Sociology of Communications

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the main theories and concepts of the sociology of communication, essential for understanding and critically observing communication processes in contemporary societies. Digital technologies have now taken on a central role within today's communicative and cultural processes. Therefore, the course also aims to provide students with the tools to understand the complexity of cultural processes in the age of digital communication. To this end, students will be introduced to key topics in contemporary sociology of communication, such as face-to-face communication, mass media, convergence, affordances, big data, artificial intelligence, algorithms, meme culture, fake news, hate speech, and conspiracy theories.

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

· Understand the central role played by analog and digital communication media within contemporary society
· Understand and critically evaluate the relationship between communication technologies and the logic of cultural production
· Identify the main challenges, opportunities, and issues posed by communication technologies
· Independently apply the theoretical concepts learned in class to the analysis of concrete case studies