CULP2370: The Digital Society

Course Description

The digital has profoundly changed many aspects of sociality. This course explores the multi-faceted nature of these changes and critically investigates the effects of technological advances on contemporary society. It pays particular attention to the ways in which the digital is reshaping cultural practices, redefining politics, and re-configuring the economy. Of interest are both the changes and challenges spawned by the advent of the digital era. We will examine a number of themes and topics in relation to the digital and society, including power, identity, citizenship, activism, surveillance, privacy, and regulation. The course uses a critical approach that draws on insights from sociology, political science, history, communication studies, cultural studies, and new media studies to better understand the dynamics and implications of these ongoing changes and transformations. Students will engage these topics through readings, class discussions, and assignments. 

Reflection

This course focused on the increasingly salient role of the digital world in the various spheres of society and politics, a topic of formidable importance in the context of today’s world, where digital technology is continually pushing and reshaping the boundaries of reality and possibility. The themes and topics examined in this course were all defined by their position at the nexus of the digital and society. Studies and works from a variety of humanities-centered fields including media studies, political science, communication studies, and sociology were utilized throughout the course to supplement the course’s foundational readings to better understand the dynamics and implications of the ongoing changes and transformations that the digital heralds.

One thematic segment of the course that I found to be particularly interesting was the paradox of exposure and control. In brief, it is the idea that we imagine that we are protected in digital spaces - that our information will always stay private and/or will never be used with ill intent because we control what we share in these spaces - when in fact it is often the complete opposite, with corporations, governments, and self-interested parties engaging in information exploitation and surveillance. 

Assembling the cumulative final assignment was by far one of the best experiences of this course. In order to arrive at the broader field of study, I selected a topic that I knew balanced my own subject interests as well as the objectives of the course. Based on the 2020 book Smart Green World? Making Digitalization Work for Sustainability by Steffen Lange and Tilman Santarius, my final assignment therefore revolved around the implications of technology and digitalization on sustainability and social justice. 

Due to its high level of interdisciplinary discourse, this course provided additional insights into my understanding of digital technology and the Internet, particularly the numerous ways by which they can be harnessed to affect immense change in society. This again plays into my research goals for the CMAP capstone project, making the course a perfect step towards the completion of the certificate.