1. Handbook
  2. Subjects
  3. Digital Technology and Social Change

Digital Technology and Social Change (SOCI30012)

Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

You’re viewing the 2018 Handbook:
Or view archived Handbooks
You’re currently viewing the 2018 version of this subject

Overview

Availability
Semester 2
FeesLook up fees

This subject explores how digital technology informs everyday life, but also how society informs the design, development, and use of digital technologies. Using key concepts and theories from the Sociology of Technology field, we can examine the role of new Information & Communication technologies (ICTs) on social change and on different societal dimensions. Particular attention is given to how digital technologies present both social possibilities (e.g., broader access to information and services, new types of self-expression, new forms of social connectedness, etc.) and social problems (e.g., privacy concerns, the digital divide, etc.). Students will study these tensions through the analysis of sociological studies, news, and hands-on digital engagement.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject students should:


  • Demonstrate a detailed knowledge and critical awareness of sociological concerns related to the use of digital technologies and their social, historical and global context;

  • Demonstrate an ability to apply sociological theories, concepts and evidence to understand the relationships between digital technology and social change;

  • Have acquired hands-on experience using digital tools and platforms to present ideas and sociological analyses, both orally and verbally;

  • Demonstrate an ability to develop arguments about the social possibilities and social problems of digital technologies by using evidence and evaluating competing explanations.

Last updated: 19 September 2024