Course Catalogue

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This course will address the ways in which digital media pose challenges to contemporary political life, with emphasis on the use of social media by political elites and citizens (e.g., for campaigns, participation, and activism), as well as on online harms and digital threats to democracy, such as misinformation, disinformation, incivility, and polarization.

Seminar: two hours per week, for 10 weeks

Entry to Honours Politics or International Relations requires a grade point average of 12 (grade C) over Politics 2A and Politics 2B as a first attempt.

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Essay (60%): between 2,000-2,500 words.

Project output (30%):

Project output involves group work, where students will have to work collaboratively in teams to develop a social media communication campaign and submit an analytical report for assessment. Group project will comply with the University groupwork policy.

Set exercise (10%):

Peer-Review task using peer review software - students will submit short answers to set questions in several weeks of the course and will peer-review the answers of other students.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below.

However, individual reassessment will be available if students are unable to participate on the group project.

This course aims at enabling students to evaluate the impact of digital media in society, as well as to critically assess the different ways in which it plays a disruptive role in democratic life-for political elites, citizens, and institutions. The course will cover the impact of digital media in different subfields of political communication, such as campaigns and elections, participation, political discussion, online harms, and digital threats to democracy. Additionally, students will also gain a sophisticated knowledge of the role of digital platforms and governance (e.g., the politics of platforms, algorithmic governance, and regulation). The course aims to develop a critical assessment of the democratic and societal implications of digital media in public and private life.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the debates on the disruptive role of digital media in contemporary democracies

■ Apply relevant concepts and theories to analyse the effects of social media on political attitudes and behaviour, as well as broader societal effects

■ Create empirically founded knowledge of how social media shapes key processes and activities for different actors such as political parties, social movements, news organisations, and citizens

■ Critically analyse social media communication strategies, public arguments and/or contemporary debates around the role of social media in fostering - or undermining - democratic processes and practices

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.