93496 - Politics and Ideology of Culture (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course reconstructs the political significance of certain ideological-cultural constellations that have established themselves globally in modern and contemporary times. They are investigated both as discursive effects and as a product of the tension between the material constitution of society and its political representation, highlighting their role in the reproduction of society. At the end of the course the student: mastered the methodologies of the history of political and social concepts and constitutional history knows in depth the political meaning of ideological-cultural constellations; knows how to analyze the political effects of ideological discourse; knows how to apply the acquired knowledge to the processes of reproduction of society; is able to analyze political action in relation to the ideologies and culture that legitimize it.

Course contents

This year's course will focus on the 'politics of the algorithm', i.e. the ways in which the algorithmic complex (which, in addition to the algorithm, also includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, protocol, platform, cloud and interface) is redefining the relevance and meaning of certain fundamental concepts of modern politics. The aim of the course is to investigate the ways in which the algorithmic complex imposes forms of power that are immanent to social relations and individual behaviour. This happens when social networks are used, when digital platforms are used, and at any other time when algorithmic rationality becomes the constitutive form of social and political relations. The omnipresence of algorithmic power imposes a radical rethinking of fundamental concepts of modern political discourse such as individual, society, citizen, democracy, justice, state, governance, domination.

The course will address the following topics:

1) The algorithm as a mathematical tool and as a political technology; 
2) Communication and information technologies and surveillance capitalism. 
3) Algorithmic rationality and the breakdown of the modern concept of the individual; 
4) How the algorithmic complex establishes a new dimension of power; 
5) Programmed hierarchies: design, bias, role, discrimination; 
6) The public sphere in the age of algorithmic communication and the constant connection of individuals; 
7) Outlines of an algorithmic governance of the social. Reality and myth of the black box society; 
8) Politics with social networks, the politics of social networks; 
9) Time, equality and freedom in the age of platforms; 
10) How the algorithmic complex transforms the state: crisis of political legitimation and the platform state. 

Readings/Bibliography

General Bibliography

1.

Collettivo Ippolita, Tecnologie del dominio. Lessico minimo di autodifesa digitale, Meltemi, Milano, 2017.

2.

Luciano Floridi, La quarta rivoluzione. Come l’infosfera sta trasformando il mondo, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2017.

Nick Couldry - Ulises A. Mejias, Il prezzo della connessione. Come i dati colonizzano la nostra vita e se ne appropriano per far soldi, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2022.

3.

Remo Bodei, Dominio e sottomissione. Schiavi, animali, macchine, Intelligenza Artificiale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019.

Ed Finn, Che cosa vogliono gli algoritmi? L'immaginazione nell'era dei computer, Torino, Einaudi, 2018.

4.

Pedro Domingos, L’algoritmo definitivo. La macchina che impara da sola e il futuro del nostro mondo, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2016.

Katy Crawford, Né intelligente né artificiale. Il lato oscuro dell’IA, Bologna, Il mulino, 2021.

5.

Shoshana Zuboff, Il capitalismo della sorveglianza. Il futuro dell’umanità nell’era dei nuovi poteri, Roma, Luiss, 2020.

Andrea Cardone, "Decisione algoritmica" vs decisione politica? A.I. Legge Democrazia, Napoli, Editoriale Scientifica, 2021.

6.

Isabella Consolati, Storia concettuale e tecnologia, in: ATTI E RASSEGNA TECNICA, vol. LXXVI, 2022, pp. 26-31: https://iris.polito.it/retrieve/7879b571-b53b-4a89-bd02-d396f0042fe6/Consolati_Storia%20concettuale%20e%20tecnologia.pdf

Teresa Numerico, Intelligenza artificiale e algoritmi: datificazione, politica, epistemologia, in «CONSECUTIO RERUM», vol. 3, n. 6, Aprile 2019, pp. 241-271. Disponibile all'indirizzo: http://www.consecutio.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/8-numerico.pdf

Salvo Vaccaro, Gli algoritmi della politica, Eleuthera, 2020

Mauro Calise, Fortunato Musella, Il principe digitale, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2019.

7.

Michele Mezza, Algoritmi di libertà. La potenza del calcolo tra dominio e conflitto, Roma, Donzelli, 2018

Giovanni Ziccardi, Tecnologie per il potere. Come usare i social network in politica, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2019.

8.

Cathy O'Neal, Armi di distruzione matematica. Come i big data aumentano la disuguaglianza e minacciano la democrazia, Milano, Bompiani, 2017.

Damiano Palano, Bubble Democracy. La fine del pubblico e la nuova polarizzazione, Brescia, Scholé, 2020.

9.

Nick Srnicek, Capitalismo digitale. Google, Facebook, Amazon e la nuova economia del web, Roma, Luiss, 2017.

Antonio A. Casilli, Schiavi del clic. Perché lavoriamo tutti per il nuovo capitalismo? Milano, Feltrinelli, 2020.

10.

Judy Wajcman, La tirannia del tempo. L'accelerazione della vita nel capitalismo digitale, Roma, Treccani, 2020

Maurizio Ricciardi, Il presente assoluto. Macchine, rivoluzioni e algoritmi, in Into the Black Box (ed) Capitalismo 4.0. Genealogia della rivoluzione digitale, Milano, Meltemi, 2021, pp. 93-110.

Roberta Ferrari, Dal pensiero di piano alla programmazione algoritmica della singolarità, in «Politics. Rivista di studi politici», 17 (2022), pp. 107-125 https://rivistapolitics.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/07_ferrari_politics17-1.pdf

11.

Marzia Vaccari, Appunti di femminismo digitale #2. Algoritmi e intelligenza artificiale, Independently published (20 febbraio 2021)

Lilia Giugni, La rete non ci salverà. Perché la rivoluzione digitale è sessista (e come resistere), Milano, Longanesi, 2022.

Paola Rudan, Riproduzione sociale e tecnologie del dominio, in Into the Black Box (ed) Capitalismo 4.0. Genealogia della rivoluzione digitale, Milano, Meltemi, 2021, pp. 75-92.

Teaching methods

Lectures with discussion of the most relevant concepts.

Assessment methods

The examination is aimed at testing the knowledge acquired, with particular emphasis on the ability to focus on the connections between the concepts analysed. 

1) Attending students are required to write a paper of at least 2500 words using, in addition to the lecture notes, the texts indicated in one of the thematic points (excluding point 1)of the bibliography. 

2) Non-attending students must write a paper of at least 3000 words using the text indicated in point 1 of the bibliography and the texts indicated in one of the other thematic points..

All papers must be delivered at least one week before the institutional exam date.

If the student demonstrates:

• An organic vision of the topics studied together with their critical use, a good mastery of expression and specific language, the assessment will be excellent (30-30L).
  
• A mechanical knowledge of the subject, together with the ability to synthesise and analyse articulated in correct but not always appropriate language, the grade will be fair (28-29). 
• A preparation on a limited number of topics and independent analysis skills only on purely executive matters, but expressed in correct language, the grade will be good (25-27)
• Some formative deficiencies and/or sometimes inappropriate language with a generic and not in-depth knowledge of the examination material, the assessment will be more than sufficient (21-24). 
• Formative deficiencies and/or inappropriate language - albeit in the context of minimal knowledge of examination material the assessment will be sufficient (18-20). 
• Formative deficiencies, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographical material offered during the course, the assessment will be negative.

Teaching tools

Lectures make use of visual aids (PowerPoint) that are uploaded and made available to students at virtule.unibo.it.

Office hours

See the website of Maurizio Ricciardi