to leave recommended papers' references that you think are potentially of interest for our group. Common topics may emerge when there are multiple recommendations so that we can organize a topical reading session!

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 The discussions are open to all, and facilitated by senior members of CDSC in order to introduce the broader context of the work. Meetings are held in person and aired over Jitsi for remote participation. Themes we often try to cover including collective action, social movements, participatory-democracy, networks, sociomateriality, sociotechnical systems, and cooperation.
-This page covers the Summer 2022 version of the reading group. Links to previous years are at the bottom of the page.
+This page covers the Summer 2024 version of the reading group. Links to previous years are at the bottom of the page.
-== 2022 Details ==
+== 2024 Call for Suggestions! ==
-We will be meeting after the Monday softblock. Meetings will be 13:00 ET / 12:00 CT / 10:00 PT.
+=== Books ===
+* Already planned: [2024-05-24 at 1:00pm PDT; 3:00pm CDT; 4:00pm EDT] [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674971141 The Ordinal Society by Marion Fourcade and Kieran Healy]. Organized by [[User:groceryheist|Nate]].
-Notes: https://etherpad.communitydata.science/p/sociotechnocanonicon_2022
+* [https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5760/The-Curious-Culture-of-Economic-Theory The Curious Culture of Economic Theory] by Ran Spiegler — This is an economist's reflections on the professional culture of economic theory, should be fun to read about how economics develop their theories, and reflect generally on social sciences. -- from [[User:yibinfan|Yibin]]
-===Meeting Dates===
+* [https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691156989/rules Rules: A short history of what we live by] by Lorraine Daston [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST) +1 Yibin added on Yibin's reading list one month ago :) +1 [[User:Sohw|sohyeon]] ([[User talk:Sohw|talk]]) 18:26, 22 May 2024 (UTC)
-* 06/27 - Exhilation by Ted Chiang
+* [https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262046299/writing-the-revolution/ Writing the Revolution; Wikipedia and the Survival of Facts in the Digital Age] by Heather Ford — Short but I think, increasingly influential on Wikipedia's contests over what counts as a fact.  I think many of us have read it already, but it is on my list for the summer, and I would love to discuss it. [[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 23:03, 8 May 2024 (CEST) + 1 [[User:Sohw|sohyeon]] ([[User talk:Sohw|talk]]) 18:26, 22 May 2024 (UTC)
-* 07/04 - No meeting
-* 07/11 - The Sciences of the Artificial (1-4)
-* 07/18 - The Sciences of the Artificial (5-8)
-* 07/25 - The Conversational Firm: Rethinking Bureaucracy in the Age of Social Media (Intro-4)
-* 08/01 - The Conversational Firm: Rethinking Bureaucracy in the Age of Social Media (5-9). The methodological appendix is worth reading imo (-- Nate)
-* 08/08 - Dividing the Waters (1-8)
-* 08/15 - Dividing the Waters (8-15)
-* 08/22 - The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations
-== 2023 Suggestions ==
+* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic Folk Devils and Moral Panics] by Stanley Cohen -- moral panic is a useful theory and the book serves as an example of what grounded theory can look like. [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST) (+1 [[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 04:39, 10 May 2024 (CEST))
-* [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674312265 Foundations of Social Theory] by James Coleman — This is the shipyard that produced Coleman's boat! Haomin wants to read it. Description: "Combining principles of individual rational choice with a sociological conception of collective action, James Coleman recasts social theory in a bold new way. The result is a landmark in sociological theory, capable of describing both stability and change in social systems." —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> 02:22, 26 April 2023 (CEST)
+* [https://nathanschneider.info/books/governable-spaces/ Governable Spaces: Democratic Design for Online Life] by Nathan Schneider.  Nathan is in our broader research community and has, I think, already influenced several of us.  Personally, I wouldn't prioritize this as high as some other suggestions here, but I thought it worth probing for interest in a discussion. [[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 05:57, 24 May 2024 (UTC)
-: I read this for generals, would read again with a group. [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 02:35, 26 April 2023 (CEST)
-* [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300261479/behind-the-screen/ Behind the Screen] by Sarah T. Roberts -- This is an ethnographic study on how content moderation is conducted on the Internet. It is quite of interest because oftentimes how content moderation is done is quite like a "black box", while this study opens it for us and provides insights on the governance of online communities.  -- from Yibin
+==== Fiction ====
+* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomorrow,_and_Tomorrow,_and_Tomorrow Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow] Critically acclaimed novel about a group of friends who found a video game company [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST)
-* It was fun to kick things off with some fiction last time 'round. Maybe we can do that again!
+* ''The Editors'', Stephen Harrison. A (forthcoming!) novel based on Wikipedia. We may have to ask the author for an advance (soft) copy, but we might also be able to recruit him to come talk with us about it. ([[User:Aaronshaw|Aaronshaw]] ([[User talk:Aaronshaw|talk]]) 20:01, 24 May 2024 (UTC)) (+1 exciting! [[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 20:49, 22 May 2024 (UTC))
-== 2022 Suggestions ==
+==== Meta ====
+* [https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo21174162.html Houston, we have a narrative] by Randy Olson. A guide to doing better science through better storytelling. [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 04:09, 10 May 2024 (CEST)
-Most popular suggestions (as of 2022-06-28):
+=== Papers ===
-* The Duality of Technology (4)
+As some of our group members suggested, we may want to have some sessions for reading selected great papers together! Here you are welcome to leave recommended papers' references that you think are potentially of interest for our group. Common topics may emerge when there are multiple recommendations so that we can organize a topical reading session!
