Module description
The module combines theoretical and empirical content in the analysis of digital campaigning. Digital campaigning is hereby understood as comprising all forms of social and political campaigning that make intense use of digital media. Theoretically it will cover a number of concepts and theories that are relevant to the understanding of this issue, including social movement theory, and digital politics theory, and the work of authors such as Manuel Castells, Jeffrey Juris, Daniel Kreiss, Andrew Chadwick and David Karpf. Furthermore, it will cover a number of important concepts such as the digitisation of political activity, the notion of hybrid media system, the consequences of interactivity, crowd-sourcing, networking and participatory culture for social and political campaigning. Empirically, it will draw on a number of digital campaigns, from social movements, to charity and civil society campaigns conducted by such actors as Greenpeace and Oxfam, to political and electoral campaigns waged by political parties and candidates. Its geographic scope will mostly focus on the Western context, but with some attempts to explore similar developments in other word areas including India, China and South America.
Assessment details
Coursework - 1 x 3,000 word essay
Educational aims & objectives
This module will offer students the opportunity to learn the nature and dynamics of campaigning activities conducted in a digital world. In particular it aims to provide students with an understanding of the nature of campaigning in general and of the way in which it changes as a consequence of the diffusion of digital tecnology. Specifically it will aim at
- Providing students with a general understanding of campaining as a domain of human activity, and of the way in which it assumes different forms in a digital world
- Explaining the nature of different fields of digital campaigning, both within NGOs, civil society organisations and social movements and in political parties and elections
- Examining a number of issues that are relevant to digital campaigning including the use of different digital tactics to achieve different aims; the costs involved in using different tools and processes
- Considering the opportunities and limits of digital campaigning
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will be able to
- understand what is meant by digital campaigning and what are its most typical manifestations and features
- analyse concrete examples of digital campaining in different contexts in civil society, protest movements and electoral politics
- discuss various concepts and theories that are relevant to the understanding of digital campaigning
- critically evalute the advantages and disadvantages of digital campaigning over more traditional forms fo campaigning