General provisions

The course is offered in English.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree equivalent to a Swedish degree of at least 180 credits (i.e. three years of full-time studies), including at least 90 credits in the social sciences or a comparable field. Proof of skills in English to a level corresponding to English B in the Swedish secondary school.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students are expected to:

Knowledge and understanding

• demonstrate in-depth and critical knowledge of the key issues, debates, principles, concepts and theories in the field of digital media and communication studies,
• demonstrate in-depth knowledge and understanding of the relevance of digital media, and their use in contemporary societies and cultures,
• be knowledgeable of the current research in the field of digital media and communication studies,

Skills and abilities

• critically and creatively reason on the relevance of digital media, and their use in contemporary societies and cultures,
• systematically reflect on, and assimilate the course literature, as well as independently search and identify additional literature relevant for the course,
• collect empirical material and use theories discussed in the course to analyse this material,
• independently and critically present and analyse, in oral and text-based forms, theoretically driven accounts on key issues and debates in the field of digital media and communication studies,

Judgement and approach

• adopt an independent and critical approach to information and research in the field of digital media and communication studies,
• demonstrate a critical awareness of the ethical aspects of digital media use and research in the field of digital media and communication studies.

Content

The course focuses on theories and perspectives for analysing the role of digital media in contemporary societies. Key concepts and schools of thought on digital society, community and identity, social media, and digital information technologies, are introduced and attended to in-depth in the course. The course discusses the key political, economic, cultural and ethical implications of the emerging digital media and communication landscape, for societies. A special emphasis is placed upon issues of digital citizenship, power and activism, as well as on the interconnectedness between media and culture. The course provides a solid basis for a critical understanding and analysis of the relevance of digital media and it develops the students' abilities to reflect upon the contemporary world and the socio-cultural changes within it.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars and workshops are combined with individual and group work activities and assignments.

Assessment

The course is examined through active participation in compulsory activities, in individual and group-work assignments, and in (oral and/or written) examinations.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator or a decision by the department's working group for study matters.