CULT 860: Special Topics in Cultural Studies

CULT 860-002: Social Media
(Fall 2020)

04:30 PM to 07:10 PM W

Online

Section Information for Fall 2020

This course will examine the cultural, social, political, economic, and aesthetic implications of social media. We will use the framework of platform studies to examine the ways in which users’ everyday practices are constrained by social media platforms – via code, laws, norms, etc. – as well as the ways that users subvert platform constraints and repurpose platform architecture for their own purposes. We will examine key themes in contemporary debates around digital media writ large, such as echo chambers, personalization, surveillance, censorship, radicalization, toxicity, monopoly, and spectacle. Throughout, we will engage numerous case studies highlighting key features of and scholarship about a diverse set of flagship social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Spotify, and Twitch.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Specialized interdisciplinary topics in cultural theory and analysis. Notes: These courses are designed for the PhD student. Those students not admitted to a PhD program are required to contact the instructor. Topics vary. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: Admission to a doctoral program, or permission of the instructor.
Registration Restrictions:

Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Schedule Type: Lec/Sem #1, Lec/Sem #2, Lec/Sem #3, Lec/Sem #4, Lec/Sem #5, Lec/Sem #6, Lec/Sem #7, Lec/Sem #8, Lec/Sem #9, Lecture, Sem/Lec #10, Sem/Lec #11, Sem/Lec #12, Sem/Lec #13, Sem/Lec #14, Sem/Lec #15, Sem/Lec #16, Sem/Lec #17, Sem/Lec #18
Grading:
This course is graded on the Graduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.