The course focuses on the critical study of digital cultures and communication from a theoretical and methodological perspective with the aim of:

- provide theoretical tools to critically assess the relevance of digital cultures and interpret the most salient phenomena in this context; 

- gain an in-depth understanding of the methodological challenges that characterize research on digital cultures and communication processes with a focus on social media ethnography; 

- practice collecting and analyzing digital data, and reflect on the ethical implications regarding these practices

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Course books

Boccia Artieri, G., Zurovac, E., Donato, V. (2022). Visibility and Networked. Participation in TikTok. The Breonna Taylor Trend. Comunicazione politica, 3, pp. 403-422, doi: 10.3270/105431

Boccia Artieri, G. (2021). Networked Participation: Selfie Protest and Ephemeral Public Spheres. In: Della Ratta D., Lovink G., Numerico T., Sarram P. (eds) The Aesthetics and Politics of the Online Self. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 331-356.

franzke, aline shakti, Bechmann, Anja, Zimmer, Michael, Ess, Charles and the Association of Internet Researchers (2020). Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0. https://aoir.org/reports/ethics3.pdf 

Horst, H., Lewis, T., Hjorth, L., Postill, J., & Pink, S. (2015). Digital ethnography: Principles and practice. Sage Publications Limited; Los Angeles 

Light, B., Burgess, J., & Duguay, S. (2018). The walkthrough method: An approach to the study of apps. New Media & Society, 20(3), 881–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816675438

Assessment

The course will be formally assessed by means of a project work, of 3.500 words, on the case study each student has carried out during the course. The project work should illustrate the results of a digital ethnography study, by presenting the fieldwork methods and the findings. Additional details about the form and structure of the project work will be discussed during class lectures.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.