Syllabus
As the course reflects the current state of research, readings for each session will be assigned at the beginning of each semester. The final two sessions will consist of discussion of students' blog posts.
1. Introduction
2. A Theoretical Primer on Media and Society
3. A Hauntological History of Digital Media
4. Visions and Design Ideologies of Digital Media
5. Plaform governance
6. Algorithmic power
7. Spreadable Media, Viral Content
8. Group Polarization on Social Media
9. Surveillance capitalism
10. AI, bots, automation and "fake" content
11. Discussion about students' blog posts (part
1)
12. Discussion about students' blog posts (part
2)
Annotation
This course discusses current research into digital media within the domains of social sciences and humanities. Through reading topical research books and articles, the students will be introduced to the current issues in the field and in the world of digital media itself. By engaging with scholarly sources and discussing current events, they will gain a deeper understanding of the relationships between media technologies, media companies, individual users, and societies. The course covers a range of topics, starting with visions and histories of digital media, and including social media, group polarization, artificial intelligence, labor in digital media, platformization of cultural production etc.
Each session consists of a short discussion of latest news in media/tech industries, followed by a short lecture and a discussion about the assigned reading.