DIG 3520 Power and Persuasion in digital society
DIG 3520 Power and Persuasion in digital society
With social media, consumers have their communication channels for involvement, to form action groups, and platforms through which to voice their opinion. Many would argue that digitization represents a realization of citizen democracy because it enables individuals to communicate and engage. At the same time, old power structures are reflected, or amplified, in social media. Established elites seem to remain powerful.
In a short time, global internet giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft have gained and maintained power over the world wide web. "Big Tech" lays fundamental premises in the media economy. It furthermore challenges political governance, both in relation to taxation and personal data protection (GDPR).
After the course, students should have obtained broad knowledge of:
- How digitization of the field of communication has brought about shifts in power structures
- Different theoretical perspectives on the concept of power
- How consumers and producers make choices and are affected by economic policy, technology, and international framework conditions
- Networking and the political economy in sharing platforms
- Relevant theories that shed light on power structures in communication and media organizations
After the course, students should be able to
- Find, assess and point to information and knowledge on organizations' use of digital communication, and present that in a way that sheds light on research questions.
- Be able to provide an analysis on algorithms functionality, how they measure power and influence in digital channels.
The course aims at challenging students' ability for reflection, argumentation, and in-depth understanding of key elements and theories related to power, media, economics, democracy, and politics. They must therefore earn:
- Understanding of how companies carry out their activities in an ethically sound and sustainable manner
- Knowledge of research and development work in digital communication
The course is divided into three parts, where each part ends with a work that is submitted for assessment and which counts in the grade summary.
- Consumer power and individual power: recommendation systems, influencers, mobilization, communities, rules and privacy, freedom of expression and ethics, ideologies and political agendas
- Media power: Power structures at eco-, macro-, meso- and micro levels, business ethics and social responsibility, regulation and laws, monopoly formation, attention economy
- Online media bias: echo chambers, search engines, filter bubbles, algorithm power and algorithm structures, use and misuse of Big Data, monitoring, digital dividers
The course is completed with 36 hours of teaching.
Higher Education Entrance Qualification
Covid-19
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.
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| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 20 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 4 Week(s) Exam code: DIG 35201 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 20 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 8 Week(s) Exam code: DIG 35201 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 60 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 72 Hour(s) Exam code: DIG 35201 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 36 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 90 Hour(s) | |
Examination | 74 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.