Research of the internet in society I

Raziskovanje interneta v družbi I

Course credits:

6.00 ECTS / 60 (30 hours of lectures, 0 hours of exercises, 30 hours of seminars, 0 hours other forms of work)

Course holder:

izr. prof. dr. Andraž Petrovčič

Type:

Required

Language:

Slovenian

Semester:

First semester

Study degree

1. level

Course execution:

• Undergraduate Programme of Social Informatics

Short content

The course deals with the theoretical explanations of Internet-related social phenomena with a focus on positivist paradigm and the development of an explanatory model, which can be empirically verified on the course Research of the internet in society II. The course examines Internet studies as an academic discipline in the historical context of the study of the relationship between technology and society and introduces the Internet and the Web to students as objects of social science research. It critically compares different understandings of the importance of social science theories to explore social processes on the Internet in modern societies and systematically highlights the differences in the approaches of explaining social phenomena and processes on the Internet according to their psychological, interactional, institutional, and other aspects. It introduces students to methodological specifics in the design of explanatory models in the context of Internet technologies and understanding of the diversity of social settings on the Web with a focus on online communities, social networks and platforms for collaboration. The course exposes a critical understanding of ubiquitous intertwining of the Internet with off-line social domains and the potential convergence of Internet technologies with other information and communication technologies. As part of the course students will independently develop a formal theoretical framework for explaining a selected Internet phenomenon, defining the explanatory model and its hypotheses.