The course "Digital Technology and Society: Critical Perspectives" adopts a sociological perspective to explore the complex ways in which processes of digitalisation are intertwined with social, economic and political relations that characterise contemporary life. The course provides a critical overview of digital technologies as part of socio-technical assemblages and highlights how innovation is shaped by and shaping of the social realities out of which it emerges. It then focuses on explaining specific aspects of digital transformation and their implications for the social futures we are building collectively. Key themes covered on the course include: data extraction and monetisation, algorithmic knowledge, the platform economy, labour and automation, the environmental impact of AI and the mapping of digital progress onto existing social inequalities. The course also draws on current scholarly debates about machine learning, large language models and autonomous robots to interrogate the meaning and ramifications of the newest technological developments. By the end of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate the impacts of the growing reliance on AI, platformisation and datafication on various sectors of social and economic life. 

2 hrs/week (1 lecture+1 seminar).

No specific timetable coordination.

None

Full-time students must simultaneously complete the course "Practicing Research and Working with Data in the Digital Age" (SOCIO5102), which is the other 1st semester core course in the Digital Sociology MSc.

This does not apply to part-time students who may choose to enrol in only 1 core course per semester. 

The sole marked assessment (100% of the total module mark) will be in the form of a 4000-word essay. Students will be asked to choose an essay question on an issue covered in the course, such as data monetisation, digital labour and inequalities, AI agency and environmental costs of tech innovation. They will also be given the choice to formulate their own essay question (subject to approval from the course convenor). The essay should demonstrate a critical engagement with and reflection on the social transformations prompted by the emergence of digital technologies in social life. 

The aims of this course are threefold. At a theoretical level, it aims to introduce students to concepts and approaches typical for the social sciences and it looks at how they may bring produce insights in debates about digitalization. At a substantive level, it aims to explore the ways in which digital transformations are becoming embedded in different aspects of social reality, and what adjacent social processes can be associated with digitalization. At a practical level, it provides students with the opportunity to consider the challenges posed by the digital age, both for scholars within the social sciences, and for those impacted by digitalization in other capacities.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Demonstrate an advanced understanding of a wide range of concepts and theories from the social sciences which are typically used in debates about datafication, algorithmic knowledge, AI, the platform economy;

■ Develop original and creative arguments about how digital transformations are impacting different areas of contemporary society;

■ Identify, conceptualise and critically evaluate new social phenomena/ fields/ situations which have emerged through digitalisation.

■ Formulate complex interrogations about the social value, innovative potential and multi-layered challenges of adopting the latest digital technology;

■ Create alternative approaches to tech design and/or governance to promote fairer forms of social transformation.