Digital Cultures
Full course description
In this course, you explore how digital technologies interact with culture and how culture shapes digital technologies. We will analyze the transformation caused by digital technologies, creating challenges in the cultural and social domain but also new opportunities. Drawing on concepts and methods from philosophy, anthropology, and cultural and media studies, you will investigate topics such as AI and robots, digitally mediated identity and intimate relations, digital arts and digital reading.
Course objectives
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Understand why people can feel threatened or excited by the cultural changes provoked by digital technologies;
- Critically reflect upon the different facets of digital culture such as the narratives about technological innovation, robots and AI, authenticity and intimacy, nature and culture;
- Apply your understanding of digital culture and cultural changes to your own examples;
- Identify and distinguish how different actors attach different meanings to digital technologies and their expected impacts;
- Analyse the consequences of technological developments for digital cultures and critically investigate the narratives related to them;
- Discuss a case study in the domain of digitalcultures and develop a coherent analysis and argumentation.
Prerequisites
none/not applicable
Recommended reading
Jordan, J. (2016). Robots. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Miller, V. (2011). Understanding digital culture. London: Sage.
Verbeeck, P.P. (2006). Materializing Morality: Design ethics and technological mediation. Science, Technology & Human Values, 31(3), 361-380.