Technology is a dominant feature of contemporary life. With the rise of digital technologies we are living in a society transformed by networks of data and intelligent machines. Technological change has profound effects on the structure and experience of social life and social relations, promoting widespread changes in social practices in a range of contexts, from health and education to law enforcement and media. This minor gives students the basic tools to understand and analyse the social and cultural drivers and impacts of technological change. It also enables students to develop elemental skills in cutting-edge digital methods and to use these to conduct online social research, including research that addresses audiences beyond the university.
The Technology, Networks and Society minor adopts a primarily sociological perspective to analyse the social impact of technological change. It explores central sociological concerns such as social inequalities and stratification, identity and embodiment, social movements, social change, production and consumption and the nature of power, all in the context of technological transformation. However, it is an interdisciplinary minor, drawing on insights from communication and media studies, cultural studies, science and technology studies, economics, geography and political science.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- explain the relationship between technology and society from a sociological perspective;
- use a range of digital and web-based social research methods; and
- carry out independent research on topics related to Technology, Networks and Society.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This minor requires the completion of 24 units, which must include:
12 units from completion of the following course(s):
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SOCY1006 | Society & Technological Change | 6 |
| SOCY2169 | Online Research Methods | 6 |
A minimum of 6 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SOCY2166 | Social Science of the Internet | 6 |
| SOCY2170 | Sociology of Emergent Media | 6 |
A maximum of 6 units may come from completion of courses from the following list:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ARCH3029 | Making-Taking-Using-Breaking: Material Culture Studies and Technology in Archaeology | 6 |
| ASIA2280 | Anthropology and Technology in India | 6 |
| ASIA3032 | Digital Asia: Technology and Society | 6 |
| CRIM2010 | Cybercrime: an introduction | 6 |
| HUMN2001 | Digital Humanities: Theories and Projects | 6 |
| SCOM3012 | Science Communication and the Web | 6 |
| SOCY2008 | Risk and Society | 6 |
| SOCY2053 | Imagining the Future: A Sociology of Utopias | 6 |
| SOCY2157 | Surveillance and Society | 6 |
| SOCY2165 | Media in the Public Sphere | 6 |
| SOCY3010 | Posthuman Bodies | 6 |