FIT1052 - Digital futures: IT shaping society - 2019

From online entertainment to paying our bills with smartphones, computers are at the centre of our lives today. How did this change come about, and what has it meant for us as individuals, as well as for society more broadly? Starting with its origins in the world of government, the military and corporations, this unit explores the lasting impression that IT continues to make within the spheres of popular culture, work, politics, the law, and leisure.

At the completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. describe the fundamental features that distinguish information technology (IT) from earlier forms of technology;
2. understand and explain how advances in IT have impacted society, its structures, and the way information is used by its members;
3. develop and demonstrate critical reading skills by interpreting primary and secondary sources relevant to the history of IT in society;
4. critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of common scholarly explanations of the emergence and diffusion of IT within society;
5. critically analyse the impact of IT in a range of social domains such as work, the family, government and leisure.

Examination (2 hours): 50%; In-semester assessment: 50%

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

1. Contact hours for on-campus students:
   • 2 hour lecture
   • 2 hour studio
2. Additional requirements (all students):
   • A minimum of 3 hours of personal study per one hour of lecture time in order to satisfy the reading, tute, prac and assignment expectations.

See also Unit timetable information

Digital humanities

Information and society