Course content

The course is about digital change and digitalization processes. The course use case studies of selected technologies (eg photography, encyclopedias, tools for learning and analytics), where the relationship between the technologies' historical roots and contemporary mediated practices are explored. The purpose is to develop critical perspective on what changes digitalization entails and does not entail. This lays the groundwork for discussing how digitalization contributes to new questions, new issues and new ways of exploring things in the humanities.

In the course, this is done through a thematically organized online study based on individual project.

Learning outcome

Knowledge

-Students who complete this course have knowledge of:

• digitalization as a process of technological and cultural change, influenced by non-digital roots, contemporary practices and visions of the future
• Cultural changes related to digitalization
• How the humanities can contribute to knowledge about digitalization processes

Skills

Students who complete this course has skills in:

• Analyzing digitalization processes as past, present and future
• Critically assessing technological and cultural changes related to digitalization
• Articulating a research question over a given subject and answer it through a project

Learning methods and activities

The student will carry out a small study of a digitalization process. The student project will address contemporary digital technology, identify non-digital roots, current practice and imagined future. The result will be presented as a digital story (video that uses both image, text, sound and audio).

Learning is built around 6 short work requirements in Blackboard, which will support the development and implementation of the project. The 7th, and final work requirement, is to submit a first draft of the digital story, which must then be revised before final submission and assessment in Inspera.

• Work requirement 1: Reflection writing - A humanistic view of digitization
• Work requirement 2: Blog post - Non-digital roots, digital present and imagined future as a method
• Work requirement 3: Project plan
• Work requirement 4: Feedback on fellow students' project plan
• Work requirement 5: Revised project plan
• Work requirement 6: Forum participation on Blackboard - Progress reporting on progress
• Work requirement 7: Digital storytelling (first draft)

For questions about, or change of, submission deadlines, contact the subject teacher as soon as possible.

All work requirements must be approved for the student to take the exam.

The exam consists of submitting a digital story that graded as passed/not passed

Compulsory assignments

• Obligatory tasks

Required previous knowledge

Only available for students that studies abroad, or for other special reasons cannot follow the ordinary teaching. To sign up for this course, please contact your department for pre-approval.

Course materials

To be announced in Blackboard at the beginning of the semester.

Credit reductions