Admission requirements
2nd year students AMS
Description
Digital, networked and mobile technologies, technological convergence, the digitalization of several domains of practice in combination with the prominence of data and algorithms in society, have significantly altered the ways we learn, work, communicate and interact with each other.
In this course, we will consider the key technological elements of digital information and communication technologies alongside the theorists that contextualize them. We will examine the economic, political and social implications of digital and new media while being attentive to the economic, political and social contexts in which these developments occur (capitalism, globalization, etc.). This course will look at digital culture as an important component of how our mediatised world functions and how contemporary society can be understood.
We will analyse how specific cases of pertaining to digital culture (e.g. games, social media, digital photography, hacking, big data, smart cities) can be analysed. We therefore will be looking at the main concepts used in the field of digital media (theory), but also at how we can approach digital culture (methodology). By looking at phenomena such as mapping, urbanism, networks, virtual reality and mobility, more knowledge will be gained about our digital culture and how it is intricately related to the arts and society.
The course will entail a general part in which the most important theoretical and historical framework for understanding digital cultures will be discussed, but it will also pay attention to case-studies that will be used to illustrate and explore how we can study digital cultures. The course will also examine a number of propositions on possible relations between technology and society that go beyond technological determinism.
Course objectives
Students develop a theoretical framework to be able to understand digital culture and to be able to situate debates about digital culture within this framework.
Students develop the skillset necessary to analyse case studies from a cultural and (trans)media perspective
Students learn to reflect on the social and cultural significance of digital culture.
Students learn to reflect on the social and cultural significance of digital culture as part of our mediatised society
Students develop the skills to work in teams.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the Arts, Media and Society website
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
Course load in summary: 5 ects (140 hrs)
24 hours: Attendance of the seminars: 2 hrs weekly x 12 weeks
24 hours: Seminar preparations
40 hours: Required readings (approx. 280 pages à 7 pages/hr)
18 hours: Preparing Group Presentation
34 hours: Preparation of final essay —
140 hrs
Assessment Method
Group presentations (30%).
Essay (70%).
Compensation: The weighted average of the (constituent) examinations must be at least 6.0 (= a pass). The mark for the final examination (or the main assignment) must be at least 6.0 at (= a pass). For the group presentations a mark below 5.0 is not allowed.
Resit: A resit/ rewrite can be done for constituent examinations which are failed. As far as applicable all resits/ rewrites take place at the same time, after the final (constituent) examination.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used to make course materials accessible.
Reading list
A selection of articles and book chapters (to be announced).
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
Remarks
None.