Digital Activism and Citizenship (L3131A)
Digital Activism and Citizenship in Datafied Societies
Module L3131A
Module details for 2023/24.
15 credits
FHEQ Level 6
Module Outline
How do citizens today use digital technologies to mobilise struggles for social justice? How have digital networks reconfigured the structure of social movements? Can digital activism be effective means for social change or a form of slacktivism? Does it reinforce neoliberal logics of communicative capitalism?
This module will address these questions by introducing students to the concept of digital citizenship, a way of conceptualising citizenship as citizen empowerment mediated through digital acts: how citizens reassert their position in relation to the state in struggles for recognition of different identities, extension of rights and new ideas of responsibility through the use of digital technologies and platforms. Rather than a formal status, digital citizenship involves the informal, performative and participatory nature of citizenship which examines the relation between the digital and the political as it takes shape within the bottom-up networks of civil society. This module aims to offer students an advanced understanding of the broad topics, perspectives and debates within the field of digital citizenship. It also aims to provide students with a critical assessment of the prospects for democratisation through digital acts within the context of economic and political forces that attempt to subvert it—from processes of datafication and surveillance capitalism to information gatekeeping and networked authoritarianism.
Full Module Description
How do citizens today use digital technologies to mobilise struggles for social justice? How have digital networks reconfigured the structure of social movements? Can digital activism be effective means for social change or a form of slacktivism? Does it reinforce neoliberal logics of communicative capitalism?
This module will address these questions by introducing students to the concept of digital citizenship, a way of conceptualising citizenship as citizen empowerment mediated through digital acts: how citizens reassert their position in relation to the state in struggles for recognition of different identities, extension of rights and new ideas of responsibility through the use of digital technologies and platforms. Rather than a formal status, digital citizenship involves the informal, performative and participatory nature of citizenship which examines the relation between the digital and the political as it takes shape within the bottom-up networks of civil society. This module aims to offer students an advanced understanding of the broad topics, perspectives and debates within the field of digital citizenship. It also aims to provide students with a critical assessment of the prospects for democratisation through digital acts within the context of economic and political forces that attempt to subvert it—from processes of datafication and surveillance capitalism to information gatekeeping and networked authoritarianism.
Module learning outcomes
Develop a critical awareness of the different ways in which citizenship has been conceptualised within sociological scholarship.
Demonstrate knowledge and a critical appreciation of competing theories and empirical research on digital citizenship.
Demonstrate the ability to apply theories of digital citizenship to contemporary empirical cases across local, national and transnational levels.
Identify and critically evaluate the cultural, political and economic challenges facing expressions of digital citizenship today.
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Essay (4000 words) | Semester 1 Assessment Week 1 Mon 16:00 | 100.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Semester | Seminar | 2 hours | 11111011111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Dr Oliver Hall
Convenor
/profiles/271654
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