Apr 16, 2026  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-June 
    
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2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-June [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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SOC 4001 - Digital Society

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits
Course Description
As AI and other technologies advance and become increasingly entwined with daily life, society is rapidly changing in response. This course examines the impacts of these changes on personal relationships and on the world’s economic, cultural, political, and social infrastructures. Students will reflect on digital technology’s effects on the human condition by applying liberal arts perspectives to their own personal and professional experiences through course readings, classroom lecture, media analysis, discussion of case studies, and research/writing workshops. A mix of individual personal-reflection essays and a collaborative multimedia digital-storytelling project will allow students to explore course-related topics they are curious about in greater detail.
Prereq: COM 2001  and sophomore standing or instructor consent (quarter system prereq: GS 1002 or GS 1020H or GS 1002E)
Note: This course does not fulfill Raider Core or SS elective requirements.
This course meets the following Raider Core CLO Requirement: None
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • State the interdisciplinary influences underlying the concept of “digital society”
  • Evaluate various sources of news and other content
  • Discern differences between media manipulation and legitimate digital content
  • Recognize the effects of digital disruption on economic, social, and political systems
  • Describe the opportunities, limitations, and implications of artificial intelligence for humans/society
  • Analyze the implications of and potential for immersive experience in multiple contexts via virtual and augmented reality
  • Understand the impact of social media “influencers” (e.g., on YouTube, Instagram, etc.) on culture, politics, society, and personal/professional identity
Prerequisites by Topic
  • None
Course Topics
  • Foundations of digital society, especially the evolution of technology and social structures
  • Theoretical dimensions of digital society
  • Digital literacy, including evaluation of online sources, impact of the deep/dark webs, interpretation of digital artifacts, and discernment of mass media manipulation, including propaganda, advertising, social “proof,” clickbait, and digital misdirection 
  • Social media influencers (e.g., on YouTube, Instagram, etc.) and their impact on culture, politics, society, and personal/professional identity
  • Immersive experience via virtual and augmented reality
  • Digital citizenship and digital rights
  • AI, IoT, and humans/society
Coordinator
Dr. Katherine Wikoff


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