Digital Markets and Society

We are currently experiencing the profound effects of the digitalization of the economy. This course addresses the societal implications of these new digital marketplaces and platforms. It covers a range of interconnected themes: from big data and digital labour, to illicit practices on the dark web, to financial automation and algorithmic governance. Delivered by a team of lecturers conducting research on these subjects, students will learn about technologies such as cryptocurrencies, computer trading and financial algorithms. They will also learn how sociologists are studying the social, economic and political implications of digital markets. What do Uber, The Pirate Bay, Amazon's Mechanical Turk, and high-frequency trading have in common? They are all examples of our era's digital economic transformation. This course explores the societal implications of these new digital marketplaces. From the emergence of the 'sharing economy' to the automation of finance, the digital economy is changing the way we work, consume, and secure our future. Delivered by a team of lecturers conducting research on these subjects, this course introduces students to the state of the art in sociological research on digital markets. The first half of the course addresses the implications of the economic digital transformation. The lectures focus on digital labour and the darkweb. Digital labour is introduced and theorised from neo-Marxian and feminist perspectives in order to gain a critical perspective on its continuities and discontinuities with traditional forms of work. The lectures on the darkweb and illicit practices then interrogate online anonymity and the ethical questions it raises. Credit Level: 11 Year taken: Postgraduate

Not running in 2025/26