Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

With the ongoing and accelerating development of digital technologies and their companion artefacts, and their ubiquitous presence and use in societies, ethnographic and anthropological theories, methods, and practices are changing. This module introduces students to state of the art anthropological concepts about and approaches to the social life of algorithms, data and digital technologies. Literature on the prevalent theoretical positions are studied and discussed, and ethnographic methods for studying human interaction on and with ‘the digital’ in all its forms are introduced and practiced. This module is anchored within the Department of Culture and Learning among teachers that research into techno-anthropological themes and methods.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• state of the art anthropological concepts about the social life of algorithms, data, and digital technologies. 
• prevalent theoretical positions in the study of human-technology relations in the digital age. 
• ethnographic methods for studying human interaction on and with digital platforms and devices. 

Skills

• plan and carry out ethnographic work in online settings or with technology-heavy expert communities in the computational field. 
• identify and analyze socio-technical problems around computing and digitalization. 
• review and synthesize the latest literature in fields like digital, virtual and computational anthropology. 

Competences

• critically assess the ethical dimensions of fieldwork on and with digital platforms and devices. 
• discuss the wider societal implications of socio-technical problems around computing and digitalization. 
• convey anthropological findings in a clear and engaging style. 

Type of instruction

Course module. Please refer to §17 of the curriculum about the structure and content of the programme.

Exam

Exams