Undergraduate Course: Digital Culture (SCIL10079)
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 | *** Please note this course is under review and there may be changes ***
This course is about digital technologies and the ways in which they shape society and culture. The course examines how social spaces, relationships and activities are mediated by and through digital technologies. |
| Course description |
This course will explore the ways in which digital technologies have transformed the way we experience our social lives and have shaped the ways in which we connect (and disconnect) with each other and wider society. The course will examine claims that we now live in a 'networked society', an 'information society' or a 'digital age' and will explore the ways in which our social spaces, relationships and activities are mediated by and through digital technologies.
The course will draw on some key sociological themes: community, the self, gender, consumption, power, and exclusion, and use these to evaluate the extent to which contemporary culture is digitally mediated.
The course involves one two-hour session every week. The first hour will be an interactive lecture. The second hour will be student-led seminar sessions. Every student will be responsible for running a seminar as part of a group. The group task is to engage everyone in the key readings for the week. All students are expected to do the assigned readings in advance and arrive fully prepared to participate.
Syllabus
1. Introduction: The sociology of digital culture
2. Space, place and digital community
3. The digitally mediated self: Identity and social media
4. Digitally mediated relationships: Connecting and disconnecting
5. Consuming digital culture I: Prosumption and new media forms
6. Consuming digital culture II :Digital music
7. Consuming Digital culture III: Virtual worlds and digital games
8. Surveillance, hacking, privacy and data
9. Politics, activism, clicktivism and digital media
10. Globalisation and the digital divide
11. Revision
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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 | Visiting students should have at least 2 social science courses (such as Sociology, Politics, Social Policy, Social Anthropology, etc) at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
30% Short Essay (1500 words)
70% Long Essay (3000 words)
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| Feedback |
Formative feedback will be provided throughout the course in the seminar sessions of the lecture slot. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand how various forms of culture are reshaped in and through digital technologies.
- Critically evaluate the transformative claims surrounding new digital technologies and their impacts and effects.
- Critically assess the ways digital culture(s) has resulted in new forms of social cohesion and identity construction in contemporary society.
- Demonstrate knowledge of key sociological concepts and theories necessary to analyse and explain societal changes brought about by the emergence of digital technologies.
- Apply a critical sociological understanding to the study of digital culture.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Apply different theories to the interpretation and explanation of social processes or structures;
Recognise and account for the use of such theories by others;
Evaluate, critique, and build on the work of sociology scholars;
Discuss and assess empirical evidence and theoretical argument in a clear and reasoned way;
Understand the ethical implications of sociological enquiry;
Formulate sociologically informed questions including competence in using major theoretical perspectives and concepts in sociology, and their application to social life;
Judge the value and relevance of empirical evidence and theoretical argument and interpretation in sociology;
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kate Orton-Johnson
Tel: (0131 6)51 1230
Email: K.orton-johnson@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Laura Thiessen
Tel: (0131 6)50 3932
Email: laura.thiessen@ed.ac.uk |
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