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Welcome to Sociology in the Age of Computer Science!

This website is a compilation of work completed by students in regards to Computer Science technologies and its effects on society. As society becomes more dependent on these technologies, Sociology is emerging as a necessary discipline.

What is Sociology and what does it have to do with computer science technologies?

Sociology is the study of systematic human interaction. Society consists of a group of people that share legally demarcated space, government, economy and some aspects of culture, which includes language and traditions. Society is made up of social structures, which are recurrent patterns of relationships. For example, a family is a social structure, which consists of recurrent patterns of marriage, parenting, and extended family. When these recurrent patterns of relationships become recurrent over generations, then they are institutionalized. Social institutions include the economy, our governance, education, religion and family (*Brinkerhoff et. al 2013). How society organizes itself to support these relationships is the ebb and flow of technology.

For example, early education from one generation to the next would have been restricted to oral exchanges and apprenticeships, but as writing ensued, the social structure and institution of education continued, but how education was organized changed. When computers were introduced, this too affected education. Today, students can obtain and sort through more data and write and re-write papers with greater ease. Programs exist to check spelling and grammar and even make word choice suggestions. As computer technologies change, so does how society uses them and how they organize themselves. Today, technologies include internet, world-wide web, social media, smart phones, artificial intelligence, big data and so much more. Society can no longer ignore the importance of technology, nor can Computer Science ignore the importance of Sociology and its ability to analyze social structures, organizations, culture and institutions.

Showcasing Student Work.

In spring 2016, my Sociology 101 class worked with Dr. Weusijana’s BIT class to create a website dedicated to addressing the relationship between Sociology and Computer Science. Students from my sociology class began to research topics about society and how it is being shaped by the computer science industry. Students researched topics from tech culture to sky rocketing housing costs in cities with booming tech companies. Dr. Weusijana’s BIT students helped build the website. This project was just the beginning of an ongoing effort. In the winter of 2017, Dr. Weusijana’s BIT students again stepped in to help update the website and added more information.

This website is the beginning of an ongoing effort to help build an understanding between Sociology and Computer Science. Thank you for visiting the site, and I hope that you will gain some insight and understanding for the need to unite these two disciplines.

---Dr. Soraya Cardenas, Sociology Faculty Cascadia College

*Brinkerhoff et. al. (2013). Essentials of Sociology. Wadsworth: New York.

About

Dr. Soraya Cardenas is a (tenure track) Sociology Faculty member at Cascadia College. She received her B.A. and M.S. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She began her teaching career in 1995 with a specialization in Sociology including: Sustainability, Inequalities, and Society & Technology.

For more information concerning topics covered in this website, please contact Dr. Soraya Cardenas at scardenas@cascadia.edu or (425) 352-8522.

Dr. Cardenas's Vita