57222 Influence in the Digital World
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 8 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 57168 Sound and Interaction AND 57182 Rethinking Media
Description
This subject considers the wide-ranging effects of digital communication technologies over the last decade, with particular focus on how various industries, policies, practices and institutions have been significantly transformed. Students develop the critical and theoretical skills to unpack and analyse some of the most compelling and challenging phenomena in contemporary communication, including the growth of citizen journalism, digital activism, social media influencers and online 'echo chambers'. Students consider how the growth of digital communication intersects with concepts of political economy, ethics, and community. They explore the practical, cultural and personal implications of digital media today, including the roles of 'big data', the use of 'bots', and growing concerns around privacy and transparency. Central to these discussions is an appreciation of the 'human' element: as more information is created, shared and consumed online, students consider the enduring role of human communication and its importance for authentic and meaningful influence. Students learn to apply these concepts to various forms of contemporary strategic communication, as well as interpret how their media activities are informed and underpinned by these phenomena.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
| a. | Identify the implications of key historical developments in digital communication |
|---|---|
| b. | Demonstrate understanding of the dominant critical perspectives in research on digital media |
| c. | Critically analyse the cultural, political and economic contexts within which communication practices manifest |
| d. | Identify and analyse the forms of influence and power associated with digital media |
| e. | Articulate a critical position in written and oral forms |
| f. | Construct a critical position through respectful and dialectical dialogue with peers |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences:
- Apply a body of practice-oriented knowledge and skills to develop, implement and evaluate innovative solutions to real-world communication challenges with a high level of personal autonomy and accountability (1.1)
- Graduates are able to continually develop the multi-media skills that are required to remain current in professional practice (1.2)
- Plan and execute a substantial body of research (2.1)
- Critically and creatively re-think and reflect on public relations, advertising and organisational change models and practices for the 21st century beyond dominant models and approaches (2.2)
- Locate, gather, organise and synthesise information across diverse platforms to guide their mastery of contemporary communication issues and challenges (2.3)
- Graduates are able to continually reflect on and interrogate their cultural values and those of colleagues and organisations (3.2)
- Graduates are able to persuade and engage diverse audiences through both written and oral communication strategies across a range of media formats with consideration of others' needs and views (6.1)
Teaching and learning strategies
Online lectures will provide detailed analyses of the weekly topic, and will present multimedia examples, topical case studies and explain key critical concepts. There will be in-class tutorials, with discussion of both the lecture content and the weekly readings, which all students are required to read for preparation. Tutorials will involve student-led discussions that must actively facilitate class interactivity. Formative feedback will be provided in-class each week.
Content (topics)
The subject surveys the following topics: the historical growth and global expansion of digital communication; the disruptive and transformative effects of digital technologies on ‘legacy’ media institutions; the growth of practices associated with consumer-generated content (e.g. citizen journalism; Wikipedia); the rise of Social Media Influencers through practices of micro-celebrity; the debates and anxieties around online ‘echo chambers’; privacy concerns and transgressions in the ‘big data’ era; utopian/dystopian visions of a ‘digital world’; the pervasive presence of ‘bots’ in everyday online activities; the enduring roles ‘reserved’ for humans; and new articulations of power and influence distinct to the digital era.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Critical Discussion Points
| Objective(s): | a, b, c, d, e and f | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 30% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 2: Introductory Paragraph & Annotated Bibliography
| Objective(s): | b and e | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 20% | ||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Assessment task 3: Essay
| Objective(s): | b, c, d and e | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight: | 50% | ||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 2000 words | ||||||||||||||||
| Criteria linkages: |
SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes |
Minimum requirements
Submission of assessment tasks: In this subject assessment tasks are cumulative so that each task builds understanding and/or skills, informed by formative feedback. Consequently, all assessments must be submitted in order for students to receive feedback. Students who do not submit all assessments will not pass the subject.
Required texts
There are no required texts for this subject. Recommended readings will be available via UTS Library and on the online UTS site.
References
Flew, T. 2014, New Media, Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
Frank, M. et al. 2017, What to do when machines do everything: how to get ahead in a world of AI, algorithms, bot & big data, Wiley, New Jersey.
Green, N. et al. (eds). 2018, The politics & policies of big data: big data, big brother? Routledge, New York.
Marshall, P. D. et al (eds). 2016, Contemporary Publics: Shifting boundaries in new media, technology and culture, Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Marwick, A. E. 2013, Status Update: celebrity, publicity, and branding in the social media age, Yale University Press, New Haven.
McEriean, K. 2018, Interactive narratives & transmedia storytelling: creating immersive stories across new media platforms, Routledge, New York.
Moore, M and Tambini, D. 2018, Digital Dominance: the power of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, Oxford University Press, New York.
Pariser, E. 2011, The filter bubble: what the Internet is hiding from you, Penguin, New York.
Pierson, J. 2015, Digital Broadcasting: an introduction to new media, Bloomsbury, New York.
Siapera, E. 2018, Understanding new media, SAGE, London.
Sumpter, D. 2018, Outnumbered: from Facebook and Google to fake news and filter bubbles – the algorithms that control our lives, Bloomsbury Sigma, London.