30241

WiSe 22/23: Digitalisation and social inequality

Martin Ehlert

Kommentar

Digitalization has a strong and growing impact on societies as new technologies change both our private and our professional lives. As with previous technological revolutions, there are many hopes and fears associated with digitalization that relate to social inequality. While some fear exclusion and mass unemployment due to digital technology others praise the new opportunities for flexibility at work and communication across old divisions within societies. Against this backdrop, this seminar aims to engage with digitalization and its relationship with social inequality both theoretically and empirically. Based on the concept of the “digital divide” (van Dijk, 2020), we consider social inequalities on three levels: first in access to digital technology, second in use of digital technologies and the associated skills, and third in the outcomes of digital technologies. Thus, we will cover a wide range of topics from inequalities in internet access to the consequences of technology use at workplaces. The focus will also be on the question whether digital technologies change old inequalities or generate new inequalities.

The seminar provides theoretical and practical knowledge to evaluate the importance of digitalization for social inequality based mostly on quantitative analyses. We will discuss about relevant digital technologies, their prevalence, use, and outcomes. We will also learn about theoretical explanations of the “digital divide” from sociology and related fields. Course discussion will furthermore include issues on how to match research questions with theoretical foundations, modes of operationalization and quantitative empirical analysis. Schließen

Literaturhinweise

Van Dijk, Jan (2020): The digital divide. Cambridge: Polity Press