300550 Technology and Society: Social Networks, Power, Inequality, and Social Transformation (MA Sozialstruktur und soziale Ungleichheit) (S) (SoSe 2026)

This course explores how emerging technologies shape and are themselves shaped by social, economic, political, and ethical forces. Participants will critically examine how technological innovations influence human behavior, institutions, and values across domains such as work, education, health, and governance. The course begins with foundational readings on the relationship between technology and society, covering both classic and contemporary perspectives.
Participants will then work in small groups to develop project proposals investigating a self-selected emerging technology. They will formulate a clear research question and outline theoretical and methodological approaches to address it. Emerging technologies may include artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and genetic engineering, quantum computing, robotics and autonomous systems, blockchain and digital currencies, extended reality (XR), brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), deepfakes, nanotechnology, climate or energy technologies.
In the group projects, participants will design ways to assess both the positive and negative individual and societal implications of the chosen technology across several dimensions, including social (e.g., inequality, digital inclusion, or community building or inequality), economic (e.g., innovation or labor displacement), political (e.g., civic engagement or surveillance), ethical (e.g., accessibility or human autonomy), or/and environmental (e.g., sustainable energy solutions or energy consumption).
Participants will present their proposals and receive feedback from peers and the instructor, and provide constructive comments on other teams’ projects. The goal of the course is to foster critical and interdisciplinary thinking and to equip participants with conceptual and analytical tools to evaluate emerging technologies in a creative and responsible way.