27343 - Sociology of the New Media (1)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have learned key theoretical concepts and analytical methods in the field of digital media, with a particular focus on digital cultural production and consumption.

Course contents

The course is divided into three major sections.

1. Innovation

The first section provides a historical reconstruction of the development and diffusion of digital media and, at the same time, a theoretical framework characterized by a creative application of classic sociological notions to the investigation of contemporary digital society (drawing on such authors as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Georg Simmel, Erving Goffman, Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault). This section aims at building a conceptual tool-kit to focus on the technological, economic, social and cultural dimensions of digital media, to problematize the concept of “innovation”, and to critically think about changes and continuities, successes and failures, myths and counter-myths of the digital “revolution”.

2. Identity

The second section presents more recent authors and theories, and it focuses on the role played by social media practices in the re-articulation of social interactions and communicative forms, of dynamics of “sharing” and processes of (personal, collective, institutional) identity construction. It particularly deals with issues of inequalities and differences in the everyday uses of social media by different social groups (e.g. teens, adults, migrants, entrepreneurs, celebrities, etc.), and with the related question of online visibility and its management.

3. Imagination

The third section presents the results of empirical research projects carried out over the last few years, mainly focused on the impact of the processes of digital innovation in the practices of cultural production and consumption within different social and professional fields – from journalism to photography, and the cultural and creative industries. This section pays particular attention to both qualifying factors (e.g. the creation of new communities of practice and new entrepreneurial start-ups) and critical aspects (e.g. the risks related to issues of privacy, surveillance, and the collection and analysis of big data). This section also aims at presenting new digital methods for social research and critically thinking about their potential development in the future.

Readings/Bibliography

The bibliography includes three books (one of them to be chosen from a list), which indirectly refer to the three sections of the course.

1. Lupton, D. (2018) Sociologia digitale, Milano, Pearson. (Original English version: Digital Sociology, Routledge, 2015).

2. Paccagnella, L. and Vellar, A. (2016), Vivere online. Identità, relazioni, conoscenza, Bologna, il Mulino.

3. One book from the following list:

• Balbi, G. and Magaudda, P. (2014) Storia dei media digitali. Rivoluzioni e continuità, Roma-Bari, Laterza. (English translation: A History of Digital Media, Routledge, 2018).
• Balbi, G. and Magaudda, P. (a cura di) (2018) Fallimenti digitali. Un’archeologia dei ‘nuovi’ media, Milano, Unicopli.
• Jenkins, H., Ford, S., Green, J. (2013) Spreadable media. I media tra condivisione, circolazione, partecipazione, Santarcangelo di Romagna (RN), Maggioli. (Original English version: Spreadable Media. Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture, New York University Press, 2013).
• Boccia Artieri, G. (a cura di) (2015) Gli effetti sociali del web. Forme della comunicazione e metodologie della ricerca online, Milano, FrancoAngeli.
• Boccia Artieri, G., Gemini, L., Pasquali, F., Carlo, S., Farci, M., and Pedroni, M. (2017) Fenomenologia dei social network. Presenza, relazioni e consumi mediali degli italiani online, Milano, Guerini.
• Vellar, A. (2015) Le industrie culturali e i pubblici partecipativi. Dalle comunità di fan ai social media, Roma, Aracne.
• Gunthert, A. (2015) L’immagine condivisa. La fotografia digitale, trad. it. Roma, Contrasto, 2016. (Original French version: L’image partagée. La photographie numérique, Textuel, 2015).
• boyd, d. (2018) It’s complicated. La vita sociale degli adolescenti sul web, trad. it. Roma, Castelvecchi (Original English version: It’s Complicated. The Social Lives of Networked Teens, Yale University Press, 2015).
• Elliott, A. and Urry, J. (2013) Vite mobili, Bologna, il Mulino. (Original English version: Mobile Lives, Routledge, 2010).
• Cardon, D. (2016) Che cosa sognano gli algoritmi. Le nostre vite al tempo dei big data, trad. it. Milano, Mondadori. (Original French version: À quoi rêvent les algorithmes. Nos vies à l’heure des big data, Le Seuil, 2015).
• Himanen, P. (2003) L’etica hacker e lo spirito dell’età dell’informazione, trad. it. Milano, Feltrinelli. (Original English version: The Hacker Ethic and the Spirit of the Information Age, Vintage, 2001).

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures with powerpoint and images.

Assessment methods

Students can either take a written exam (100 minutes, both closed-ended and open-ended questions) or write a paper (20.000-30.000 characters, spaces and bibliography included). The content of the paper must be preliminarily discussed with and approved by the professor. The paper must be sent to the professor by email, no later than 15 days before the exam date.

Teaching tools

Screen and powerpoint.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Solaroli