Course content

This intensive, four-week course is centred on the relation between information and communication technologies (ICTs)?and global inequalities of economic, social, and other redistributional types. Originally centred on issues of digital inequality, referred to as the "digital divide",?research?now has to face issues of harm induced by inclusion in digital systems, such as surveillance, biometric border controls, and multiple forms of data violence induced on vulnerable subjects. The course offers the conceptual and practical tools to understand?ICT-induced inequalities ttoday,?grappling with the adverse effects of digital inclusion and equipping students with the critical tools to develop technologies that overcome such problems.

Learning outcome

After completing this course, you:

  • Can describe and critically compare central theories of ICT and global inequalities, applying them to phenomena of current interest in this research space,
  • Can illustrate different perspectives on the relation between ICT and inequalities, illuminating the different phases that such a relation has acquired over time,
  • Can place debates on ICTs within the current context of data colonialism and adverse digital incorporation, using different conceptual tools to tackle such problems in theoretical, methodological and practical ways,
  • Can reflect on the role of different actors in ICT and global inequalities, discussing how private companies, governments, people and the civil society interact in shaping the outcomes of ICT projects,
  • Can apply a critical perspective to the study of inequalities, understanding the centrality of digital technologies to issues of data harm and injustice, and can use concepts and theories from the course to devise routes to overcome such problems.

PhD-specific learning outcomes:

  • Can use approaches and concepts learned about in the course to independently theorise on ICT and global inequalities, positioning your arguments within ICT literature,
  • Can use approaches and concepts learned about in the course to build the theoretical background of your PhD thesis and of the articles featured within it.

Admission to the course

PhD candidates from the University of Oslo should apply for classes and register for examinations through?Studentweb.

If a course has limited intake capacity, priority will be given to PhD candidates who follow an individual education plan where this particular course is included. Some national researchers’ schools may have specific rules for ranking applicants for courses with limited intake capacity.

PhD candidates who have been admitted to another higher education institution must?apply for a position as a visiting student?within a given deadline.

IN5370 and IN9370?will be assessed together in regards to?the number of admissions, with?priority given to PhD candidates with IN9370 in an approved study plan.

No previous knowledge on ICT and global inequalities is required. The course suits well for students with a critical interest in the use of digital technologies in matters of development, inside and outside the so-called "Global South", and with a view of understanding both the strengths and the limitations of the "ICT for Progress" proposition.

Overlapping courses

Teaching

Intensive course of four weeks, three lectures (2 hours each) per week.?The first lecture is mandatory.

Examination

This course is assessed with a home exam, which counts 100% towards the final grade. PhD students registered for IN9390 will also have to submit two essays, which will be assessed on a pass or fail basis.

It will also be counted as one of?your three?attempts to sit the exam for this course, if you sit the exam for one of the following courses: IN5370 – ICT and Global Inequalities

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about?the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.

Last updated from FS (Common Student System) May 16, 2024 2:00:18 PM

Facts about this course

Level
PhD
Credits
10
Teaching
Autumn
Examination
Autumn
Teaching language
English

Contact

Department of Informatics