SY2101 - Sociology of Digital Life

Credit points:	03
Year:	2016
Student Contribution Band:	Band 1
Administered by:	College of Arts, Society & Education

Our lives are becoming increasingly intertwined with the digital, such that there is no longer a meaningful division between online and offline. Society is plugged into the "Internet of Things". In this subject, students will explore the relationships between humans and the digital world. Many predictions are made about the impacts of new technologies on social life. In this subject, students will engage with some of those and will look below the surface to assess the real relationship between people and technology. Sociology provides us with tools to understand these relationships, and students will leave the subject equipped with the ability to think critically about the technology that has become so commonplace.

Learning Outcomes

• To critically engage with and question the ethical issues raised by new technologies and digital worlds;
• To understand the relationship between the social and the digital in contemporary society;
• To understand and critically engage with sociological understandings and theories of digital life;
• To think creatively about how to use technology to improve social problems.

Prerequisites:

Students must have successfully completed at least 12 credit points of tertiary study

Availabilities
Townsville, Internal, Study Period 1
Census Date 24-Mar-2016
Coordinator:	Dr Nick Osbaldiston
Contact hours:	26 hours workshops/Seminars
Assessment:	presentations (30%); workbook activities (30%); essay (40%).
Cairns, Internal, Study Period 1
Census Date 24-Mar-2016
Coordinator:	Dr Nick Osbaldiston
Contact hours:	26 hours workshops/Seminars
Assessment:	presentations (30%); workbook activities (30%); essay (40%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.