Internet studies is a field of academia dealing with the interaction between the Internet and modern society, and the sociological and technological implications on one another.

It is available as a major or minor course of study at several institutions of higher learning, including the University of Oxford, Curtin University of Technology, Brandeis University, Appalachian State University and the University of Minnesota. Students and associated academia in the field study a wide array of topics, including Internet-security, digital rights, and the spread of viruses and malware.

Topics of study

Topics within Internet studies include:

• Internet architecture: including the fundamental programming and architecture of the Internet, such as TCP/IP, (HTML, CSS, Java, XML, PHP.

• Internet security: such as the structure and propagation of viruses, malware, and software exploits, as well as methods of protection, including antivirus programs and firewalls.

• Online communities: including Internet forums, blogs, and MMORGs.

• Internet culture: including the emergence of Internet slang and cyberculture.

• Computer-mediated communication: such as the role of e-mail, online chat, and text messaging in modern communications.

• Digital rights: including debates over intellectual property, peer-to-peer networks such as I2hub, Kazaa, and Napster, and the DCMA.

• Open source software: focusing on the ability of Internet users to collaborate to modify, develop, and improve pieces of software which are freely available to the public without charge

Programs

Undergraduate

• Appalachian State University: Internet Studies Program (major and minor)
• Brandeis University: Internet Studies Program (minor)
• Curtin University of Technology: Internet Studies (major and minor)
• University of Minnesota: Internet, Science and Society Minor

Graduate

• University of Oxford: DPhil (doctorate) in Information, Communication and the Social Sciences via the Oxford Internet Institute
• Curtin University of Technology: PhD Internet studies

External links

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• Oxford Internet Institute and the Horizons Intitute and OeRC
• Association of Internet Researchers
• Center for Advanced Studies and Research in Information and Communication Technologies & Society (ICT&S)
• Digital World Research Centre
• University of Minnesota Internet Studies Center
• University of Washington Center for Internet Studies
• Internet Interdisciplinary Institute
• New Media Institute
• Institute for Internet Studies, Tel Aviv
• Singapore Internet Research Centre
• Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI)
• Center for the Study of the Information Society (InfoSoc)
• Centre for Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research (Ciber)
• Center for Research on Technology and Organizations (CRITO)
• Social Informatics Research Unit (SIRU)
• Berkman Center for the Internet and Society at the Harvard
• Center for Information Policy, College of Information Studies
• Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society (CIS)
• Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies (RCCS)
• Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Emerging Technologies (CITE)
• James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization (JMI)
• Program on Emerging Technologies (PoET) at MIT
• Futurelab UK
• Center for Internet Research at ICIR
• MIT Program on Internet & Telecoms Convergence
• e-Society, via the Economic and Social Research Council