BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course aims to provide students with the theoretical knowledge and methodological tools to understand and interpret the forms of social action in contemporary life and professional contexts, in which analogue and digital communication increasingly intertwine without solution of continuity. The activities will allow you to apply the notions learned to different social and professional situations, knowing how to interact consciously with human actors and technological actants.
Course Prerequisites
None
Teaching Methods
Teaching is carried out with a complex methodology to encourage dialogue and discussion between students and between students and the teacher. The course includes lectures with analysis of case studies; group work on specific topics, meetings with scholars and representatives of civil society. The teaching activity also includes the use of the Moodle platform for distance learning, with specific activities for those who do not attend. If the teaching is taught in mixed or remote mode, changes may be introduced with respect to what is stated in the syllabus to make the course and exams also usable according to these methods
Assessment Methods
The exam consists of an oral test. The exam interview will be conducted by asking open and specific questions to verify the level of understanding of the texts of which complete knowledge is required. Problematic questions and cases will then be proposed to verify the students' ability to analyze complex contexts and propose a critical and competent reflection on the topic of digital innovation. To achieve excellence, students' abilities to make connections and identify problematic nodes will be assessed; the ability of students to ask themselves legitimate, new, critical and creative questions starting from the study experience; the use of strategic thinking.
Contents
Below is an outline of the main contents that will be covered during the course. This program may vary according to the interests that emerged during the classroom discussions.
Theoretical and Conceptual Foundations
- Algorithmic thinking and binary logic in society and organizations
- Going beyond binarism in the risk society
- The concept of exponentiality in digital innovation
- Digitization-ready: legislative and organizational transformations
Automation and Artificial Intelligence
- Delegating decisions to machines: the case of self-driving cars and beyond
- Bounded and blended automation
- Ethical and strategic implications of adopting AI in organizational processes
Connectivity and Digital Infrastructures
- Connectivity as a material and organizational phenomenon
- Blockchain technology in practice: case applications
- Openness and transparency in digital governance
- Digitization or disintegration? Systemic and inter-organizational impacts
Theoretical Perspectives on Technology
- Evolution of sociological and organizational studies and the centrality of technology
- Theoretical approaches: technological determinism, social constructivism, sociomateriality
- The concept of affordance and its analytical implications
Classical Sociological and Organizational Themes and Digital Reinterpretations
- Structure and infrastructure: a digital redefinition
- Production, prosumers, and produsage: the active role of users
- Collaboration and co-creation: platforms and distributed design
Knowledge, Data, and Learning
- Datafication and knowledge management in organizations
- Big Data: tools for prediction, monitoring, and visualization
- Opacity and transparency in data-driven decision-making processes
Communication and Interactivity
- Strategic, organizational, and interactive communication
- New media, storytelling, and organizational narratives
- The role of interactivity in user experience and corporate communication
Legitimacy, Transparency, and Reputation
- How legitimacy is built in the digital age
- Desired transparency vs. unwanted visibility
- Technologies and mediation in trust-building
Power, Control, and Empowerment
- New forms of power: digital surveillance and subjectivation
- Empowerment through platforms and communities
- Digital counter-power and bottom-up movements
Digital Organizing
- Individual impacts: identity, skills, work-life balance
- Implications for businesses, public administration, and the third sector
- Towards digitally aware citizenship and organizational leadership
Online Resources
More information
For working students it is recommended to attend the teacher's office before the exam and consult the institutional email @studenti.unibg.it for any communications relating to initiatives dedicated to them. For Erasmus students it is recommended to contact the teacher.
In the event of provisions from the competent authorities regarding the containment and management of the epidemiological emergency, the teaching may undergo changes compared to what is stated in the syllabus to make the course and exams in line with the provisions.