Handbook

Note: The course code for this course has been updated to MDIA2095 from 2023.

This course explores the ways digital media and technologies shape our collective and individual understandings of ‘the self’. It draws on both theoretical and popular accounts of the relationship between technologies, individuals and cultures. You will examine the (dis)continuities between ‘old’ and ‘new’ self-making practices such as journaling/vlogging; and self-portraiture/selfies, to consider the ways in which media and technology both shape and are shaped by socio-cultural understandings of identity formation. You will explore the ways that technologies and media platforms constrain some ‘selves’ and enable others. You will be invited to critically and creatively experiment with various mediums and platforms, to both cultivate digital literacy and query the modalities and affects of your digital presence. In doing so, you will consider the ways that self-making practices intersect with data-gathering practices, design processes, business models, and public policy. Topics include: life-hacking and the quantified self movement, microcelebrity and branding, digital intimacies, and biometrics and surveillance.