93496 - Politics and Ideology of Culture (LM)

Academic Year 2024/2025

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Information, Cultures and Media Organisation (cod. 5698)

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. 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Readings/Bibliography

1.

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.

2.

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.

3.

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.

4.

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

Isabella Consolati, Per una semantica del potere algoritmico. Prospettive e problemi, in «Filosofia politica», 2/2023, pp. 329-344.

Maurizio Ricciardi, Ordine politico e costellazione algoritmica: la tecnologia come progetto d’ordine, in Scienza & Politica. Per Una Storia Delle Dottrine, 36(70), 2024, pp. 15–31. Disponibile all'indirizzo: https://scienzaepolitica.unibo.it/article/view/19862/18050

5.

Isabella Consolati, Storia concettuale e tecnologia, in: ATTI E RASSEGNA TECNICA, vol. LXXVI, 2022, pp. 26-31. Disponibile all'indirizzo: 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

Massimo Airoldi, Teorie e dimensioni del potere algoritmico, tra agency e dominio, in «Scienza & Politica. Per Una Storia Delle Dottrine», 36(70), 2024, pp. 49–63. Disponibile all'indirizzo: https://scienzaepolitica.unibo.it/article/view/19863/18039

Salvo Vaccaro, Gli algoritmi della politica, Eleuthera, 2020

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

6.

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.

7.

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.

8.

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.

9.

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. Disponibile all'indirizzo: https://rivistapolitics.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/07_ferrari_politics17-1.pdf

10.

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.

Paola Rudan, Il problema del codice: differenza, identità e riproduzione nell’età degli algoritmi, in «Scienza & Politica. Per Una Storia Delle Dottrine», 36(70), 2024, pp. 65–81. Disponibile all'indirizzo: https://scienzaepolitica.unibo.it/article/view/19861/18040

11.

David Lyon, La cultura della sorveglianza. Come la società del controllo ci ha reso tutti controllori, Roma, Luiss University Press, 2018.

Elena Esposito, Comunicazione artificiale. Come gli algoritmi producono intelligenza sociale, Milano, Egea, 2022.

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 of the bibliography. 

2) For an introduction to the terminology and concepts of the course, non-attending students are strongly advised to refer to Collettivo Ippolita, Tecnologie del dominio. Lessico minimo di autodifesa digitale, Meltemi, Milano, 2017. Non-attending students must write a paper of at least 3500 words using the texts indicated in one of the thematic points of the bibliography.

All papers must be handed in by the exam registration closing date indicated in AlmaEsami.

The examination does not include an oral part. The grade for the paper will be announced prior to registration and students can inform the lecturer by e-mail if they do not accept it. In this case the lecturer will indicate which points of the paper were unsatisfactory and it will be possible to revise the text.

A file with useful information for drafting the paper will be available at virtuale.unibo.it.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

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

Office hours

See the website of Maurizio Ricciardi

SDGs

No poverty Gender equality Reduced inequalities Partnerships for the goals

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.