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FACULTY OF COMMUNICATION

Department of New Media and Communication

NMC 490 | Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Name

Media, Culture and Technology

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
NMC 490	Fall/Spring	3	0	3	4

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Elective
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	-
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	Discussion Group Work Problem Solving Case Study Q&A Lecture / Presentation
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	-
Course Lecturer(s)	Öğr.Gör.Dr. Kenan DEMİREL
Assistant(s)	-

Course Objectives	The objective of this course is to critically examine the impacts of media technologies on societal, cultural, and economic structures; to enable students to analytically interpret the transformation of digital culture; and to create a learning environment where students can produce creative, research-based work using current digital media tools. This course aims to facilitate students in relating media theories to contemporary digital practices, understanding media ecosystems, evaluating the effects of technological developments on cultural dynamics, and establishing the connection between theory and practice.
Learning Outcomes	The students who succeeded in this course; 1. will be able to explain the relationship between media, culture, and technology. 2. will be able to analyze the effects of media technologies on social and cultural transformations. 3. will be able to compare classical and contemporary media theories through current digital media examples 4. will be able to evaluate the cultural consequences of digital platforms (social media, algorithms, data-based systems, artificial intelligence). 5. will be able to discuss identity, representation, and surveillance practices within the context of digital culture from a critical perspective. 6. will be able to design an applied media study centering on the relationship between media, culture, and technology
Course Description	This course addresses the reciprocal relationships between media, culture, and technology within a broad framework ranging from historical development to current digital transformations. The effects of digital media on social structure, cultural practices, identity, representation, modes of production, and power relations are discussed. Students analyze media theories (mass communication theories, cultural studies, media archaeology, network society, platform capitalism, digital culture theories) through contemporary examples. Themes such as the structure of social media platforms, algorithms, data economy, AI-supported content production, surveillance, privacy, digital labor, participatory culture, and new media arts are covered within the scope of the course. In addition to bridging the gap between theory and practice, the course strengthens the capacity to interpret the cultural and technological transformations of the digital age by developing critical media literacy skills.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses
	Supportive Courses	X
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation
1	Introduction to the relationship between media, culture, and technology	Williams, R. (2003). Television: Technology and cultural form. Routledge, pp. 1–31. ISBN: 9780415314563 Couldry, N. (2012). Media, society, world. Polity Press, pp. 1–28. ISBN: 9780745649202
2	Overview of media theories	Adorno, T. W., & Horkheimer, M. (2002). Dialectic of enlightenment. Stanford University Press, pp. 94–136 (“The Culture Industry”). ISBN: 9780804736336 Hall, S. (1997). Representation. Sage, pp. 1–28. ISBN: 9780761954323
3	Technology, media, and culture: A historical perspective (from mass media to the digital network society)	Parikka, J. (2012). What is media archaeology? Polity Press, pp. 1–24. ISBN: 9780745650314 McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding media. MIT Press, pp. 7–21. ISBN: 9780262631594 Castells, M. (2010). The rise of the network society. Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 1–35. ISBN: 9781405196864
4	Digital culture and participatory media (identity and representation)	Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture. NYU Press, pp. 1–24. ISBN: 9780814742815 Van Dijck, J. (2013). The culture of connectivity. Oxford University Press, pp. 19–44. ISBN: 9780199970773 Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Anchor, pp. 15–76. ISBN: 9780385094023 Foucault, M. (1988). Technologies of the self. University of Massachusetts Press, pp. 16–49. ISBN: 9780870235936
5	The platform society and data capitalism	Van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M. (2018). Platform mechanisms. In The platform society: Public values in a connective world (pp. 31–48). Oxford University Press. Srnicek, N. (2017). Platform capitalism. In Platform capitalism (pp. 36–92). Polity Press.
6	Algorithmic culture and data	Striphas, T. (2015). Algorithmic culture. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 18(4-5), 395–412. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549415577392 Manovich, L. (2020). Cultural analytics. MIT Press, pp. 1–34. ISBN: 9780262043915 Gillespie, T. (2014). The relevance of algorithms. In T. Gillespie, P. J. Boczkowski, & K. A. Foot (Eds.), Media technologies: Essays on communication, materiality, and society (pp. 167–194). MIT Press.
7	Digital media research: Methods and design	Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design. Sage, pp. 3–26. ISBN: 9781452226101 Berger, A. A. (2015). Media analysis techniques. Sage, pp. 1–30. ISBN: 9781452245126 Neuendorf, K. A. (2017). The content analysis guidebook. Sage, pp. 1–35. ISBN: 9781506314884 Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis. Routledge, pp. 1–28. ISBN: 9780415834375
8	Midterms
9	Surveillance society: The digital panopticon	Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish. Vintage, pp. 195–228 (“Panopticon”). ISBN: 9780394499420 Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism. PublicAffairs, pp. 8–24. ISBN: 9781610395694
10	The spatial internet: Virtual spaces and digital embodiment	Dionisio, J. D. N., Burns, W. G., & Gilbert, R. (2013). 3D virtual worlds and the metaverse. Springer, pp. 1–18. ISBN: 9781447151067 Boellstorff, T. (2008). Coming of age in Second Life. Princeton University Press, pp. 1–33. ISBN: 9780691135281 Deleuze, G. (1992). Postscript on the societies of control. MIT Press, pp. 3–7. ISBN: 9780262540704 Žižek, S. (2009). First as tragedy, then as farce. Verso, pp. 1–22. ISBN: 9781844674281
11	Artificial intelligence and creative media	Epstein, Z., Hertzmann, A., & Akten, M. (2023). Art and the science of generative AI. Science, 380(6650), pp. 1110–1111. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh4451 Miller, A. I. (2019). The artist in the machine: The world of AI-powered creativity. MIT Press, pp. 1–26 ("Introduction: The Creative Machine"). ISBN: 9780262042857 Russell, S., & Norvig, P. (2021). Artificial intelligence: A modern approach. Pearson, pp. 1–25. ISBN: 9780134610993
12	Artificial intelligence ethics, labor, and politics	Crawford, K. (2021). The atlas of AI: Power, politics, and the planetary costs of artificial intelligence. Yale University Press, pp. 53–88 ("Chapter 2: Labor"). ISBN: 9780300209570 Gray, M. L., & Suri, S. (2019). Ghost work: How to stop Silicon Valley from building a new global underclass. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, pp. 1–24 ("Introduction: The Great Paradox of Automation"). ISBN: 9781328972381 Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the new Jim code. Polity Press, pp. 1–48 ("Introduction" & "Engineered Inequity"). ISBN: 9781509526406
13	Term project presentations
14	Term project presentations
15	Review of the Semester
16	Finals

