Anthropology of Social Media
Instructors: Bakar Abdul-Rashid JeduahShortname: SocialMedia
Course No.: 07.798.22_035
Course Type: Seminar
Requirements / organisational issues
Ability to read and understand academic literature in English. Willingness to attend lessons, read texts beforehand, and engage in discussions and presentations. Papers for this seminar can only be written in English.Recommended reading list
Miller, Daniel and Heather Horst. 2012. “The Digital and the Human: A Prospectus forDigital Anthropology.” In Heather Horst and Daniel Miller eds., Digital Anthropology, New
York: Berg: Pp. 3-37.
Contents
Anthropology of Social MediaThe influence of social media on socio-cultural practices have been tremendous since its introduction. The focus of web 2.0 on networks and participatory practices among usershas enhanced globalisation. Users can inhabit multiple regional spaces at the same time, and connect with others far and near within seconds. This has indeed shaped, and is continuing to shaped various aspects of society. In the world of music, circulation, distribution, and fandom have been reshaped. Platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have collectively facilitated the careers of some of the biggest music stars in the last 20 years. In news and journalism, platforms like X (formerly Twitter) have challenged information distribution, with a significant number of people turning to these platforms for their news. The authenticity of traditonal news outlets, as genuine sources of the news, has been upstaged. In politics, social media platforms have been significant in mobilising for social justice and for fighting governments and regimes. The role social media played in the Arab Spring is one example. In healthcare, social media has facilitated the formation of support groups of people suffering from all kind of afflictions. Social media is very much an extension of our lives and shapes how we interact, date, express ourselves, acquire knowledge and information, consume cultural products,travel, dress, as well as how we consciously avoid its use. It has also introduced new modes of surveillance, hierarchies, exploitation, and racial, gendered and sexual violence.
In this seminar we draw from the media and communications literature to understand what happens on and through social media. However, beyond understanding how it shapes macro practices, we also through an Anthropological approach study social media from various local contexts. Through texts and examples we will learn how its use is manifested in different spaces and among different groups, and in some cases compare these. We will also reflect on our own uses, and of the societies to which we belong, and compare these to the cases we explore. The literature we will explore will also serve as a methodological guide for studying the socio-cultural through and with social media.
Dates
| Date (Day of the week) | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 04/16/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 04/23/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 04/30/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 05/07/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 05/14/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 05/21/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 05/28/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 06/04/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 06/11/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 06/18/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 06/25/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 07/02/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 07/09/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |
| 07/16/2025 (Wednesday) | 14:15 - 15:45 | 01 715 HS 14 1111 - Hauptgebäude |