Program start date | Application deadline |
2025-04-28 | - |
2025-07-11 | - |
Program Overview
Course Overview
Critics have highlighted the extractive and neocolonial dimensions of contemporary digital culture, pointing to the mining of raw materials used to construct digital devices and the harvesting of training data for predictive algorithms, large language models, and biometric tracking technologies; they have drawn attention to the ecological impact of digital technologies, from piles of toxic e-waste to the massive carbon footprints of data centres; at the socioeconomic level, digital platforms have been accused of exacerbating inequality and precarity, and of fomenting political instability.
Course Details
- Duration: 10 weeks
- Fees & Discounts: £2,872.00 (Full Price)
- Credit Level: 7
- Credit Value: 30
- Delivery Mode: Online
- Application Deadline: To be confirmed
- Places: Course closed
Course Features
Rejecting discourses of dystopian fatalism, this module focuses instead on identifying sites and contexts where focused interventions have the potential to foster more ethical, equitable and ecologically sustainable digital futures. From greener approaches to design, to policy interventions intended to curb online harms, to instances of artists and activists making innovative use of digital media to reshape attitudes and behaviours, you will explore and evaluate a variety of case studies spanning sectors, industries and geographies. Moving beyond identifying and understanding problems, you will work to generate your own proposals for driving positive change.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the module, you will be able to:
- Analyse issues using terms and concepts derived from critical and theoretical literature relevant to the design of sustainable digital futures.
- Explain the sociopolitical, economic and ecological impacts of digital media technologies, and their potential to threaten and enhance sustainability, across a range of domains.
- Propose interventions to promote ethical and sustainable practice, using formats tailored to specific target audiences to convey arguments, information and ideas.
- Identify concrete examples of projects, platforms and practices that support or threaten sustainability, extrapolating broader tendencies and principles from specific case studies.
Entry Requirements
Standard entry requirements for the stackable framework are:
- A 2:2 honours degree or international equivalent
- A CV and personal statement outlining reasons for study
- English language at Band B (IELTS 7.0 overall with a minimum of 6.5 in each skill)
Assessment
You will be assessed via the following:
- Group presentation (1,000 words or equivalent) = 20%
- Critical essay or project accompanied by critical commentary (3,000 words or equivalent) = 70%
- Engagement and participation = 10%
Further Information
This module involves online and live webinars. At least one live webinar will take place per week. Exact dates and times will be confirmed upon enrolment.
Key Information
- Course Code: 7AAION01M
- Offered by: Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Department of Culture, Media & Creative Industries