This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
New digital technologies and their uses confront individuals, communities, organisations, and governments with urgent ethical dilemmas, challenges, and controversies for which they are often unprepared. Understanding these challenges and controversies and their complex ethical implications in a rapidly changing media landscape is a key skill for all users of digital technology, especially aspiring media professionals. This advanced module provides students with a forum for exploring and debating challenging problems, recent controversies, and difficult ethical issues around digital technology. Focusing on the students' own everyday digital practises, it allows them to build on the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout their course by addressing key issues that define professional life in the media industries. The module treats a small set of discrete topics surrounding digital technology in depth; although they change from year to year, units may include influencer culture and fast fashion; dark patterns and addictiveness by design; accountability versus anonymity online; the commodification of personal data; branded content and fake news; data surveillance, privacy, and bias; trolling and harassment; mental health; or plagiarism and intellectual property. Overall, the module aims to provide students with critical tools to confront challenges, navigate controversies, and make informed ethical choices in the creative, professional and personal spheres of their digital lives.
Contact hours: 33
Private Study Hours: 267
Total Study Hours: 300
Main assessment methods:
Digital portfolio (40%)
Essay (3000 words or equivalent) (60%)
Reassessment methods
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The University is committed to ensuring that core reading materials are in accessible electronic format in line with the Kent Inclusive Practices. The most up to date reading list for each module can be found on the university's reading list pages: https://kent.rl.talis.com/index.html
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of some of the key social, cultural, and political issues that have emerged as a result of the rapid changes caused by digital technologies
2. Critically engage in current debates on challenges, controversies, and ethics around digital technology
3. Use digital tools to navigate the ethical challenges posed by digital technologies
4. Deploy proper techniques of analysis in sustained treatments of specific topics relating to digital media ethics and the challenges and controversies digital media pose – in nuanced ways that appreciate the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge
5. Critically reflect on the ethical implications, challenges and controversies surrounding their own personal, social, and professional use of digital technologies in everyday life.
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Engage in meaningful debate about issues and practices within their degree area;
2. Demonstrate systematic understanding of key concepts within relevant academic literature;
3. Demonstrate research skills, including the ability to assess the merits of, and make critical judgments in relation to, academic and non-academic sources of information and properly reference written work;
4. Demonstrate an ability to prepare and deliver cohesive and convincing arguments to a variety of audiences and/or using a variety of methods
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