Admission requirements
Required course(s):
- Social Theory in Everyday Life
Recommended course(s):
- The Anthropology of Difference
Description
A quick glance at the news shows how digital technologies have transformed society. What is in public or political terms seen as “real”, our attitudes towards other communities, and individual self-esteem, have all been radically reshaped by the Internet and smartphones. Distorted self-images induced by online comparisons to others, a fractured sense of social truth shaped by proliferating news sources, and artificial-intelligence images in warfare that generate sympathy and outrage, are among the fast-moving developments with unforeseen consequences for human psychology and political consensus.
At an earlier moment, social science could compartmentalize the actual and the virtual, the social and the digital, and the visceral and the artificial. However, in an age where our self-understandings, our interactions with others, and our political sympathies are mediated by the Internet and digital technologies, these distinctions are no longer tenable.
This course analyzes the social and political dimensions of digital technology: from evolving protocols for romantic relationships to shifting notions of legitimate work to the evolution of norms surrounding public discourse and geopolitical reality. In this course, we examine, from a social science perspective, how digital technology has transformed humans as social beings, and their possible implications.
Course Objectives
Students will enhance their skills through proficiency in humanistic and social science analysis. They will learn the vocabulary and methods of various fields including anthropology, sociology, history, literature, and journalism. An emphasis on debate and discussion will improve confidence in verbal argumentation, and the capacity to assess what is convincing and coherent in intellectual debate. Throughout the course, students will write weekly reflections, as part of a course portfolio, to hone their reading comprehension and interpretation skills. A final exam will foster the capacity to apply conceptual theories to the contemporary world and improve interdisciplinary analysis.
In terms of knowledge, this course gives students a comparative and interdisciplinary introduction to the ways that human sociality and politics is transforming in the digital age.
Timetable
Timetables for courses offered at Leiden University College in 2024-2025 will be published on this page of the e-Prospectus.
Mode of instruction
-
Assessment Method
Students are assessed on three different parameters that correspond to discrete learning aims.
First, the learning aim of reading comprehension and critical understanding is assessed through a portfolio of weekly reflections from Weeks 1-7. This portfolio of seven reflections is worth 40% of the overall grade. Each reflection will be on the week’s texts and will be submitted 24 hours before the second session of the week. These reflections have two components: first, a close reading of the weekly readings, which shows awareness of the author’s argument and reasoning, and second, your own analysis of their claims, and capacity to apply their ideas to today’s world.
Second, conceptual application is evaluated through a group digital production worth 30% of the overall grade. For this production, students will be organized early in the course into groups and produce, using online and artificial-intelligence tools, a video, app, or other digital production, to be submitted in Week 7.
Third, a final exam judges analytical and interpretive capacities. It will respond to set questions on the course themes and will occur in Reading Week. This exam constitutes 30% of the overall grade. Students will formulate an argument, and empirically substantiate their position, using only course materials. Non-course texts and external references are not permitted in this exam.
Reading list
Readings will be available to students once the course commences.
Registration
Courses offered at Leiden University College (LUC) are usually only open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Leiden University students who participate in one of the university’s Honours tracks or programmes may register for one LUC course, if availability permits. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator, course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Ajay Gandhi, a.gandhi@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
-