SP52105: Knowledge, data and our digital social world
[Page last updated: 15 August 2024]
| Academic Year: | 2024/25 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Social & Policy Sciences |
| Credits: | 5 [equivalent to 10 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 100 |
| Level: | Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CWES 55%, CWOA 15%, CWSI 30% |
| Assessment Detail: |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | |
| Learning Outcomes: |
By the end of this unit, you will have in-depth understanding of the key theoretical problematics of science, technology and society that underpin social production of knowledge. You will have an advanced critical understanding of how these problematics are reflected in the design development and use of digital and especially AI technologies; you will have in-depth knowledge of how understandings of knowledge, data and evidence change over time and the implications of this for the theorisation and use of data in AI technologies; and you will have in-depth knowledge of social science contributions to identifying and addressing key issues in the design development and use of AI technologies. |
| Synopsis: | Explore key debates around the relationship of science, society and technology in the production of knowledge.
You'll learn about:
- how social production of knowledge is linked to technological, social and political change
- the ontological, social and political challenges raised by differences between knowledge, evidence and data, especially in relation to the generation and use of social statistics
- the implications of digital data generation, use, storage and linkage |
| Content: | The unit is organized around fortnightly class seminars. Following an introduction via lectures and seminars in weeks one, two and three, you are divided into five groups, each assigned responsibility for preparing to lead one class on a key theoretical issue (weeks 4, 6, 8, 10, 12,). `Preparing to lead class' involves writing an individual 1,000 word commentary, shared on Moodle before class, setting questions for class. Students will lead each class, have time for a 5 minute presentation in-class and the remainder of the class is to discuss these commentaries.
Week 1: Introduction: reflecting on ontologies of science, knowledge, data, technology
Week 2: Science, technology and the social production of knowledge
Week 3: Quantification, social statistics and the power of numbers
Week 4: objectivity
Week 6: universalism
Week 8: risk
Week 10: validity
Week 12: reasoning |
| Course availability: |
SP52105 is Optional on the following courses:Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
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Notes:
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