Università Roma Tre

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the critical analysis of the web and its main tools in the international scenario. Digital media are increasingly active and passive players in the political, cultural and socio-economic forces of vast areas of the world. Knowing how they work, the logic of software and algorithms, as well as those of their owners and designers, has become fundamental to being able to exercise one's rights, manage one's identity and engage effectively into any work context. Each tool possesses, as Harold Innis said, a "bias," a "tendency," or even its own inherent limitation or "prejudice." Digital media are not the utopia (of access, of democratization, of freedom) often portrayed by mainstream media, but a global battleground where the geopolitical balances of both individual states and entire regions are being played out. Knowing and analyzing such balances and investigating their cultural and technological models is one of the primary objectives of this course. But it is also important to learn about alternative realities, and that is why experiences, projects and proposals for innovative, democratic and socially responsible use of new media will be illustrated.

Slides, handouts and other materials will be made available online during the course. Knowledge of these two texts, on which the written test will be partially based, is required:

1) Edward Snowden, Errore di sistema. Milano, Longanesi, 2019.
2) Antonio Deruda, Geopolitica digitale. La competizione globale per il controllo della rete, Roma, Carocci, 2024.