<p>Seminar, three hours. Big data is touted as revolutionizing social science by providing researchers unprecedented access to information about every aspect of social life, from micro-level social interactions to global health trends. The availability of large-scale datasets, along with the development of new analytic tools to organize and analyze data, holds the promise of accelerating the growth and accuracy of social scientific knowledge. But data itself is a fundamentally social phenomenon, with a distinctive history of development and usage. Consideration of the meaning and significance of data for the social sciences. Exploration of the intertwined histories of data and the mode of power Michel Foucault famously identified as “governmentality”. Consideration of recent debates about the uses (and abuses) of data in the social sciences. Letter grading.</p>

Social Science

College of Letters and Science

SOC SC 210 - Data in Theory and Practice

Data in Theory and Practice

Deepen analytical skills by detecting racial and gender bias in datasets and gaining knowledge of media histories 

Obtain a deeper historical and critical view of data in society, while gaining an understanding of diverse cultural frames of analysis 

Learn how data intersects with philosophical inquiries about justice, (in)equality, power, and ethics by attending lecture, participating in discussions, and completing writing assignments

Engage in literary and cultural analysis by practicing the skills of “close reading” and interpretation of texts

General Catalog

Data in Theory and Practice

SOC SC 210

4 units