Universität Wien

400017 SE Current advanced in digital humanism: Building a bridge between the social sciences and ICT (2026S)

Theory seminar

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 40 - Doktoratsstudium Sozialwissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
Tu 16.06. 09:45-13:45 Seminarraum 17, Kolingasse 14-16, OG02

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 15 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Tuesday 10.03. 09:45 - 11:45 Seminarraum 11 Vernetzungsraum für Vienna Doctoral School of Social Sciences, Kolingasse 14-16, OG01
  • Tuesday 17.03. 09:45 - 14:45 Seminarraum 17, Kolingasse 14-16, OG02
  • Tuesday 21.04. 09:45 - 13:45 Seminarraum 17, Kolingasse 14-16, OG02
  • Tuesday 19.05. 09:45 - 14:45 Hörsaal 7 Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1 1.Stock
  • Tuesday 30.06. 09:45 - 11:45 Seminarraum 15, Kolingasse 14-16, OG01

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Digital technologies shape every dimension of contemporary life--communication, governance, education, and the economy--raising profound theoretical and ethical questions about their role in human societies. This doctoral seminar focuses on advancing your understanding of the theoretical frameworks and empirical paradigms that critically engage with the societal implications of digital transformation.

Building on the mission of the new Vienna Doctoral College on Digital Humanism, the seminar invites both the members of the Doctoral College and other interested doctoral candidates to explore and develop new conceptual models that articulate how digital technologies can be aligned with human values, democratic principles, and social responsibility.

We will discuss interdisciplinary literatures bridging computer science, the social sciences, and the humanities, and will interrogate foundational theories of technology, ethics, and society. The goal is to help you contribute to the development of novel paradigms for understanding digital change.

The seminar should be one step on your way to transcend disciplinary boundaries. This means that all participants will be expected to engage critically with questions of power, agency, and sustainability in digital contexts beyond what they have studied so far.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students are expected to attend all sessions and participate actively in all course activities. Active participation entails continuous contributions to class discussions, which requires critical engagement with preparatory reading materials.

The final grade will be composed as follows:

· Individual oral presentation: 40%

· Peer feedback and discussion moderation: 10%

· Final essay: 50%

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Individual performances are graded using marks/percentage points according to the following table, and an overall mark is calculated based on the specified weighting. All individual works must be completed for a passing grade.

Very good (1): 87 - 100%
Good (2): 75 - 86.99%
Satisfactory (3): 63 - 74.99%
Sufficient (4): 50 - 62.99%
Insufficient (5): <50%

Examination topics

See above

Reading list

Araujo, T., Helberger, N., Kruikemeier, S., & De Vreese, C. H. (2020). In AI we trust? Perceptions about automated decision-making by artificial intelligence. AI & society, 35(3), 611-623.

Boyd, D. (2023). The structuring work of algorithms. Daedalus, 152(1), 236-240.

Coeckelbergh, M. (2024). What is digital humanism? A conceptual analysis and an argument for a more critical and political digital (post) humanism. Journal of Responsible Technology, 17, 100073.

Cooper, A. F., Choquette-Choo, C. A., Bogen, M., Jagielski, M., Filippova, K., Liu, K. Z., ... & Lee, K. (2024). Machine Unlearning Doesn't Do What You Think: Lessons for Generative AI Policy, Research, and Practice. arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.06966.

Helberger, N. (2021). On the democratic role of news recommenders. In Algorithms, automation, and news (pp. 14-33). Routledge.

Serrano, G., Striano, F., & Umbrello, S. (2024). Digital humanism as a bottom-up ethics. Journal of Responsible Technology, 18, 100082.

Sundar, S. S., & Lee, E. J. (2022). Rethinking communication in the era of artificial intelligence. Human Communication Research, 48(3), 379-385.

Werthner, H., Prem, E., Lee, E. A., & Ghezzi, C. (2022). Perspectives on digital humanism (p. 342). Springer Nature.

Vienna Manifesto on Digital Humanism: https://caiml.org/dighum/dighum-manifesto/

Additional literature may be assigned once the seminar has started.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 18.03.2026 09:48