• Jaton Florian

• Jaton Florian

An introduction to digital methods for the study of digitally mediated social phenomena. This course explores two major methodological traditions – controversy mapping and the ethnography of digital activities – equipping students with both quantitative and qualitative approaches to digital research. Students learn how to collect, visualize, and interpret data from web sources, as well as how to conduct qualitative, problem-oriented analyses of digital practices. The course combines theoretical grounding with hands-on exercises, culminating in group poster projects where students apply course methods to real-world issues.

Week 1: Introduction
Where the teacher introduces the class, its topic, organization, and modes of evaluation

Week 2: Controversy mapping I – Why mapping controversies?
Where we start the first module of the course by exploring the epistemological foundations of the controversy mapping method.
Main reference: Venturini T and Munk A (2022) Controversy mapping. A field guide. London: Polity Press, pp. 1-79.

Week 3: Controversy mapping II – Scraping: a primer
Where we continue the first module by introducing scraping methods for extracting structured information from web sources.
Main reference: Marres N and Weltevrede E (2013) Scraping the social?. Journal of Cultural Economy 6(3): 313-335.

Week 4: Controversy mapping III – Network visualization of scraped data
Where we continue the first module by introducing some tools for network visualization of scraped data using the software Gephi.
Main reference: Cherven K (2015) Network Graph Analysis and Visualization with Gephi. Birmingham: Packt Publishing, pp. 1-30.

Week 5: Controversy mapping IV – Visual network analysis
Where we conclude the first module by exploring, and thinking upon, some network visualization analysis methods.
Main reference: Venturini T, Jacomy M and Jensen P (2021) What do we see when we look at networks: Visual network analysis, relational ambiguity, and force-directed layouts. Big Data & Society 8(1): 20539517211018488.

Week 6: Ethnography of digital work I – History and status of laboratory studies of science and technology
Where we begin the second module by introducing an anthropologically inspired method used to study the situated construction of science and technology, which forms the bedrock of ethnographic analysis of the construction of digital devices.
Main reference: Peerbaye A and Vinck D (2023) Les ethnographies de laboratoire: par-delà un mythe fondateur des STS. In S Boudia and A Peerbaye (eds) Sciences et techniques en sociétés. Paris: ISTE Editions.

Week 7: Ethnography of digital work II – Why describing digital work ethnographically?
Where we continue the second module by introducing a method of digital analysis derived from laboratory studies of science and technology, and which consists of qualitatively documenting the work of constructing new digital devices.
Main reference: Lee F (in press) The Practices and politics of machine learning: A fieldguide for analyzing artificial intelligence. AI & Society.

Week 8: Ethnography of digital work III – Problem-oriented perspective on digital work
Where we continue the second module by exploring a perspective specific to the ethnography of the digital, focusing on the social shaping of problems that can be solved by digital devices.
Main reference: Kang E (2023) Ground truth tracings (GTT): On the epistemic limits of machine learning. Big Data & Society 10(1): 20539517221146122.

Week 9: Ethnography of digital work IV – Micro-sociology of computer programming: a primer
Where we conclude the second module by introducing a series of works that ethnographically describe the concrete situated work of computer programming.
Main reference: Jaton F (2022) Éléments pour une sociologie de l’activité de programmation. RESET. Recherches en sciences sociales sur Internet 11(1): 1-32.

Week 10: Group projects I – Introduction, content and group set-up
Where we begin the third module of the course, explaining its structure, organization, and topic.
Organization of group work: Students will work in groups, with each group divided into two sub-groups: one focused on controversy mapping and the other on ethnographic analysis. The controversy mapping sub-group will investigate a controversy of their choice, using the computational tools introduced in the first module of the course. Meanwhile, the ethnographic sub-group will observe and document the digital practices of their peers, applying the anthropological methods covered in the second module. Each group will present their work as a two-part poster: one part dedicated to the controversy mapping, and the other to the ethnographic analysis. This collaborative approach allows each group to engage in both analytical and observational aspects of the course content.

Week 11: Group projects II – Projects advancement
Where the different groups continue their work and start thinking about how to present it in poster form.

Week 12: Group projects III – Presentations
Where the different groups present their poster in front of the class and answer questions.

Week 13: Conclusion & feedback
Where we review the class and provide feedback.

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand and explain the theoretical foundations of digital methods, including controversy mapping and the ethnography of digital work

• Apply scraping techniques to collect structured data from digital platforms.

• Use basic tools for visual network analysis to represent and interpret digital controversies

• Conduct qualitative, ethnographically inspired investigations into digital labor and the construction of digital devices

• Design and present a small-scale digital methods project that combines theoretical insights with empirical analysis

• Critically reflect on the strengths and limitations of various digital research methods in the context of social inquiry

Grading: Participation (20%), Final poster and presentation (40%), Exam (40% – broad question to be explored in writing, drawing on the concepts and materials discussed throughout the course)

Grading: Participation (20%), Final poster and presentation (40%), Exam (40% – broad question to be explored in writing, drawing on the concepts and materials discussed throughout the course)

Grading: Participation (20%), Final poster and presentation (40%), Exam (40% – broad question to be explored in writing, drawing on the concepts and materials discussed throughout the course)

Grading: Participation (20%), Final poster and presentation (40%), Exam (40% – broad question to be explored in writing, drawing on the concepts and materials discussed throughout the course)

Grading: Participation (20%), Final poster and presentation (40%), Exam (40% – broad question to be explored in writing, drawing on the concepts and materials discussed throughout the course)