BEXP 13A12 - Digital Sociology

This sociology course examines engagement, participation, and political contestation in the online space. Building on the Introduction to Sociology class from the first semester and core sociological theories and concepts (norms, deviance, stratification, identity), Digital Sociology focuses more specifically on how these sociological concepts apply to digital and networked social contexts, public spheres, activism, identity formation, and socio-technological infrastructures.

In the first part of the course, we will cover foundational issues around “digital inequalities” (stratification in the digital space), the role of infrastructures and platform politics, intersectional identities, social networks, performativity, gig work and digital labour. Special attention will be paid to identity-based forms of marginalization and the critical interventions of feminist, Black, queer, and decolonial scholars. In the second part, we will look at the role of affect, narratives, and platform-specific affordances. Finally, we will turn to the cultural politics of visibility: How do aesthetics, bodies, and emotions circulate? And what role does digital infrastructure play in shaping access to getting one’s voice heard online?

Students will engage in an empirical research project and discuss the methodological challenges of studying online spaces through digital traces, interviews, and digital ethnography.