Big Questions in the Digital World

DIGI20041 Big Questions in the Digital World 20 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 2 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 Which domains of our cultural and social lives have been most heavily impacted by digital transformations? What are the big questions debated by academics, journalists and politicians in relation to digital technology? In this course unit, students will learn about as well as form their opinions and develop arguments concerning the pressing issues of living in the digital world. The discussions may include the impact of digital technology on social and labour relations, surveillance practices, privacy, politics, economy, transport, education, health, migration or public media. Students will be required to systematically follow the latest news about the role of digital technology in culture and society and will be asked to discuss them during seminars from historical and global perspectives and in relation to relevant academic concepts and theories. They will also deliberate on the agenda setting in relation to the big questions in the digital world, analysing and reflecting on the most powerful actors who set the agenda. Alternative priorities regarding digitalisation from the perspective of marginalised communities will also be discussed. Which domains of our cultural and social lives have been most heavily impacted by digital transformations? What are the big questions debated by academics, journalists and politicians in relation to digital technology? In this course unit, students will learn about as well as form their opinions and develop arguments concerning the pressing issues of living in the digital world. The discussions may include the impact of digital technology on social and labour relations, surveillance practices, privacy, politics, economy, transport, education, health, migration or public media. Students will be required to systematically follow the latest news about the role of digital technology in culture and society and will be asked to discuss them during seminars from historical and global perspectives and in relation to relevant academic concepts and theories. They will also deliberate on the agenda setting in relation to the big questions in the digital world, analysing and reflecting on the most powerful actors who set the agenda. Alternative priorities regarding digitalisation from the perspective of marginalised communities will also be discussed. The unit aims to:<ul><li>Support students in critically reflecting on higher-level impact of digital technology in key social and cultural domains  </li><li>Support students in forming opinions and developing arguments about major academic and public debates on the role of digital technology in culture and society at the national and global levels </li><li>Provide students with experience of working with others, including negotiating priorities, dividing work and managing time</li><li>Support students in developing a habit of following latest reliable news about technology </li></ul> <ul><li>Identify and debate big questions about the role of digital media and technology in a range of key social and cultural domains A2</li><li>Demonstrate up-to-date knowledge of the latest technological developments in relation to culture and society A2</li><li>Exemplify alternative priorities regarding digitalisation from the perspective of marginalised communities A2</li></ul> <ul><li>Synthesize key concepts and theories about digital technology in relation to particular domains of society and culture B2</li><li>Develop, present and defend opinions and arguments concerning the pressing issues of living in the digital world B2</li><li>Analyse and critically reflect on the powerful actors and institutions who set the agenda in particular domains of society and culture B2</li></ul> <ul><li>Create mind maps summarising complex information and use them to weigh pros and cons, and compare alternatives in specific domains of society and culture C2.1 & C2.2</li><li>Craft well-articulated findings and insights using evidence-based arguments to support conclusions and recommendations for the industry and policy makers C2.2</li></ul> <ul><li>Provide constructive feedback and resolve conflicts, promote open dialogue and maintain a harmonious working relationship among team members D2.2</li><li>Evaluate and summarise complex material from diverse sources to non-academic audiences, both in written and verbally D2.1</li><li>Offer convincing arguments substantiated by relevant, reliable and accurate evidence D2.1  </li></ul> Analytical skills researching relevant, reliable and accurate information; triangulate data sources; synthesizing findings; providing recommendations Group/team working taking initiative in the group work; identifying individual strengths and expertise within the group; planning and dividing tasks; resolving conflicts Oral communication communicating complex information from diverse sources in a clear and concise form, both in writing and verbally; using visual aids, infographics and executive summaries While the core theoretical unit in the first year of the programme, Thinking Digital Media, helps students critically analyse and reflect on the design, content and use of particular platforms (especially the big players), this unit is structured around broader domains of society and culture, helping students analyse the cumulative impact of various digital technologies on those domains. The domains may include: health, labour, education, transport, religion, news, entertainment, migration, financial services and public services.The impact of digital technologies on those domains will be discussed in relation to major academic debates regarding the specific domains (e.g. privacy, surveillance, equity, sustainability and monopoly). The latest developments in the domains will be illustrated with current news stories from relevant newspapers and magazines devoted to the discussion of digital technologies, e.g. Wired and MIT Technology Review as well as those with significant technology news sections, e.g. FT, The Economist, Bloomberg, Al-Jazeera, Politico, El Pais English, South China Morning Post, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The unit consists of 1h-long lectures and 2h-long seminars a week.During the lectures, students will be introduced to key questions about the role of digital media and technology in major social and cultural domains. They will be given examples of the latest digital transformations regarding the domains with the use of multimodal sources (e.g. pictures, infographics, and YouTube videos from the CrashCourse account).For the first assessment task, domain maps and oral presentations, students will be asked to form groups and work together to create domain maps, a form of mind maps illustrating the digitalisation of a particular social or cultural domain. In the first part of each seminar (except for the very first ones), one group will present their domain maps to the class and discuss them in the form of an oral presentation.In the second part of the seminars, students will extend their knowledge about the digitalisation of the domains by discussing core readings and news pieces as well as by participating in a range of activities such as debating, analysing tech trends reports and critically reflecting on their aims, their authors’ positionalities and intended target audiences. Students will be encouraged to think about the alternative perspectives and priorities for the digitalisation of particular domains from a perspective of marginalised communities.For the second assessment task, students will work individually to create industry reports, that is, overviews of a specific industry relevant to digital media, culture and society. The reports will allow them to build on their domain maps and expand on them in a longer format of written communication. 0 Other 100% <figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Assessment Task</td><td>Formative or Summative</td><td>Length</td><td>Weighting within unit (if relevant)</td></tr><tr><td>Domain map drafts (group)</td><td>Formative</td><td>Bullet point structure, max 1 page</td><td>0%</td></tr><tr><td>Industry report plans (individual)</td><td>Formative</td><td>1 page</td><td>0%</td></tr><tr><td>Domain map and oral presentation (groups of 2-4 students)</td><td>Summative</td><td>1 domain app and a presentation (max 10 min per student)</td><td>25%</td></tr><tr><td>Industry report (individual)</td><td>Summative</td><td>2500 words</td><td>75%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Formative</td><td>Student will submit their domain map drafts to seminar leaders who will offer their feedback within 15 working days.  </td></tr><tr><td>Formative</td><td>Student will submit their industry report drafts to seminar leaders who will offer their feedback within 15 working days.</td></tr><tr><td>Summative</td><td>Individually via email within a week after the presentation </td></tr><tr><td>Summative</td><td>Online via TII in line with Faculty Policy within 15 working days  </td></tr></tbody></table></figure> N Arora, P. 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The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Profile Books. Lectures 11 Seminars 22 167