In week three we examined the structures, functions, and manifold socioeconomic

In week three we examined the structures, functions, and manifold socioeconomic implications of digital platforms. Week four revealed how algorithms are implicated in the social construction and management of race and racialization. Now it is time to reflect upon and synthesize what we have learned.
You will compose a paper of at least two pages, double-spaced, in which you put forward an argument explaining how computerized algorithmic systems have been or are currently being deployed to identify, surveil, classify, organize, or commodify at least one of the following: race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality, and/or class. Your argument should clearly articulate the structure and functionality of an algorithmic system or program and explain how it operates with regard to one of the identity categories above. You are expected to define any conceptual terminology that you introduce. Your paper should also draw on and analyze specific content from available sources to substantiate your argument.
You should express your reactions to and questions about the unit. You are required to include your opinions and state whether you agreed or disagreed with specific authors or projects and why. Please refer to the rubric to understand how your submission will be graded. You may draw on assigned readings, course lectures, and relevant outside sources. Please note that not all sources are necessary useful or relevant for a given argument. As such, you should be discerning in your choice of sources.
Outside sources
If you wish, you may use relevant outside sources to develop and bolster your argument. In general, it is best to stick to published sources, such as articles or books, as these offer far more reliable information and claims. Your argument will only ever be as good as the sources you rely upon. You may use article databases accessible through the UC Library such as JSTOR and Project Muse. Please visit the following webpage for guidance on finding and access article databases: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/finding-databases-and-articles.
The following sources are relevant for this assignment and available online through the UC library:
Amoore, Louise. Cloud Ethics: Algorithms and the Attributes of Ourselves and Others. Durham: Duke University Press, 2020. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991085828078606532
Bashi Treitler, Vilna. The Ethnic Project: Transforming Racial Fiction into Ethnic Factions. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2013.
https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780804787284
Benjamin, Ruha, Ed. Captivating Technology: Race, Carceral Technoscience, and Liberatory Imagination in Everyday Life. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_webofscience_primary_000947355100017
Benjamin, Ruha. Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. Cambridge, UK ;: Polity, 2019. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991050878519706532
Browne, Simone. Dark Matters: on the Surveillance of Blackness. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780822375302
Chun, Wendy Hui Kyong, and Alex Barnett. Discriminating Data: Correlation, Neighborhoods, and the New Politics of Recognition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2021. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC6748994
Gates, Kelly. Our Biometric Future: Facial Recognition Technology and the Culture of Surveillance. Vol. 2. New York: NYU Press, 2011. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780814733035
Gillespie, Tarleton. Custodians of the Internet: Platforms, Content Moderation, and the Hidden Decisions That Shape Social Media. New Haven [Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2018. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991046173129706532
Harris, Malcolm. PALO ALTO: A HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA, CAPITALISM, AND THE WORLD. BOSTON: LITTLE, BROWN, 2023. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC30275893
Morozov, Evgeny. The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. New York: PublicAffairs, 2012. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991085880751506532
Mullaney, Thomas S. Your Computer Is on Fire. Ed. Thomas S. (Thomas Shawn) Mullaney. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2021. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780262360784
Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2002. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_39071036
Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991016257799706532
Noble, Safiya Umoja. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York: New York University Press, 2018. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC4834260
Noble, Safiya Umoja, and Brendesha M Tynes. The Intersectional Internet: Race, Sex, Class, and Culture Online. 1st, New ed. Vol. 105. New York: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers, 2016. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_uclouvain_repository_oai_dial_uclouvain_be_ebook_118467
O’Neil, Cathy. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy. First edition. New York: Crown, 2016. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780735286528
Pasquale, Frank. The Black Box Society: the Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_1777456840
Poletti, Anna. Identity Technologies: Constructing the Self Online. N.p., 2013. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC3445384
Seymour, Richard. The Twittering Machine. London ;: Verso, 2020. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9781788739313
Stone, Brad. Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire. First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2021. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/1thfj9n/alma991085897570106532
Vaidhyanathan, Siva. Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2018. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_askewsholts_vlebooks_9780190841188
Vaidhyanathan, Siva. The Googlization of Everything: (And Why We Should Worry). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2012. https://search.library.berkeley.edu/permalink/01UCS_BER/s4lks2/cdi_econis_primary_632113677
Rubric
Paper offers a clearly articulated argument in the form of a specific thesis statement and develops this argument in a coherent and persuasive manner over the course of the paper. This argument will be evaluated and graded on the basis of its clarity, persuasiveness, logic, and overall sophistication.
30 pts
Paper draws effectively upon available course material, including course readings, course lectures, and supplemental course material. Mastery of course material is demonstrated through the thoughtful deployment of quotes, analytical discussion of course concepts, and effective application of the concepts to the evidence provided.
30 pts
Paper meaningfully engages with issues and evidence pertaining to at least one of the following: race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality, and/or class. Meaningful engagement is demonstrated through the articulation of a well-reasoned and argued definition and deployment of key terminology, as well as thoughtful reflection on available examples and evidence.
30 pts
Paper properly and consistently cites sources according to one of the standard style guides (MLA, APA, Chicago).
10 pts
Total Points: 100