Undergraduate Course: The Internet and Society (STIS10001)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Internet technologies play an important, often controversial, role in contemporary society, touching almost every aspect of our lives. Many dramatic, both dystopian and utopian, claims have been made about the transformative 'effects' of these technologies. This course will investigate these claims across different areas of life, technologies and practices. It will treat 'the internet' not as one monolithic entity, but as a collection of at times disparate technologies, platforms, practices and discourses that are co-evolving with rather than impacting on society. The course will cover key themes, historical and contemporary, that have informed and challenged our understanding and assumptions about the interaction between the internet and society. This will include, but will not be limited to: identity and subjectivity, social exclusion and inequality, politics and democracy, globalisation and development, privacy and surveillance.
The course will focus on specific empirical case studies and technologies as well as theoretical and methodological questions on how to best study and conceptualise the role of internet technologies in society. We will draw, in particular, on the multidisciplinary area of research referred to as science and technology studies (STS), but, where relevant, will complement this with research in sociology, geography, anthropology, philosophy, history, media and communications, and politics. At the end of the course students will not only be familiar with the social study of the internet, but will also be able to apply key conceptual frameworks and sociological thinking to tackling contemporary issues, policy and practice pertaining to information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital media more broadly.
No specialist technical knowledge is required other than students' personal experience of computers, internet, and mobile phone use.
The classes will consist of a combination of lectures, group discussions and debates, in class and home work with data and evidence, presentations, and on-line work. Students will be expected to read and summarise set papers online before each class, and prepare personal exercises for use in group activities. |
| Course description |
Internet technologies play an important, often controversial, role in contemporary society, touching almost every aspect of our lives. Many dramatic, both dystopian and utopian, claims have been made about the transformative 'effects' of these technologies. This course will investigate these claims across different areas of life, technologies and practices. It will treat 'the internet' not as one monolithic entity, but as a collection of at times disparate technologies, platforms, practices and discourses that are co-evolving with rather than impacting on society. The course will cover key themes, historical and contemporary, that have informed and challenged our understanding and assumptions about the interaction between the internet and society. This will include, but will not be limited to: identity and subjectivity, social exclusion and inequality, politics and democracy, globalisation and development, privacy and surveillance.
The course will focus on specific empirical case studies and technologies as well as theoretical and methodological questions on how to best study and conceptualise the role of internet technologies in society. We will draw, in particular, on the multidisciplinary area of research referred to as science and technology studies (STS), but, where relevant, will complement this with research in sociology, geography, anthropology, philosophy, history, media and communications, and politics. At the end of the course students will not only be familiar with the social study of the internet, but will also be able to apply key conceptual frameworks and sociological thinking to tackling contemporary issues, policy and practice pertaining to information and communication technologies (ICT) and digital media more broadly.
No specialist technical knowledge is required other than students' personal experience of computers, internet, and mobile phone use.
The classes will consist of a combination of lectures, group discussions and debates, in class and home work with data and evidence, presentations, and on-line work. Students will be expected to read and summarise set papers online before each class, and prepare personal exercises for use in group activities.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 55 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Short paper (25%) and long essay (75%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand the historical context and theoretical underpinnings of a wide range of social science research focused on information and communication technologies.
- Be able to distinguish between different theoretical and methodological approaches for studying information and communication technologies and their epistemological assumptions.
- Be able to critically engage with key questions about the social dimensions of information and communication technologies in a nuanced manner.
- Be able to apply complex concepts and critical thinking to key issues relating to the regulation and governance of societies of deeply mediated by information and communication technologies.
- Be able to interpret, evaluate, and use a wide range of different types of data, empirical material and arguments relating to the social dynamics of information and communication technologies.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr James Stewart
Tel: (0131 6)50 6392
Email: J.K.Stewart@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Ethan Alexander
Tel: (0131 6)50 4001
Email: Ethan.Alexander@ed.ac.uk |
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