Admission Requirements
This course is open to students registered in the CADS bachelor’s specialisation Media Making Movements (MMM).
Please note: Students that are registered in the CADS bachelor's specialisation People Planet Power (PPP) may only take this course (as an elective or extracurricular course) once they have successfully completed the two Key Issues courses specific to their own specialisation.
Only the following categories of non-CADS students may also register for this course:
- Exchange students admitted for this specific course during their application procedure
N.B. Completing this course may be required to register for the third-year course Selected Bibliography and Bachelor Thesis.
Language of Instruction
Lectures are given in English.
Assignments are written in English.
Course Description
This course examines how digital technologies have transformed human life. It aims to rethink classic anthropological subjects - such as politics, law, science, religion, language, money, and war - by focusing on their contemporary manifestations. We ask how such subjects are being reconfigured in the age of online disinformation, algorithmic discrimination, artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, generative models, high-frequency trading, and drone warfare. We consider not only how digital infrastructures can have unintended effects and reproduce entrenched inequalities - including those based on race, gender, sexuality, class, and ability - but also how people from around the world have resisted, appropriated, and reimagined the digital.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Define and explain basic concepts of digital anthropology, and apply them to new contexts
Understand the social transformations produced by digital technologies, and provide concrete examples
Distinguish and recognise the implications of specific digital technologies for different groups of people in various times and places
Schedule
Dates and room numbers can be found on the website.
Mode of Instruction
This is a 10 ECTS course, which means 280 hours of study (1 ECTS is equivalent to 28 study hours or sbu). These 280 study hours are composed of the following components:
Lectures: 12 x 2 hours = 24 x 1,5 = 36 sbu
Literature: ca. 1,000 pages = 160 sbu
Weekly questions/reflections: 12 sbu
First project: 36 sbu
Second project: 36 sbu
Assessment Method
Class participation (including weekly questions/reflections): 20% of final mark
First project: 40% of final mark
Second project: 40% of final mark
Only the final mark is registered in Usis. A final pass mark is 6,0 and higher; a final mark of 5,0 or lower is deemed inadequate. Final marks between 5,0 and 6,0 are never awarded. Only if the final mark is inadequate may the final exam be re-taken, during the re-sit.
Registration in My Studymap
Registration for the lectures in My Studymap is mandatory for all students. Registration closes 5 days before the start of the course. Carefully read all information about the procedures and deadlines for registering for courses and exams.
Students need not register for the examination via My Studymap, because this course does not include a single final examination.
Brightspace
Brightspace is the digital learning environment of Leiden University. Brightspace gives access to course announcements and electronic study material. Assignments will also be submitted in Brightspace. Announcements about and changes to courses are given via Brightspace. Students are advised to check Brightspace daily to keep informed about rooms, schedules, deadlines, and all details regarding assignments. Lecturers assume that all students read information posted on Brightspace.
- How to login
The homepage for Brightspace is: Brightspace
Please log in with your ULCN-account and personal password. On the left you will see an overview of My Courses.
For access to courses in Brightspace you need to be registered for those courses in My Studymap.
Course Literature
Articles from electronic journals and encyclopaedias are available through Leiden University’s digital library.