Course description MA Theme Seminar M&C: New Media and the Transformation of Politics

Course: MA Theme Seminar M&C: New Media and the Transformation of Politics
Instructor: Thomas Poell
Period: Semester 2, Block 1
Course catalogue: MA Theme Seminar M&C: New Media and the Transformation of Politics

Aim
The aim of this course is to give the students insight in the various forms of contemporary politics and its connections to new media. The students are expected to critically analyse and contribute to the theoretical debates on politics and new media. Moreover, the objective is to train the students in cooperating in research and giving written and oral presentations.

Content
The course will focus on five changes in the organization of politics in relation to the rise of the new media. First, the development of global economic and political networks, which are facilitated by the explosive growth of the internet, will be discussed. Second, specific attention will be paid to the transformation in the production and distribution of cultural goods. Third, we will analyse changes in the organization of information as a result of the development of search engines, recommendation systems, and folksonomies. Fourth, the penetration of science and technology in every aspect of our lives is investigated. Finally, we will examine the construction of new forms of citizenship and publicness.
New insights in these changes will, on the one hand, be gained by critically analysing and comparing the texts of among others Alexander Galloway, Saskia Sassen, Bruno Latour, Manuel Castells, Ulrich Beck, Lawrence Lessig, Axel Bruns, and Jodi Dean. On the other hand, the students will do their own research on a contemporary conflict, project, movement, institution, or event in which particular new media, such as search engines, blogs, video sharing websites, news aggregators, mobile telephones, e-mail, play a crucial role.