Class Network Activism

This course exists at the intersection of Media Studies and Communication Sciences, Political Theory, and the Sociology of Social Movements. Its main objective is to examine the transformations brought about by Information Technologies in the expansion of social and political participation in contemporary societies. Through this course, the aim is to address various examples of how the definition of politics has evolved and the material and symbolic conditions behind these transformations. In the context of the undergraduate program, this course allows students to explore how Communication Sciences are fundamental to understanding the most recent historical and technological developments.

Not applicable

1. Introduction 2. Networked Society 3. Emergence of New Political Subjects in the Networked Society 4. Definitions of Activism 5. The Promises of the Dawn of ICTs 6. Methods for Studying Digital Activisms 7. Hacktivism 8. Hashtag Activism 9. Subactivism 10. Data Activism & Big Data 11. Conservative Co-optation 12. The Commodification of Activism 13. Questioning the Logic of (In)Visibility in the Digital Age

- Joint and deferred analysis of case studies. - Inviting various speakers to address some of the topics and practical cases discussed in class. - Exercises in planning digital activism. - Use of innovative tools for data capture and analysis.

Castells, M. (2010). The rise of the network society (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. D’Ignazio, C., & Klein, L. F. (2020). Data feminism. The MIT Press. Della Porta, D., & Diani, M. (2006). Social movements: An introduction (2nd ed). Blackwell Publishing. Jackson, S. J., Bailey, M., & Welles, B. F. (2020). #HashtagActivism: Networks of race and gender justice. MIT press. Lupa¿, P. (2018). Beyond the digital divide: Contextualizing the information society (First edition). Emerald Publishing. Özkula, S. M., Reilly, P. J., & Hayes, J. (2023). Easy data, same old platforms? A systematic review of digital activism methodologies. Information, Communication & Society, 26(7), 1470–1489. Plummer, K. (1995). Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change and Social Worlds. Routledge. Schradie, J. (2019). The revolution that wasn’t: How digital activism favors conservatives. Harvard University Press.