-* Conversational Firm (4)
-* Dividing the Waters (4)
-* The Sciences of the Artificial (4)
-* Union Democracy (3)
-* Governing the Commons (2)
-* Yochai Benkler (2)
-* Social Emergence (2)
-* Discriminating Data (2)
-*  ''Union Democracy: The Inside Politics of the International Typographical Union'' by Seymour Martin Lipset, Martin Trow & James Coleman — I loved this book and I understand its a classic, but it could be somewhat dated or far-afield. — Nate; I think Charlie's work on turnover makes this relevant. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b>) I think it sounds interesting [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 01:10, 24 June 2022 (CEST)
-* ''Mutual Aid'' by Kropotkin — I also love this book, but it is definitely dated and not that useful unless you are an ecology nerd and/or anarchist —Nate
-* ''Should you believe Wikipedia?'' (brand new book) by Amy Bruckman — I think we should prioritize classics but this is one that I think I will have to read this summer so I'd throw it into the mix. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b>
-* ''Governing the Commons'' by Elinor Ostrom — Do this only if/when a large majority of new folks can make it. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> 04:04, 9 June 2022 (CEST) +1 mdb
-* ''Wealth of Networks'' or perhaps a few articles by Yochai Benkler — Do this only if/when a large majority of new folks can make it. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> 04:04, 9 June 2022 (CEST) +1 Floor
-* ''Dividing the Waters'' by William Blomquist — It's about groundwater governance in Southern California by a student of Ostrom. I'm interested in this because it's about the emergence of new institutions but it's only worth doing if a bunch of others are willing to talk to me about this. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> I'm interested in this one. —[[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 21:11, 14 June 2022 (CEST) +1 sohw I'm interested [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 01:10, 24 June 2022 (CEST)
-* ''[https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691195636/creating-a-constitution Creating a Constitution]'' by Federica Caraguti — Similar story to Blomquist exist it's about ancient Athens! Federica is beginning to do work in our space though so she seems to think there are connections. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b>
-* ''The Sciences of the Artificial'' by Herbert Simon. — "best known for concepts of bounded rationality and satisficing" [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 15:48, 8 January 2020 (EST); Moved from 2020 since this does feel something we could benefit from reading. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> I'm interested [[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 06:58, 16 June 2022 (CEST)  +1 mdb
-* ''Conversational Firm'' by Cat Turco — I know Aaron and I have both read this book and loved it and I think more people in communication should be reading this book. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> I'm interested —[[User:Groceryheist|Groceryheist]] ([[User talk:Groceryheist|talk]]) 21:11, 14 June 2022 (CEST) +1 sohw -- I'm interested [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 01:10, 24 June 2022 (CEST)
-* ''The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations'' by Wanda Orlikowski — I've not read the book but I've read a bunch of other other work and think this might be worth it. It might be helpful to read Giddens first she I know she relies heavily on the concept of structuration. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b> +1 sohw +1 mdb I'm interested [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 01:10, 24 June 2022 (CEST)
-* ''[https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511734892 Social Emergence: Societies as Complex Systems]'' by R. Keith Sawyer -- I started this and it seems like a nice argument about the way that social systems act as complex systems and how researchers can study social phenomena as complex systems. --[[User:Jdfoote|Jdfoote]] ([[User talk:Jdfoote|talk]]) 18:43, 14 June 2022 (CEST) I'm interested [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 01:10, 24 June 2022 (CEST)
-* '''Exhilation''' by Ted Chiang — This was our winter holiday gift book! I can also send around a soft copy. —<b>[[User:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#C40099">m</font><font color="#600099">a</font><font color="#2D0399">k</font><font color="#362365">o</font>]][[User_talk:Benjamin Mako Hill|<font color="#000000">๛</font>]]</b>
-* '''[https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/discriminating-data Discriminating Data]''' by Wendy Hui Kyong Chun. Polarization is a goal of machine learning and discrimination is built into how we use and process data. I am planning on reading this anyway this summer. [[User:Mollydb]] +1 floor
-* "Ghost Work" by Mary Gray + Siddharth Suri. I'm planning to reread this anyway this summer and would love to be held accountable + chat about it. I know a bunch of folks have also read it already, so might be low-barrier --Floor.
-* ''TVA and the Grass Roots: A Study of Politics and Organization'' by Philip Selznick. Folks at ICA were talking about this as a must-read classic. I'm just getting started reading it. Pros so far: seems like an interesting exploration of anti-democratic tendencies creeping into intentionally/initially democratic "grass roots" institutions. Maybe there will be useful parallels to CBPP foundations? Has an ecology vibe. Has an infrastructure vibe. Has a governance vibe. Cons: so far it's a bit dry, or at least not scintillating. Is it really so classic as I was led to believe? Also, feeds my orgcomm habit which may be unhealthy. [[User:Kaylea|Kaylea]] ([[User talk:Kaylea|talk]]) 01:10, 24 June 2022 (CEST)
 == Previous Years ==
@@ Line 69: / Line 38: @@
 * [[Sociotechnocanonicon/2020 Schedule]]
 * [[Sociotechnocanonicon/2021]]
+* [[Sociotechnocanonicon/2022]]
+* [[Sociotechnocanonicon/2023]]