90431 - TECHNOLOGY STUDIES OF COMMUNICATION (1) (LM)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The course aims to introduce students to technology studies, with a specific focus on communication technologies and data infrastructures. It provides students with knowledge about the debate between communication theory and Science and Technology Studies, with analytical tools drawn from infrastructure and data studies, and with policy methodologies from the governance of technological innovation.

Contenuti

The course provides and introduction to the social studies of science and technology (STS), with a focus on data infrastructures in the second part. STS is a long-standing research field which has developed perspectives to address scientific and technological development by using epistemologies, heuristic tools and methods from ethnography, sociology, history, philosophy and semiotics. The course draws the roots of the field in R. Merton’s sociology of science and T. Kuhn’s structure of scientific revolutions, to then focus on the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK), the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and Actor-Network Theory (ANT). These approaches are studied with the support of hands-on exercises and empirical case studies (weeks 1-3).

In the second part we focus on data infrastructures. First, overlaps and divergences between STS and communication studies are discussed in depth. Then, we address some aspects of governance by data infrastructures, notably the sociopolitical implication of data infrastructure studies. All these topics are tackled by reading, presenting and commenting leading international literature and empirical case studies.

Throughout the course, interactive moments are devoted to developing empirical research design skills, ranging from research question design to research methodologies. Such moments are finalized to support the STS research design to be submitted as part of the course assessment.

 

Week 1 – Merton and the Sociology of Science, Kuhn and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Week 2 – The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) and Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)

Week 3 – Actor-Network Theory (ANT), or the sociology of translation

Week 4 – Bridging the gap between STS and communication

Week 5 – Governance by Data Infrastructures: Information infrastructures and classification, Code as Law, Critical data studies

Testi/Bibliografia

The reader is made of journal articles and book chapters. They are all available on Virtuale or through the UniBO digital library (AlmaRE). See Virtuale for reader details and copies of the material.

 

Day 1 – An introduction to STS and to the course

Law, J. (2015)

 

Week 1 – Merton and the Sociology of Science, Kuhn and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions

Merton, R. (1942)

Kuhn, T. (1962)

Recommended reading:

Sismondo, S. (2010), Chap. 2 and 3

 

Week 2 – The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK) and Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)

Pinch, T. J., & Bijker, W. E. (1984)

Bijker, W.E. (1987)

Recommended reading:

Spitz, D. & Hunter, S.D. (2005)

 

Week 3 – Actor-Network Theory (ANT), or the sociology of translation

Callon, M. (1986)

Latour, B. (1992)

Law, J. (2007)

 

Week 4 – Bridging the gap between STS and communication

Boczkowski, P., & Lievrouw, L. A. (2008)

Bijsterveld, K. (2014)

Dourish, P. (2017)

 

Week 5 – Governance by Data Infrastructures: Information infrastructures and classification, Code as Law, Critical data studies

Bowker, G.C. and Star, S.L. (1999)

Lessig, L. (2006)

Suchman, L. (1994)

Gitelman (2013)

Recommended reading:

Pelizza (2016)

Metodi didattici

The teaching style favours interactivity. Classes include lectures by the teacher, presentations by students and class discussions. The aim of presentations is twofold: 1) to support and develop students’ understanding of the literature; 2) to support and develop students’ analytical and research skills before the formal evaluation. This means that the draft reports that are to be submitted for the final evaluation will be preliminary and collectively discussed in class (see below).

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The learning process is assessed against two written texts. The first (interim) consists in a comparative analysis of a given case study using SCOT and ANT. The second (at the end of the course) consists in an STS empirical research design. Drafts of both texts are preliminarily and collectively discussed in class.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Classes are conducted in blended modalities: in class, computer with video beamer and digital whiteboard. Interactive software to facilitate classroom exchange. Online: Teams functionalities including chat, turn administration, screen sharing.

The teaching material consists of the reader texts, the presentations prepared by the teacher and the case studies. When not protected by copyright, the teaching material is made available to students through the Virtuale teaching platform of the University of Bologna. Copyrighted texts in the reader are available at the FILCOM library and at other libraries of the University of Bologna.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Annalisa Pelizza