Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2122: Digital Society

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to:

Explore the ways in which social contexts have shaped the development of information technology and networks, and vice versa
Discuss key contemporary social issues related to the informatisation and datafication of society
Enhance knowledge of the local and global processes, practices and interactions through which information technology, databases and networks are mobilised, operationalised, shaped by social contexts and shape them in turn
Encourage critical and questioning attitudes about often hyped or overlooked socio-technical innovations
Develop new skills in identifying opportunities for social change and elaborating strategies for seizing them
Develop skills of team collaboration and organisation
Improve employability with a combination of analytical and organisational skills in addition to the thematic knowledge acquired

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Understand key terms and concepts in social study of digital technology and information and digital sociology scholarship 2. Evaluate and explain the social issues and questions raised by the introduction of new digital technology and networks in everyday life, the workplace, and communities 3. Identify opportunities for social change and the key milestones and strategies to achieve change
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Apply theoretical arguments, frameworks and concepts from digital sociology and social studies of digital technology and information to the analysis of real-world issues and cases 5. Explain how different groups, communities, organisations and individuals adopt and appropriate digital technology and networks, demonstrating an awareness of the contributions of different social actors to the development and diffusion of technology, and the direct and indirect social impacts
Personal and Key Skills	6. Analyse and draw conclusions from unstructured social scenarios and real-world cases 7. Demonstrate skills of reflective thinking, and effective independent study and research 8. Plan, execute and write-up effective independent study and research 9. Collaborate with peers in a team and manage a team-based project

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

The role of information technology, networks, data and algorithms in society
Key issues from interdisciplinary literature such as Internet studies, software studies, data studies, algorithm studies, platform studies, information infrastructures and digital sociology.
For example, key issues might include: the politics of social media, surveillance, scoring, rankings, classifications, infrastructures, standards, protocols, affordances, profiling, prediction, analytics search, retrieval, blackboxes, crowdsourcing and the gig, sharing and digital economies
Challenges and opportunities for digital social science and digital sociology scholarship
Analysis of real-world cases and issues in the light of key theoretical frameworks
Introduction to systems design problems and techniques

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	128	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	11	11 x 1 hour weekly lectures
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	11	11 x 1 hour weekly seminars
Guided independent study	70	Module reading
Guided independent study	58	Research and writing for group report and individual essay

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Group project report plan	Plan 500 words		Written

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Group project report	30	2000 words	1-9	Written comments and marks
Essay	70	2000 words	1-9	Written comments and marks
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Group project report	Group project report 2000 words 30%	1-9	August/September Reassessment Period
Essay	Essay 2000 words 70%	1-9	August/September Reassessment Period

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Beniger, J.R., 1986. The control revolution: Technological and economic origins of the information society. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Floridi, L., 2014. Fourth Revolution: How the Infosphere is Reshaping Human Reality. Oxford University Press, USA, Oxford.
Lupton, D., 2014. Digital Sociology, 1st edition. ed. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon.
Zuboff, S., 2019. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Profile Books.