Course Notes/Textbooks	Grossberg, L., Wartella, E., Whitney, D. C., & Wise, J. M. (2006). Mediamaking: Mass media in a popular culture (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Suggested Readings/Materials

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities	Number	Weigthing
Participation	1	10
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury	1	10
Project	1	25
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm	1	20
Final Exam	1	35
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	4	65
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade	1	35
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	3	48
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)	16		0
Study Hours Out of Class	14	2	28
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments			0
Presentation / Jury	1	4	4
Project	1	12	12
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms	1	10	10
Final Exam	1	18	18
		Total	120

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#	Program Competencies/Outcomes		* Contribution Level
#	Program Competencies/Outcomes		1	2	3	4	5
1	To be able to critically discuss and interpret the theories, concepts and ideas that form the basis of the discipline of new media and communication.		-	-	X	-	-
2	To be able to critically interpret theoretical debates concerning the relations between the forms, agents, and factors that play a role in the field of new media and communication.		-	-	-	X	-
3	To have the fundamental knowledge and ability to use the technical equipment and software programs required by the new media production processes.		-	-	-	-	-
4	To be able to gather, scrutinize and scientifically investigate data in the processes of production and distribution.		-	-	-	-	-
5	To be able to use the acquired theoretical knowledge in practice.		-	-	-	-	-
6	To be able to take responsibility both individually and as a member of a group to develop solutions to problems encountered in the field of new media and communication.		-	-	-	-	-
7	To be informed about national, regional, and global issues and problems; to be able to generate problem-solving methods depending on the quality of evidence and research, and to acquire the ability to report the conclusions of those methods to the public.		-	-	-	-	-
8	To be able to critically discuss and draw on theories, concepts and ideas that form the basis of other disciplines complementing the field of new media and communication studies.		-	-	X	-	-
9	To be able to develop and use knowledge and skills towards personal and social goals in a lifelong process.		-	-	-	-	-
10	To be able to apply social, scientific and professional ethical values in the field of new media and communication.		-	-	-	-	-
11	To be able to collect datain the areas of new media and communication and communicate with colleagues in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1).		-	-	-	-	-
12	To be able to speak a second foreign language at a medium level of fluency efficiently.		-	-	-	-	-
13	To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout the human history to their field of expertise.		-	-	-	-	-

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest

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