Master Vorlesung/Seminar Information, Technology and Society
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
In Winter Semester 20-21 due to Covid-19 restrictions the course will be delivered online.
The course begins on Tuesday 3rd November 10:00
TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COURSE YOU MUST:
1. Be registered in KLIPS by Tuesday 27th October at the latest
2. Have a UniConnect account. If you do not have a UniConnect account please register for an account via the UniConnect Self Service using your University e-mail address.
3. Attend the first Zoom meeting on Tuesday 3rd November 10:00
4. Be registered in a student assignment group by 13.11.2020, 23:59. NOTE: This is an absolute deadline, if you are not registered in a group by this deadline, you will not be able to complete the course in this semester. (information about how to register into groups will be provided in the first lecture)
Master Lecture Course: Information, Technology and Society
Language
English
Course Coordinators
Please contact Mr. Patrick Nitschke regarding questions.
Prof. Dr. Susan Williams
Mr. Patrick Nitschke
Credit points: Lecture/seminar course (Vorlesung) (4 SWS): 6 Credit Points
Course Structure
Lectures/Workshops: The module is delivered in weekly sessions. Each session comprises a mix of lectures/seminars, tutorial and practical activities and group discussion activities. You are required to attend these sessions; failure to do so will seriously impair your capacity to complete the assessment items to a satisfactory standard. You will also be required to spend additional time each week reading the required course readings.
Seminar work: The seminar work is a group assignment that will be worked on in class and extended and finalised in your own time. There is a compulsory checkpoint meeting that all group members must attend. For both your individual and group work you are encouraged to arrange individual meetings with the course coordinator as required.
Course materials. All course materials will be placed in the course UniConnect Community. Information about access and registration will be provided in Week 1. Further instructions are available on the UCT website.
Assessment Information
The module has 1) an individual assignment and 2) a group assignment. Full details of the assignments will be provided in the course UniConnect community.
Lecture Course Description
The Information, Technology and Society course focuses on understanding how information and technologies are impacting and shaping contemporary and future societies. The overall aim of the course is to introduce students to theories of information society and to examining the ethical issues surrounding the design and use of new technologies. We place specific emphasis on the ways that digital work and workplaces are being transformed by new technologies.
Students will develop skills and capabilities to apply appropriate methods for assessing and analysing the role, impact and ethical issues of information, technology and society and critically reflect on their role as future information and technology specialists.
Upon completion of the 6 ECTS module, students should be able to:
- systematically and critically discuss, evaluate, and reflect on the key issues, debates, principles, concepts, and theories of the information society
- apply appropriate methods for technology foresight and provide evidence based arguments to support their findings
- plan, manage and write independent reflective research papers
- analyse and reflect on complex material in individual and group work
- prepare narrative visualisations and/or infographics to display complex ideas is a clear and accurate manner
Topics covered in the course include:
- Theories of the information society
- Science and technology studies and sociotechnical change
- Technology foresight and constructive technology assessment
- Anticipatory governance and the social amplification of risk
- Designing sustainable digital futures with the Internet of Things
- Finding and using evidence to mount a critical argument
- Creation of narratives to visualise digital futures
The lecture/seminar course is closely integrated and students are required to complete the full module in WS2020-21.